Michelle Bussenius

Michelle Bussenius
2008-04-23 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

With no end to the war in sight, Iraq has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential race.

Presidential hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama have each formulated strategies on Iraq.

Clinton has outlined a three-step plan to end the war and bring the troops home within 60 days of taking office; Obama’s plan calls for a total pullout of troops within 16 months; and McCain's plans include an increase in troop levels and no timetable for withdrawal.

In the United States and Britain, calls for the immediate withdrawal of troops continue.

Hoover senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson sums it up: “Most Americans now don’t think our Middle East venture is worth it-not just because of the cost we pay but because of what we get in return.”

Hanson is convinced that the current surge is working...[but] understands that, in the minds of many Americans, the costs of this war, and indeed the “entire region, are not worth the bones of a single Marine.” Hanson argues that, aside from such understandable sentiment, Americans need to remember “a consensual government in Iraq — not just plebiscites — is in our long-term strategic interest.”

Likewise, Hoover senior fellow Thomas Henriksen states, “a stabile Iraq will go a long way in the fight against global terrorism; but in itself will not defeat the threat, which will last for perhaps decades.”