Invading Iraq was one of the stupidest things this country has ever done. In a time when Muslims throughout the world already hated us (1.5 billion people are Muslim), we invaded the second most holy land in the Middle East. We went in too weak, as we've done every war since Vietnam, took control of the capital, and hastly decided we had won the war in Iraq.
Now, the insurgents--al Qaeda members we swore we'd 'beat' in Afganistan and Saddam's large, albeit disorganized, army we 'crushed' that simply dispursed with their weapons when the U.S. came--are significantly destablizing the 'peace and democracy' we've installed in Iraq.
Fact of the matter, I never supported a war in Iraq. It was always a stupid idea, our pretenses for beginning a war there were always questionable, and the consequences of beginning a war on two fronts were always ominous. If, as a country, we decided that we need to stay the course in Iraq and Afganistan, which is now just as bad as Iraq, then it's time to recognize that 125,000 troops aren't enough. To successfully end either war (not occupation), we'd have to CLOSE the borders, in order to finally slow the flow of insurgents. This sort of plan would cost countless lives on both sides, and I plainly don't think the American public remembers or can stand for what a real war means for its young.
So, to get back to the thread's topic, Japan is pulling out, not because we are done, but because they don't want to be involved in it anymore. Sure, they may not have had many troops there, but at least they helped. Japan's not the first country to pull their troops, as I recall a number of other countries with a small number of troops have backed out, as well.
It seems to me this is a sign of the times. We went from, in 2001 post-Sept 11, having the sympathy and support of the world. Now, just five years later, we're more hated than ever. It stems from bad policy and providing the world with blatently false information. This doesn't even have to do with the presence or lack-thereof of WMDs, instead we told people it would be a quick and easy war in Iraq and Afganistan, when it was easy to see it would not be.
As a country, we need to take a good hard look at what it is we think we're doing in these countries. We shouldn't look at ourselves as liberators and the bestowers of freedom. It's pretty plain to see in looking at the history of these two countries, that they don't want 'our freedom,' instead they want a Muslim govt. run by the dominate ethnic group (the only sort of govt. that's ever worked in the areas).
We often forget how much work the U.S. and other free nations put into becoming as free as we are. We fought many wars and dealt with countless internal struggles to get where we are. What we forget is that we did this alone, we wanted to be free. These countries people, besides a small minority, are strong Muslim countries. Muslims do not recognize a separation of church and state. They don't believe in religious freedom. They plainly do not want 'our' freedom. So in forcing our views upon them, they feel their culture and society is being assaulted.
This in mind, as long as we follow our current course in Afganistand and Iraq, nothing will change. Our support throughout the world will continue to erode and stability in the two countries will slowly deteriorate, and in the end our troops will suffer for it. The game we now play is a losing one, and everyone in the world is waking up to it, except us.
