Why we need to stay in Iraq.

William Shawcross has written a pellucid article on what is going on in Iraq and why the coalition must remain in place. Here's an excerpt:

Al-Qa’eda is an international criminal organisation that declared war on the West in the 1990s, and is determined to subjugate us. If we cut and run from one crucial battleground, it will be a betrayal of our allies in both America and Iraq and a victory for all Islamist extremism, Shia as well as Sunni. Moqtada al Sadr, the Shiite leader in southern Iraq, was crowing in the Independent only this week that his militia had driven the British out.

The choices are not easy. We are in the midst of a world-wide war and British forces are overstretched and underresourced, fighting as they are in both Basra and Afghanistan. With only 100,000 men and women our armed forces are fewer in number than at any time since the Victorian era. It’s a disgrace and it is the responsibility of both Conservative and Labour governments. The present crisis, however, is the result of the thoughtless cuts imposed over the past decade by the man who is now Prime Minister.

Also, check out Scott Johnson's background piece at Powerline regarding President Bush's speech to the American Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention, the war in Vietnam, and Mr. Shawcross.

[Iraq] [Islam] [coalition] [West] [Shawcross] [President Bush]