Over the Horizon: The Analysis

The 2008 Presidential Election is only 26 days away.  As the year is coming to a close, the next President will decide the course of these United States for the next 4, possibly 8, years.  However, the new President will take on many responsibilities, such as the economic crisis our country is in, illegal immigration, renewable energy sources but more importantly, the war in Iraq.  So, let's get this show on the road.

The war in Iraq has not had much recent attention during the election.  In the second Presidential Debate, it was mostly concerning the economic situation and the candidates' solutions.  However, one of the questions in that debate was "What are the lessons of Iraq?"  It allowed the candidates to speak on what the war still needs to be done in Iraq and how we go about accomplishing it.  McCain and Obama go face-to-face on the issues of Iraq.  I feel that this question drew the attention of the people off of the economy and put it back on the war in Iraq.  

Obama views the war on Iraq as a distraction from our true goals at the beginning of the War on Terrorism.  He feels that the current situation in Iraq was not worth the sacrifices our country has made.  The 700 billion dollars used in funding the war in Iraq.  The 4000+ soldiers that were lost these past five years.  The failure of finding "weapons of mass destruction."  Obama wants to end the war in Iraq as quickly as possible and focus more on bringing Al-Qaeda down, particularly in Afghanistan.  He wants to cut down the forces in Iraq but leave some to continue to supervise the growth of the Iraqi government and forces.  Obama knows that Iraq cannot just be left so he plans to stabilize the country by other means besides military force and to insure that Al-Qaeda leaves and never tries to come back to Iraq.

McCain views the war in Iraq as a necessary step in the War on Terrorism.  He views the first four years of the war in Iraq as bad military tactics.  He feels that it is still far too early to pull out of Iraq.  He believes that the Iraqi government is in a crucial state and that our forces are needed there more than ever.  McCain supported the surge, the increase of troops in Iraq.  McCain also wants to use Iraq as an ally to keep the neighboring countries from making rash decisions. 

I believe that both candidates want to end the war in Iraq.  I believe our involvement in Iraq has become a crutch to them.  They rely solely on us, however, we cannot be there the whole time.  Iran has a great influence on Iraq, since they share borders with each other.  With the threat of Iran's nuclear projects, the U.S. should not and will not leave Iraq by itself.  

I feel that the candidates feel it has gone on longer then it should have.  They both want to continue to build the strength of Iraq but they want to do it in fairly different ways.  But their end goals are the same.  A stable ally in the Middle East.  Our troops to return home.  Defeating Al-Qaeda once and for all.  However, will that be the outcome of the war in Iraq?  Only time will tell.....