Make it 100!

John McCain said yesterday that US troops could be in Iraq for the next 100 years:

(Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for the find.)

Finally, someone is being honest. John McCain deserves a lot of credit for being truthful about his outlook on the future of our involvement in Iraq even though it is not a politically convenient view to confess.

I hope this isn’t a shock to anyone–or to the country at large–because we’re not leaving Iraq soon, in the near future, or maybe even in our lifetimes. His take is especially informative because one can argue that it is congruent with the closeted views of US policymakers and military leaders. We’re not getting the truth from everyone else but we know the truth, we know they are building permanent military bases.

Let’s be realistic: Since we’re at the top of the global order, we are responsible for maintaining the status quo because we benefit the most from it. This can be accomplished by stationing our military across the world in strategic positions. It’s not a coincidence Iraq is very strategic, it has the second largest oil reserves in the world.

It’s about maintaining the economic order. The British did this with their navy in the 19th century with the motto “Rule the Waves.” They protected international shipping lanes because it was they who benefited the most from keeping them safe from pirates. We benefit the most by keeping the world oil market fluid and without disruption–not to mention cheap.

I agree with you that honesty has become a very rare trait amongst all of the candidates in regards to Iraq. John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich and people of their ilk shamelessly pander about immediately removing all troops permanently, which would not only be nearly impossible, but wildly irresponsible.

Should John McCain end up as the Republicans nominee, this quote will no doubt come back to haunt him, despite the fact that all of the viable candidates recognize the need for (relatively) permanent bases even in we redeploy most of our troops from Iraq in the next 4 years.

Side note: new format is bullshit.

Thanks for the feedback on the format. Clearly, you’re not a fan of the minimalist approach.

Hopefully, you’ll appreciate the decrease in the page load times and the simplicity of just reading the post you came to see without clicking.