http://campusantiwar.net/components/com_docman/dl2.php?archive=0&file=Y2...

The link above will provide anyone who is interested with a resource that captures very well why we must bring the occupation of Iraq to an end. I believe, in contrast with Campus Antiwar Network, that the United States should continue to target individuals who would engage in indiscriminate attacks on innocent people, taking in mind of course the potential political ramifications of such counter terrorist actions. I also believe that we should continue to provide military and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, under the condition that our intervention there does not unduly infringe on their national sovereignty. I base this judgment on the understanding that the NATO presence in Afghanistan still has relative legitimacy, though the relationship between NATO forces and the Afghan people has become increasingly strained due to the careless bombing of Afghan villages.

Our intervention in Iraq, on the other hand, never had any real legitimacy from the beginning, and this lack of legitimacy played no small part in the rapid rise of the resistance movement there. The above-mentioned e-pamphlet excellently captures the fundamental dynamic at work in Iraq- as the surge of U.S. forces continues, the resistance will correspondingly grow, as it did in Vietnam. This is because the insurgency is motivated first and foremost by an anti-colonial sentiment, something our political and military leadership has yet to acknowledge.