PRESS RELEASE
LaRouche: With Global Financial Crisis Unfolding, U.S. Must Withdraw Troops from Iraq Immediately
Aug. 26, 2007 (EIRNS)—This statement was released yesterday by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee (LPAC).
Lyndon LaRouche today called for the immediate withdrawal of all American military forces from Iraq, citing the unfolding combined housing and banking crises, that make any extension of the U.S. military engagement in Iraq a total folly.
LaRouche warned, "We now have a combination of a banking and housing crisis, which is only the front-end of the biggest financial collapse in modern history. For anyone to talk about extending the war in Iraq, under these already unfolding conditions, is insane." LaRouche elaborated, "We need an immediate withdrawal of all American forces from Iraq. It can and must be done, by effective diplomacy. We can create the kind of coalition of Iraq's neighbors and other nations, by diplomacy, that would make the immediate withdrawal of American troops a stabilizing factor. Let us face the real problem, standing in the way of this only viable solution: The President of the United States is becoming more infantile by the day, and the Vice President of the United States is a criminal. Dick Cheney's removal from office is therefore an immediate, urgent priority for the U.S. Congress and others."
LaRouche returned to the issue of the global financial collapse, already unfolding. "We must change the agenda of the U.S. government to address the biggest financial crisis in history. We must address the immediate housing crisis, the danger that the entire banking system is about to collapse. We must, therefore, disengage from the Iraq war. Start the process of getting the troops safely disengaged now," LaRouche demanded.
He further elaborated, "By announcing the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, we can begin, today, to redeploy our forces, out of Baghdad and other combat zones, in preparation for their orderly withdrawal—as we work, diplomatically, with Russia, China, Europe, the neighboring countries, including Iran, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the nations of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and others. This can be done, immediately. Clearly the complete withdrawal of American forces will take some time, but the policy must be set now, and the issue of the global financial collapse, the systemic disintegration, must be directly acknowledged."
LaRouche noted that he appreciated the sentiments of some Congressional leaders, like Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who has called for the President to announce a token withdrawal of American troops by the end of the year. But he warned that this is insufficient to address the true nature of the crisis. "Some people are beginning to think that the Iraq war is part of our national heritage. That is the real tragedy here." LaRouche concluded, "Therefore we must leave now. There is an immediate case for diplomacy, not continued shooting. There is no reason to keep the troops there—except for some perverse desire to please those among the British who wish to see the United States destroyed before Bush and Cheney leave office."
