- Target:
- USA, United Kingdom and their allies in the Iraq debacle
- Region:
- GLOBAL
The Iraqi people deserve an apology. Too often we hear politicians bending, sidestepping, spinning, obfuscating or plain denying the truth. Rarely do they take responsibility and apologise when they have made mistakes, however genuinely and sincerely they made them.
It would be possible to lose ourselves in neverending discussion over strategies on how best to address the situation in Iraq: increase funds, don't fund, increase troops, withrdraw troops etc. Instead, the quality and dynamic of the conversation about Iraq -- more importantly, between Iraqis the USA, UK and allies -- needs to change.
Regardless of strategies adopted, the Iraqi people deserve a clear and straightforward acknowledgement -- stating that the invasion of Iraq was categorically a mistake -- and an apology.
The future of the Middle East depends on the conversational dynamic changing, via an ounce of such honesty. Remaining silent on the issue of how the war began and led to appalling sectarian violence sustains the impression that the allies continue to regard the invasion of Iraq as strategically appropriate. This fuels alienation, ongoing despair and increasing hatred.
Acknowledging the mistake -- whether one regards it as one of morality and/or strategy -- in no way dishonours the memories of loved ones lost in, or undermine the work of those still in, Iraq.
We, the undersigned, call on the governments of the United States of America, United Kingdom, and their ally governments both to acknowledge that invading Iraq was a mistake and to apologise to the Iraqi people for making it.
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The Apologise to the Iraqi people petition to USA, United Kingdom and their allies in the Iraq debacle was written by FrankM and is in the category International Affairs at GoPetition.