Max Boot on Permanent Iraq Presense
Boot vigorously supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 2007 surge.[4] He wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed in April 2011 arguing that it is “in America’s Interest to Stay in Iraq” because
[h]aving active bases would allow us to project power and influence in the region.[34]
.. Boot supports what he calls American imperialism based on nation building and the pursuit of spreading democracy across the non-Western world. He sees this as the only way to prevent another event like the 9/11 attacks. He has written, “[u]nlike 19th-century European colonialists, we would not aim to impose our rule permanently. Instead… occupation would be a temporary expedient to allow the people to get back on their feet”.[36] He advocates creating a formal Department of Peace alongside the currentDepartment of Defense to promote democracy building abroad.[25] He later stated in an interview that he thinks most Americans feel uncomfortable with being called an ’empire’, but that they would be willing to act like one regardless.[37] He has said that he believes the U.S. must act as a world police agency since “[t]here is nobody else out there”.[25]