Posted on 01/08/2014 4:16:21 PM PST by rightwingerpatriot
It was with a great deal of dismay, and yet a sense of acknowledgement that this was inevitable, that I read that Al-Qaeda terrorists captured the city of Fallujah in Iraq. This is a huge reversal as Iraq slips further into chaos after the United States left the country at the behest of Obama. The Iraqi army is currently surrounding the city and is planning to retake it, but the capture of the city is a huge blow, both militarily and psychologically. Civilians have fled the city as the Iraqi Red Crescent estimates that over 13,000 families have left Fallujah seeking refuge elsewhere. This development underscores the utter failure of Obama's policies for Iraq and the Middle East.
The fact that Obama abandoned the mission in Iraq without securing any type of security agreement with the Iraqi government. He had a deadline of December 2011 and no facts would sway him from his course. As Obama had publicly declared a deadline, all the insurgents had to do was lay low and wait for us to leave. Thank goodness progressive liberals weren't in charge of the war effort back in World War II. This is a spit in the face of the blood shed by American troops to liberate the country and attempt to bring democracy and order. Fallujah was the site of the most intense urban combat by US forces since Vietnam, where soldiers had to enter every building and every room in the city to root out the terrorists. The operation that took place in late 2004 left 95 Americans dead and 560 wounded. It now seems that their sacrifice was in vain.
The entire foreign policy of Obama as it pertains to the Middle East is in tatters. The civil war rages on in Syria as Russia has humiliated Obama over the handling of that conflict. Afghanistan is still a quagmire, and Egypt is still in the throes of the military coup that toppled the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Morsi. Iran is moving forward to build nuclear weapons after Obama agrees to a disgraceful resolution that essentially caves in to every demand of Iran. The one true ally of the USA in the middle East, Israel, is routinely snubbed and insulted by Obama. Now we have even more fodder as former Defense Secretary Robert Gates has written that Obama's policies towards Iraq and Afghanistan were purely political. He writes that when US generals asked for 60,000 more troops, Obama dithered for months, and then eventually sent only 30,000 but did not believe they would be successful. Gates writes that Obama " doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his. For him, it's all about getting out." Normally, I would be appalled and surprised that an American president would send fewer troops than requested, while at the same time believing that their mission would fail. With Obama, though, I am no longer surprised, just still appalled. Just look at Benghazi.
Don’t you get it? IRAQ WAS FOR NOTHING. 4500 dead, tens of thousands of irreplaceable young men maimed, trillions of dollars flushed FOR NOTHING.
And, although there is no bad thing you could say about “Obama” that I would not agree with, this pathetic ending in Iraq was determined the very day our incompetent and wholly inadequate “war” plan was hatched. Wrong enemy, wrong battlefield, wrong means, delusional ends - there was nothing about the misadventure in Iraq, which took longer than WW II and left the enemy center of gravity untouched that was worthy of the slightest praise.
And Afghanistan is just as bad, and may yet turn out even worse.
Fallujah should of been a glass parking lot for the next 10,000 years if the Iraq war had been prosecuted correctly from the start.
NBC is blaming Bush.
It would be MORE HUMANE to nuke Fallujah and kill everyone there than to fight this war with both hands tied behind our back. ONE BOMB and the war would have been over then. ONE BOMB and the rag heads would have been lined up in lines 100 miles long to surrender under ANY terms. ONE BOMB and NONE of the now 4,500+ AMERICAN SOLIDERS would be dead! ONE BOMB and as you stated tens of thousands of irreplaceable young men wouldn't be maimed, and trillions of dollars wouldn't have now been flushed.
Many (not here) at the time called my bloodthirsty. But that couldn't be further from the truth. The best way to fight a war (assuming it must be fought) is quickly. This is actually best for both sides. Because in the end I am guessing 10 times more Iraqi's have died over the course this war than would have died had we just nuked Fallujah then.
The next time some wonk wants to go “nation building” let them send 50,000 laptops with a good internet connection instead of 50,000 brave young Americans. You cannot change a culture at the point of a bayonet. They gladly take our money and “aid” but they bitterly resent our interference in their affairs. Iraq was no strategic threat after the Gulf war and after bin Laden was routed and killed, there was no reason for the US military to be engaged in Afghanistan. Terrible human and material sacrifice for very little. Ron Paul was correct from Day 1. Thanks to these wars we are now enjoying the Obama experience.
Word.
“Ron Paul was correct from Day 1.”
I would agree with you but the majority of “conservatives” still seem to think that being the worlds policeman is part of our legacy. Sad really as we are involved in things around the world that we have no business being involved in and Iraq is one of them.
May God embrace the souls of those who gave their all and provide comfort to their loved ones who miss them every day. Our leaders disrespect us and treat us as less than serfs. Pray for guidance.
“Thanks to these wars we are now enjoying the Obama experience.”
Nah...more like a combination of election and voter fraud...not to mention the ignorance of legitimate voters.
My son fought in Fallujah.
“Nah...more like a combination of election and voter fraud...not to mention the ignorance of legitimate voters.”
If it ain’t close they can’t cheat but unfortunately it wasn’t even close. Face it the majority chose another 4 years of Obama and truth to tell Romney wasn’t much of an alternative and in my view more like a whiter version of Obama as his policies were not all that different. And all his “saber rattling” wasn’t too convincing to me.
I mourn my brothers in arms from my unit who didn’t come home from Afghan, and I wonder too what the heck are we doing.
When our hands are tied and we’re told to turn a blind eye to men buggering boys, among other things. You can’t trust your own interpreters and security forces, it’s time to give your head a shake.
I just lost another friend 2 weeks ago from this. He committed suicide, but resulting from his Afghan experience. On a side note, I think suicide is the most selfish act a person can do, so I think it’s stupid, but it doesn’t change the fact that the government put him there.
I don’t just mourn my lost friends, I mourn for my brothers south of the line too, and families who are torn apart. I never did believe in the mission because we were going about it wrong. I don’t mind going overseas and taking battle to moslems and kicking them in the arse, but to me that means destroying the enemy.
My job description as a soldier was to close with and destroy the enemy by day or night over any terrain in any weather.
It wasn’t to tie my hands behind my back and turn a blind eye to things that are “normal” in their culture but offensive to me.
Much as I despise Obama, Fallujah shows the failure of the Iraqis, not Obama. They’re not capable of representative government. They’re barbarians and they need a barbarian to lead them. Our only failure was to refuse to recognize this.
More like: Right enemy. Right battlefield. Right means. Lack of will to finish.
No, the enemy is Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Right battlefield
No, the right battlefield was Riyadh and Islamabad
. Right means
No, the right means was an army of conquest and occupation.
Lack of will to finish
What the Hell do you mean, man? How much MORE sacrifice do you propose, and to what end?
If we had nuked Tora Bora in December 2001, Saddam Hussein would have been our very best friend the very next day.
And, as very best friends will do, he would have cleaned up Iraq without us spending a nickel or a drop of blood.
Impeachment File for “B. Hussein Obama,” aka Barry Soetoro, a documented legal citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.
Wrong, the enemy is Islam. Far more than the two countries you listed.
We are already in those two locations.
We did conquer and occupy.
How much more sacrifice? The war was won.
Then we left. Shades of Vietnam. When Democrats took over.
You may recollect that we are still in Japan and Germany after WWII.
If you think that "victory" describes any aspect of Iraq (or Vietnam), we really aren't using the same language to discuss this.
Sorry we disagree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.