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Taking a stand against this bone-headed occupation and policing operation is Iraq is not in any way unpatriotic. Most freepers oughta know. They were in the front lines opposing similar policies by Clinton (including Haiti and Kosovo).

Read some of your stuff in a thread that was pulled last night. I disagree with you on the "quagmire" label for Iraq. True - we are taking 3 to 5 combat deaths a week in Iraq times 2 to 3 wounded. But this may drop fast. You are forgetting the Kosovo and Bosnia models of occupation mastered under Clinton. Clinton knew that Americans would only tolerate troops in Bosnia or Kosovo as long as body bags were not coming home every week. He made this the priotity for our occupations of those lands. Our military, intelligence, and diplomatic corps acted accordingly towards this goal of zero tolerance of casualties. Thus we have troops in Bosnia and Kosovo in remote rural fortresses that cannot be attacked by irregulars at all. When we do patrol it is platoon strength backed up by helicopter gunships. This is like telegraphing to any hostiles for miles around to stay away and is not real "policing" in any sense. Meanwhile the local population is ruled by warlords and crime lords we don't dare touch or bother (and why would we since they keep an "order" of a kind.) The nominal "governments" in Kosovo and Bosnia control nothing outside of the few buildings they "rule" from.

This scenerio could well be put into place in Iraq. We surrender the Iraqi people to the rule of regional thugs and warlords while we set up safe and secure regional bases with all the amenities of home (like camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.) The government of Iraq will control a frew blocks of dowtown Baghadad and the pipelines will be protected by a well paid private guard. And like Pristina in Kosovo- the residents of Baghdad can still expect not to have reliable electricity 5 years from now.

I can't agree it's boneheaded.My post was in relation to boneheaded questions.I think I am as skeptical as I need to be about politicians and posters.