http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraqwar/ en-us Wed, 8 Oct 2008 06:55:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2100254/posts I know, "yawn, another vanity post" but seriously, are not all of our posts, and FR itself, vanity? I just wanted to throw a couple comments out there. Obama responded to McCain tonight, "He's right, I don't understand. I don't understand why we invaded a country that never attacked us...." This view is so seriously flawed. Senator Obama, prior to our involvement at WWII with Germany, where and when did Germany attack the United States? The plain truth is that Germany represented a threat to the region, just as Iraq did under an unstable dictator. Yet no one questions the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2100254/posts#comment Wed, 8 Oct 2008 06:55:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2096724/posts The quote (in which Biden specifically says France and the European leaders KNOW Saddam has weapons) is at 14:17. But Biden spends some more time attempting to convince the audience that the burden is on Saddam to prove he doesn't have the weapons. You can see Biden develop his argument if you have a few minutes to watch the video from 12:00 to 14:30. You Tube video http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2096724/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 16:34:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085582/posts September 18, 2008 For G-d's Sake, Give This Deceased American Hero His Medal! By Debbie Schlussel Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta is a role model for all Americans, whether they are immigrants like him or native born. He made the ultimate sacrifice, giving his life to save those of his fellow Marines. Sadly, nitpickers in our military are denying him and his grieving family the Medal of Honor. It's a travesty. This late patriot deserves the honor. He earned it in blood and gutted limbs. This is the kind of one-time illegal alien I wish we had more of in America.... Debbie Schlussel.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085582/posts#comment Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:35:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084387/posts Petraeus's Miracle By David Ignatius BAGHDAD -- The night before Gen. David Petraeus turned over command here, a group of senior officers gathered at Camp Victory to say goodbye. It was like a football team's testimonial dinner at the end of a winning season: There were steaks and baked potatoes and a highlight film of the general's 20-month command, scored with rock music, called "Surge of Hope." The signature line of the video was a statement Petraeus made to Congress when he began what seemed to many people like mission impossible: "Hard is not hopeless." That was his closing comment,... www.realclearpolitics.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084387/posts#comment Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:31:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082694/posts This is the problem with blindly entrusting your future to an individual who has accomplished nothing of any consequence in his past. It’s not hope you’re feeling, its euphoric blind faith. As is always the case with career rabble rousers (aka community organizers), the fact that they have never been in the game does not hamper their ability to talk a good game. Obama says that words mean something and without any deeds to talk about, he’s right. However, compared to action and real experience, or in his case a complete lack thereof, empty words mean damn little. Only those... NewsByUs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082694/posts#comment Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:34:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081355/posts WAR MOM PALIN TAKES HARD LINE By CHARLES HURT Bureau Chief September 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - Vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin saw her eldest son off to war yesterday as she took a hard line on Russia, Iran and terrorists "hellbent on destroying America and our allies." Asked in her first extended interview since becoming John McCain's running mate if she thinks she's qualified to take over the presidency, Palin replied, "I do." "I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink," she told ABC News. "You have to be wired in a way of being... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081355/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:23:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2077565/posts Yesterday on Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw asked Joe Biden if the troop surge in Iraq had made possible the increased security and reconciliation we now see in that country. Here is Biden’s answer: SEN. BIDEN: No. The surge helped make that–what made is possible in Anbar province is they did what I’d suggested two and a half years ago: gave local control. Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2077565/posts#comment Mon, 8 Sep 2008 19:59:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074108/posts One-third (32%) of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting better, two in five (41%) say things are staying the same and 16 percent say things are getting worse. This is better than in May when only one in five (22%) said things were getting better; and, Harris Interactivef http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074108/posts#comment Wed, 3 Sep 2008 23:08:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2068367/posts With Friends Like US...? by: Daniel Smith, August 26, 2008 After the September 11, 2001 attacks upon the United States, President Bush warned of the consequence of such actions by America’s enemies. Unfortunately, America’s friends report their own set of hazards. Dr. Elizabeth Ferris, Senior Fellow at Brookings, commented on the history of Iraqi refugees and victims of “internal displacement” (ID). “Before U.S. intervention” in 2003, nearly 700,000 Iraqis had been displaced under the Saddam regime, 250,000 of which were Northern Kurds. Since the war, approximately 4 million additional Iraqis have been driven from their homes. Refugees – those forced... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2068367/posts#comment Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:14:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064022/posts Barack Obama got to be the Democratic presidential nominee in large part because he opposed from the start the use of U.S. military force to liberate Iraq. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, by contrast, both voted for it. But an exchange in Saturday night's forum with Rick Warren raises serious questions about Obama's honesty vis-à-vis Iraq. Here it is: Warren: What's the most significant--let me ask it this way. What's the most gut-wrenching decision you ever had to make and how did you process that to come to that decision? Obama: ...we did not have strong evidence of weapons of... http://online.wsj.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064022/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:08:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2063703/posts Interview made by phone on August 14, 2008 Audio excerpts and complete transcript linked above. Bill KRISTOL's opinion on Obama, McCain, a possible comeback of Hillary at the Denver convention, Iran, Iraq, Bush legacy, China.... ENJOY and give a feedback ! VIDEO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2063703/posts#comment Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:49:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063249/posts IT WASN'T so long ago that erstwhile supporters of the war in Iraq were invoking hindsight to justify their newfound opposition to it. "Obviously if we knew then what we know now," Senator Hillary Clinton said in December 2006, when asked whether she regretted her 2002 vote authorizing military action, "I certainly wouldn't have voted that way." Many of Clinton's colleagues said the same thing. An ABC News survey of senators in January 2007 found that "an overwhelming number" of Democrats who had voted in favor of going to war - including Joe Biden of Delaware, Chris Dodd of Connecticut,... The Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063249/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:00:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057222/posts This 2008 presidential election cycle has been jam-packed with irony. John McCain has been forced to rely on the 527 groups he so despises; Barack Obama has been denounced by members of the black community but embraced by upper class whites; the Clintons have been rejected by the very media that put them in power. But perhaps the most ironic fact of the 2008 election cycle is this: John McCain will win the 2008 election because the war in Iraq was not a war for oil. Since the liberation of Iraq in March 2003, liberals have been screaming that the... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057222/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 04:34:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056422/posts Report on Iraq by: Ben Giles, August 04, 2008 Now that major gains have been made to bring stability to Iraq, it would be foolish for the United States to simply leave the country arbitrarily, military strategists say. “The purpose of this [war] is to advance our interests,” said Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute. “That’s why America fights wars. And I think that this conflict has the potential to advance our interests in the region and in the global war on terror dramatically, but only if we see it through to its conclusion.” Kagan’s consistent support of the... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056422/posts#comment Mon, 4 Aug 2008 21:06:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055257/posts 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait More than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded the Gulf state of Kuwait in the early hours of this morning. Iraqi forces have established a provisional government and their leader Saddam Hussein has threatened to turn Kuwait city into a "graveyard" if any other country dares to challenge the "take-over by force". BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055257/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 05:54:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055043/posts It’s hard to imagine a more warped and callous statement about the Iraq War than this one made by Senator Charles Schumer, when asked whether he would support a troop surge in Afghanistan: Yes. The bottom line is I think Obama’s trip was brilliant. Not in the short term, but in the long term, because it’s changed the whole debate. And the whole debate now is focused on Afghanistan more than on Iraq. So: It’s not the U.S. troops who gave everything so that Iraq has a chance at a stable, viable future. Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055043/posts#comment Fri, 1 Aug 2008 19:36:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053910/posts How does an Army chief of staff chew out his boss, the defense secretary? Gen. Eric K. Shinseki shows how it's done in this letter written to Donald H. Rumsfeld just before Shinseki stepped down in June 2003. During the run-up to the war, the general told Congress that more troops would be needed to secure Iraq, which earned him a famously public rebuke by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz. Shinseki was said to still be angry about the dust-up when he retired. The general's letter may be more history than news at this point, but its criticism of... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053910/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:27:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052526/posts So, how do you rebuild an overstressed — and perhaps broken — Army, whose soldiers endure the longest deployments? “You start by reorienting and prioritizing placement of forces,” Hagel says. That means phased withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and insertion of more troops into Afghanistan, where they are needed. Match priorities, objectives and policies with resources,” he says. Coordinate with a reoriented foreign policy that seeks and values allies, builds relationships, forms coalitions of common interest, he says. Use all the instruments of power, including diplomacy, trade, foreign aid. That’s soft power. And that’s big picture. It will take... Journalstar.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052526/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:32:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2052202/posts June 26, 2008 Marines who were killed in a suicide bomb attack during a city council meeting in Garma, Iraq, in Anbar Province. Photo by Zoriah Miller Just a Handful of Death Hat tip to Snooper of A Newt One. http://www.anewtone.com/Note: Radarsite has added bold emphasis and bracketed commentary.4,000 U.S. Deaths, and Just a Handful of Public ImagesFrom the New York Times TIM ARANGO Published: July 26, 2008 BAGHDAD — The case of a freelance photographer in Iraq who was barred from covering the Marines after he posted photos on the Internet of several of them dead has underscored... Radarsite http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2052202/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:00:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045353/posts Sen. Chuck Hagel said Sunday he views his upcoming trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Sen. Barack Obama as a means of helping build bipartisan consensus in foreign policy. Nebraska’s Republican senator acknowledged for the first time he’ll be traveling with the Democratic presidential nominee into the war zones by issuing a brief written statement. “U.S. policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are at the center of America’s national security,” Hagel said. “These critical issues must be addressed in a bipartisan manner that builds consensus for a bipartisan American foreign policy.” In a joint statement, Hagel and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.,... Journalstar.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045353/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:15:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043037/posts  Why Iraq Was Inevitable Arthur Herman July/August 2008 E-mail This Article to a Friend Subject: Why Iraq Was Inevitable Yes, I would like to receive periodic updates and information via e-mail from Commentary. Recipient Addresses: Separate each address with a comma. Your E-mail Address: Message: E-mail This Article to a Friend Thank You A link to "Why Iraq Was Inevitable" has been emailed to your friends. Most E-mailed articles: The Mind of Seymour HershWhy Iraq Was InevitableDictatorships & Double StandardsAre We Winning the War on Terror?Hugo Chávez's Jewish Problem According to an April 2008 poll in U.S. News &... Commentary http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043037/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 19:21:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2042762/posts It's hard to even begin to imagine the sacrifice... When they leave they are husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, yet they are willing to put it all aside and stand up for that one great cause that they believe in, that one great fight they believe will make the world that much of a better place. We often sometimes hear their story, and if we don't, we can see some of it in their faces, in their eyes, in the slightly measured walks as they come home. Often I can't watch without feeling... Patriot Actionn Live http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2042762/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 04:13:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041232/posts WHO/WHAT: On July 9, Vets for Freedom will hold a press conference—featuring over a dozen Iraq war veterans—to launch a national “Four Months, For Victory” media and grassroots campaign. The effort will culminate on Veterans Day (November 11) and is intended to inform the American public and key lawmakers about the phenomenal success that our troops have achieved as a result of the surge and the importance of ensuring victory in Iraq, Afghanistan and the overall Global war on Terrorism. The launch includes a multi-million dollar television-advertising buy in target markets and on national cable that will air next week... Vets for Freedom http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041232/posts#comment Sat, 5 Jul 2008 21:32:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040843/posts There is no challenge greater than the defense of our nation and our values. The men and women of our military –-– have signed up at a time when our troops face an ever-increasing load. Fighting a resurgent Taliban. Targeting al Qaeda. Persevering in the deserts and cities of Iraq. Training foreign militaries. Delivering humanitarian relief. In this young century, our military has answered when called, even as that call has come too often. Through their commitment, their capability, and their courage they have done us all proud. But we need to ease the burden on our troops, while meeting... Fog City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040843/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 20:02:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040513/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama insisted Thursday he had not changed his plan to order immediate troop withdrawals from Iraq, despite earlier saying he might refine his policies. Obama's attempts to clarify his Iraq policy, before a looming visit to the war zone, drew a triumphant response from the campaign of Republican presumptive nominee John McCain, a staunch supporter of the current war effort. Obama held two press conferences within hours in North Dakota, in an attempt to dispel reports that he was softening his proposal to get all combat troops home within 16 months, in... afp http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040513/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 00:21:30 GMT