W.House rejects lawmakers' call for Iraq pullout

Yahoo News ^ | NHAntiMassRedRebel

[R.W.Ratikal]

One thing is certain. We could continue the effort and expense in Irag for a hundred years and the situation would be the same. The whole Middle East has not moved forwad one iota in the last 2000 years.

So the question is, how long should we continue? Ten, fifteen, fifty, a hundred years or longer?

Democracy, as we know it, will come to the Middle East when camels can recite the Theory of Relativity while standing on their heads.

Time to go folks.

[Lakeshark]

My son is there right now. He says you are both full of crap.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

We will withdraw when the job is finished. Period.

OK...well when is the job finished? Are the Iraqis unfit to govern and protect themselves? Is it also our "moral" duty to install democratic governments in Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. At what point do we say that we have successfully brought the fight to Islamic terrorism, instead of having to fight it on our homeland? What is finished?

[kaktuskid]

Get 'em out, get 'em home

And turn it into an Iranian-allied Caliphilate run by head-choppers like Zarkie? (which we would need even MORE forces to contain, let alone fight!)

Why are we still in Germany? Japan? S Korea?

[ravingnutter]

Do you put a note on your door to tell the burglar when you are not going to be home?

[NHAntiMassRedRebel]

The reason that the first war didn't get the desired effect is because it was a UN mission to drive Iraq from Kuwait. It never happened because the UN wouldn't clear it.

G.H.W. Bush was in charge then, and yes, he should have broken ranks with the UN and done it.

The job has to get done first. Okay, HOW! Set a deadline and tell these people to get off their asses. These are the laziest people on Earth, as anybody who has been there can attest to. They will not take you seriously until you show them you mean business.

[NHAntiMassRedRebel]

Right. The same thing we did in Germany 60 some-odd years ago.

And we're STILL there.

Good plan.

[bluetone006]

Whoa - I think the reaction here is a bit over the top and borders on knee jerk. Let's be rational and civil and carefully read what the man had to say.

There is no doubt that the military, especially the Guard units, are under stress from deployments stretching back to Willie the snake. I don't agree we should pull out precipitously, especially considering the huge investment we have already made.

We are going to have to deal with the issue - and I think we are taking measured steps in that direction. Military realignment never happens quickly. It is going to take patience and money - a draft would never fly and wouldn't be good for the armed services anyway. Although, mandatory 2 year service for every 18 year old might be the dose of reality the average spoiled teenager needs.

[NHAntiMassRedRebel]

Yes. I want him to meet my Presa Canario.

[AzaleaCity5691]

Well the thing is, there ain't no way for us to boost American numbers there, without withdrawing from other committments.

We need to be talking to our "coalition of the willing" so that they can supply more troops. We also need to consider making a deal with Thabo Mbeki. South Africa still has nukes, and a strong military, and if we promised to give the South African business elite maybe, a 15% stake in all Iraqi oil revenues, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to join on. Not to mention, we would defend their near-colonial domination of neighbor states like Namibia and Botswana.

We've used the South Africans before, and it's not like they're the only nation we have to work with.

Now, as for the Russians, I say Nyet, a big Nyet, however, there are other countries with some kind of military we might entice. I wish right now we still had Suharto in our corner, cause Indonesia could easily provide troops, especially considering most of their military was trained by us.

[Types_with_Fist]

Here's one Freeper who thinks for himself and agrees with the both of you...

Same here. Thank you for your service in this. I take it you guys are not of the opinion that we can "Americanize" Iraq with McDonald's and Wal-Mart...:-)

Dittos on the border problem.

[Irontank]

Here's one Freeper who thinks for himself and agrees with the both of you

And another...conservatives used to disdain the notion that the US government should (or could successfully) engage in nation building...and we still do

[Blood of Tyrants]

You can't keep screwing the people who volunteered in good faith.

What the heck are you talking about, fool? Are you another who signed up just to get the benefits and are now bitching because you have to do what you swore to do? Suck it up and be a man and stop crying about how "unfair" it is.

[bill1952]

Interesting question, but falsely premised.

There is no absolute way to answer the request for a definite date because we are not in control of all of the variables in the world.

I wonder what you would have said after VE and VJ day?

When the situation is such that a real representative government can stand on it's own, then we can leave, but we should have a substantial presence there for the foreseeable future.

We had an enormous amount of troops in europe for decades, and at the beginning there was a substantial insurgent presence.
However, they couldn't long count on popular support from the exhasted survivors of those millions carpet bombed out of existence.

I understand your points about the level of troops needed, but surely you don't want us to fire bomb a couple of million Iraqis? -We could do it in about a week.

That would, after all, probably solve the problem once and for all.

As far as 1,700 casualties, that is a little more than half of the expected casualties projected to defeat Saddam alone.

Thank you for your service.

[troubled_vet]

...conservatives used to disdain the notion that the US government should (or could successfully) engage in nation building...and we still do.

Excellent. Thank you.

[andyandval]

I'm in marginal agreement with you. But the Halliburton stuff? Come on.

2004 Press Releases FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 23, 2004 Halliburton Credits Government $6.3 million for Potential Over billing until investigation complete - Company says: “We reported it immediately and we are cutting a check to the government just in case the over billing charge bears out. We will bear the cost of the overcharge - not the government.” -

[Ohioan]

We are there to build a functioning democracy in the flash point of the world, and you want to cut and run from a situation that will profoundly affect the security of the free world forever?

There is so much wrong with your brief statement, it is difficult to know where to start.

From Three Thousand years ago to 600 years ago, the area was infinitely more significant than it is now, save only for its oil resources. But you do nothing to address our access to its oil resources, by trying to "build a functioning democracy," in a land where the average I.Q. is under 90, where you have three or four antagonistic ethnicities, and where a great many of the common people hate our guts.

What evidence do you have that Democracy is suitable for Iraq, when the Founding Fathers premised our whole Constitutional situation of checks and balances, upon the perfectly rational idea that we needed protection from "Democracy," which in most places, throughout history, has ended up as mob rule?

There were reasons to attack Sadaam, but there is no reason to pursue the Leftist pipe dream of imposing Democracy in the Third World. That was the fantasy pursued by Dean Rusk in the 1960s, and the damage it did in many lands is still evident. (See Democracy In The Third World.)

William Flax

[listenhillary]

Lets see, pull out of Iraq, Iran and Syria kicks their ass and divides the spoils. Throws the oil markets into chaos, US economy tanks.

Wow! You've got it all figured out. Why aren't you in charge?