Does anyone care we won the war in IRAQ?

[kiwiman127]

JRK it doesn't matter, the people that opposed the war won't change their stance.

I supported going into Afghanistan for the obvious reason but taking a majority of resources and applying them to Iraq lengthened our efforts in Afghanistan. I would care to bet that if the US has stayed focused on Afghanistan, we'd be long gone from that shit hole.
Many lives wouldn't have been lost, many more lives wouldn't be ruined and the US would be far better off financially.

Do you realize the people we were fighting in Iraq were the same people we were fighting in Afgahn?
al-Qaeda in Iraq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From your link:
"Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is a popular name for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is recognized as a part of the greater Iraqi insurgency.
The group was founded in 2003 and first led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in October 2004. It was initially operating under the name Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Arabic: جماعة التوحيد والجهاد*, "Group of Monotheism and Jihad"); since 2004 its official name is Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) ("Organization of Jihad's Base in the Country of the Two Rivers").[4] Foreign (non-Iraqi) fighters are widely thought to play a key role in its network."

<Snip>


"In January 2003, Ansar's founder Mullah Krekar denied any connection with Saddam's regime.[8] The consensus of intelligence officials has since concluded that there were no links whatsoever between Zarqawi and Saddam, and that Saddam viewed Ansar al-Islam "as a threat to the regime" and his intelligence officials were spying on the group. The Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq concluded in 2006, "Postwar information indicates that Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and that the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi."

al-Qaeda in Iraq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[High_Gravity]

I supported going into Afghanistan for the obvious reason but taking a majority of resources and applying them to Iraq lengthened our efforts in Afghanistan. I would care to bet that if the US has stayed focused on Afghanistan, we'd be long gone from that shit hole.
Many lives wouldn't have been lost, many more lives wouldn't be ruined and the US would be far better off financially.

I think if we had not went into Iraq and just focused on Afghanistan things would be a great deal better, but we wouldn't be gone completely. Afghanistan is a country that has had no standing government, Military or any kind of real infrastructure in decades, I think we would still be there but most of the fighting would have been done.

Just like Iraq, we went in there under-manned. Surge,,anyone?

We don't have enough troops to really do an effective surge in Afghanistan like we did in Iraq, Afghanistan is a larger country with a much more hostile terrain, we would need at least 500,000 Troops to successfully quell the insurgency in that country. Everytime we beat their asses they have plenty of places to run to for food and shelter.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Does anyone care we won the war in IRAQ?

A war that we started for no justifiable reason in which tens of thousands of lives were lost.

 

[jillian]

I have realized that the liberals are going to do what ever it takes to taint the great victory in Iraq
Does anyone realize that war is over and it looks like we will be 100% gone in 6 months?
That there is a republic in place?
and that women vote and hold office?
I had no idea that the liberal media and there cock suckers would go to the level they have to make the troops look bad and make the success they fought hard for look like, well ask Drock and that crew
I dont even know how to explain it
DOES ANYBODY CARE WE WON?

i don't think anyone thinks the troops look bad. that's another bubbemeitzer.

but what did we win?

 

[asterism]

We did pretty much win it.

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

 

[Sallow]

JRK it doesn't matter, the people that opposed the war won't change their stance.

I supported going into Afghanistan for the obvious reason but taking a majority of resources and applying them to Iraq lengthened our efforts in Afghanistan. I would care to bet that if the US has stayed focused on Afghanistan, we'd be long gone from that shit hole.
Many lives wouldn't have been lost, many more lives wouldn't be ruined and the US would be far better off financially.

I think if we had not went into Iraq and just focused on Afghanistan things would be a great deal better, but we wouldn't be gone completely. Afghanistan is a country that has had no standing government, Military or any kind of real infrastructure in decades, I think we would still be there but most of the fighting would have been done.

Panama should have been the template for Afghanistan. In..get your man..out.

 

[kiwiman127]

I think if we had not went into Iraq and just focused on Afghanistan things would be a great deal better, but we wouldn't be gone completely. Afghanistan is a country that has had no standing government, Military or any kind of real infrastructure in decades, I think we would still be there but most of the fighting would have been done.

Just like Iraq, we went in there under-manned. Surge,,anyone?

We don't have enough troops to really do an effective surge in Afghanistan like we did in Iraq, Afghanistan is a larger country with a much more hostile terrain, we would need at least 500,000 Troops to successfully quell the insurgency in that country. Every time we beat their asses they have plenty of places to run to for food and shelter.

I realize that,,,,my main point is that we went in undermanned. Undermanned enough to NOT gain solid control of the country. There was a point, that the Taliban was almost sans from the country and that was with much lower troop levels that are in Afghanistan now. By being undermanned, we allowed the Taliban to regroup and grow. Off course I'm not a expert, it's just what I read from testimony in front of Congress by various intelligence and military higher-up officials.

 

[asterism]

I have realized that the liberals are going to do what ever it takes to taint the great victory in Iraq
Does anyone realize that war is over and it looks like we will be 100% gone in 6 months?
That there is a republic in place?
and that women vote and hold office?
I had no idea that the liberal media and there cock suckers would go to the level they have to make the troops look bad and make the success they fought hard for look like, well ask Drock and that crew
I dont even know how to explain it
DOES ANYBODY CARE WE WON?

Yes, I care that we've "won".

However, I care more that Jr. invaded the wrong country and fought an unjust war using 9/11 as a selling point. OBL was in Afghanistan/Pakistan, not Iraq.

Additionally, there were NO WMD's.

Saddam is who kept the Taliban OUT of Iraq, but when we invaded and took him out, the Taliban then moved in.

As far as the job the military did? They did the best they could with incompetent leadership under Jr. who sent them into battle without proper armor for the humvees.

Yeah, I care the war is over, but I care more that we shouldn't have gone in the first place.

That's bullshit.

Zarqawi left Afghanistan and set up his base in Iraq before our force invaded.

"Terror Base Released in a general amnesty in 1999, al-Zarqawi returns to Afghanistan and the jihad. He meets Osama bin Laden in 2000 but doesn&#65533;t join al-Qaeda. He runs a terrorist-training camp in western Afghanistan.
New Frontier After the fall of the Taliban, al-Zarqawi slips out through Iran to northern Iraq, linking up with local terrorism groups. He achieves global notoriety when Colin Powell names him in his February 2003 U.N. speech laying out the U.S.&#65533;s case for invading Iraq."

TIMELINE: Zarqawi's road to perdition. - TIME

 

[Sallow]

Would anyone really care if Mike Tyson knocked out Gary Coleman?

Yes.

Okay..it never happened..but this is an incredible simulation of what might have happened. That is of course..Tyson was short. And White.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glb2U6y-GdU]Kid Rock - Cowboy (Enhanced Video) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[uscitizen]

We did pretty much win it.

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

so Iraq was a defensive action?

 

[DaGoose]

We did pretty much win it.

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

None of those reasons can possibly justify the loss of thousands of our military men and women.

Iraq ONCE possessed WMD. We know that because WE sold them to them during the Reagan Administration. But there were no significant WMD ever found.

Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11.

Iraq never sought "yellow cake".

Iraq was no threat to us or any other nation.

Iraq was 100% contained.

Am I glad we won? Of course. We should celebrate the victory. But was there really any other possible outcome?

Bottom line? We won. We should be glad we won. But we should never have invaded in the first place. There was no reason to send our kids there to fight and die.

Yes. We should celebrate victory. But we should learn from this and never wage war without proper authentication or threat to us or our interests. Invading Iraq was a vary, very bad decision.

.

 

[asterism]

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

so Iraq was a defensive action?

If by defense you mean a good offense, yes.

 

[asterism]

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

None of those reasons can possibly justify the loss of thousands of our military men and women.

Obviously I disagree, and I'm glad we don't have to find out what an empowered terrorist sponsor with zero obstacles would have done. Saddam broke the cease-fire. That cannot go unchallenged.

Iraq ONCE possessed WMD. We know that because WE sold them to them during the Reagan Administration. But there were no significant WMD ever found.

Artillery shells with sarin in binary agent form are quite significant.

Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11.

True.

Iraq never sought "yellow cake".

False.

Iraq was no threat to us or any other nation.

False.

Iraq was 100% contained.

False. Iraq was the next best place for Al Qaeda to operate, it's why Zarqawi went there after his base in Afghanistan was destroyed. Saddam harbored Abu Nidal and had his Republican Guard successfully infiltrate and manipulate the PKK.

Am I glad we won? Of course. We should celebrate the victory. But was there really any other possible outcome?

Ask Jack Murtha.

Bottom line? We won. We should be glad we won. But we should never have invaded in the first place. There was no reason to send our kids there to fight and die.

Yes. We should celebrate victory. But we should learn from this and never wage war without proper authentication or threat to us or our interests. Invading Iraq was a vary, very bad decision.

.

I'm pretty sure there was a vote in Congress about invading Iraq.

 

[kiwiman127]

I have realized that the liberals are going to do what ever it takes to taint the great victory in Iraq
Does anyone realize that war is over and it looks like we will be 100% gone in 6 months?
That there is a republic in place?
and that women vote and hold office?
I had no idea that the liberal media and there cock suckers would go to the level they have to make the troops look bad and make the success they fought hard for look like, well ask Drock and that crew
I dont even know how to explain it
DOES ANYBODY CARE WE WON?

Yes, I care that we've "won".

However, I care more that Jr. invaded the wrong country and fought an unjust war using 9/11 as a selling point. OBL was in Afghanistan/Pakistan, not Iraq.

Additionally, there were NO WMD's.

Saddam is who kept the Taliban OUT of Iraq, but when we invaded and took him out, the Taliban then moved in.

As far as the job the military did? They did the best they could with incompetent leadership under Jr. who sent them into battle without proper armor for the humvees.

Yeah, I care the war is over, but I care more that we shouldn't have gone in the first place.

That's bullshit.

Zarqawi left Afghanistan and set up his base in Iraq before our force invaded.

"Terror Base Released in a general amnesty in 1999, al-Zarqawi returns to Afghanistan and the jihad. He meets Osama bin Laden in 2000 but doesn&#65533;t join al-Qaeda. He runs a terrorist-training camp in western Afghanistan.
New Frontier After the fall of the Taliban, al-Zarqawi slips out through Iran to northern Iraq, linking up with local terrorism groups. He achieves global notoriety when Colin Powell names him in his February 2003 U.N. speech laying out the U.S.&#65533;s case for invading Iraq."

TIMELINE: Zarqawi's road to perdition. - TIME

Frok your link:

"New Frontier After the fall of the Taliban, al-Zarqawi slips out through Iran to northern Iraq, linking up with local terrorism groups. He achieves global notoriety when Colin Powell names him in his February 2003 U.N. speech laying out the U.S.&#65533;s case for invading Iraq.

Blow by Blow In the summer of 2003, al-Zarqawi&#65533;s group, al-Tawhid wal-Jihad launches a deadly suicide-bombing campaign in Iraq, including attacks on the U.N. compound in Baghdad, killing 22, and the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, killing about 100"


Read more: TIMELINE: Zarqawi's road to perdition. - TIME

So again, al-Zarqawi was not part of al Qaeda until after the US invasion. The "local terrorism groups" he linked up with were enemies of Saddam, as they were Kurds that attacked Saddam's Iraq. That group was formed after Saddam gassed the Kurds.

Look, I'm not defending Saddam by any measure, it is just that some people are taking things out of context and stretching it just to make their point.

 

[Dragon]

A battle won is sadder than anything else in the world, except a battle lost.

When you win a battle, you may rejoice that you didn't lose the battle, but at the same time must mourn the fact that you had to fight it.

And when you didn't have to fight it -- as in Iraq we did not -- then win or lose, you must hang your head in shame.

 

[JRK]

What did we really win?

Iraq is no longer a state sponsor of terror using a bribery scheme to subvert the UN Security Council.

Iran and Syria know our military is not the paper tiger scared by some saber rattling.

France, Germany, Russia and China know that they can't use the UN to dictate our defense.

None of those reasons can possibly justify the loss of thousands of our military men and women.

Iraq ONCE possessed WMD. We know that because WE sold them to them during the Reagan Administration. But there were no significant WMD ever found.

Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11.

Iraq never sought "yellow cake".

Iraq was no threat to us or any other nation.

Iraq was 100% contained.

Am I glad we won? Of course. We should celebrate the victory. But was there really any other possible outcome?

Bottom line? We won. We should be glad we won. But we should never have invaded in the first place. There was no reason to send our kids there to fight and die.

Yes. We should celebrate victory. But we should learn from this and never wage war without proper authentication or threat to us or our interests. Invading Iraq was a vary, very bad decision.

.

ok the weapons
Don't expect any apologies from the rest of the world or even any acknowledgment that they were wrong. The narrative is set and nothing will change it.
Defense.gov News Article: Munitions Found in Iraq Meet WMD Criteria, Official Says
WikiLeaks Show WMD Hunt Continued in Iraq &#8211; With Surprising Results | Danger Room | Wired.com
ok the yellow cake
Evidence of WMDs presence in Iraq. - a knol by Luis T. Puig
The yellow cake was discovered by US troops after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq at the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Facility south of Baghdad, and was placed under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency."
It was not about Saddam being contained
I also would like to remind you that the UN made the accusation of 6500 munitions that were missing, along with a large amount of anthrax and nerve gas 6 weeks prior to our invasion
how did we know then he was not a threat?
we do now, your right on now

 

[ABikerSailor]

Condi Rice even said there was no yellowcake.

Fail.

No, speaking as a US Navy sailor who was serving on active duty at the time of 9/11 and the beginning of the war, I have always been against our incursion into Iraq.

Jr. was just pissed that someone threatened his daddy.

 

[JRK]

A battle won is sadder than anything else in the world, except a battle lost.

When you win a battle, you may rejoice that you didn't lose the battle, but at the same time must mourn the fact that you had to fight it.

And when you didn't have to fight it -- as in Iraq we did not -- then win or lose, you must hang your head in shame.

why do you fell we did not have to fight it?
shame?
wow, that's a first
never mind, just stay there and hang your head in shame that the man that killed around one million of his own people. mostly with gas, is gone
Thats a shame that man is gone huh?

 

[asterism]

Yes, I care that we've "won".

However, I care more that Jr. invaded the wrong country and fought an unjust war using 9/11 as a selling point. OBL was in Afghanistan/Pakistan, not Iraq.

Additionally, there were NO WMD's.

Saddam is who kept the Taliban OUT of Iraq, but when we invaded and took him out, the Taliban then moved in.

As far as the job the military did? They did the best they could with incompetent leadership under Jr. who sent them into battle without proper armor for the humvees.

Yeah, I care the war is over, but I care more that we shouldn't have gone in the first place.

That's bullshit.

Zarqawi left Afghanistan and set up his base in Iraq before our force invaded.

"Terror Base Released in a general amnesty in 1999, al-Zarqawi returns to Afghanistan and the jihad. He meets Osama bin Laden in 2000 but doesn&#65533;t join al-Qaeda. He runs a terrorist-training camp in western Afghanistan.
New Frontier After the fall of the Taliban, al-Zarqawi slips out through Iran to northern Iraq, linking up with local terrorism groups. He achieves global notoriety when Colin Powell names him in his February 2003 U.N. speech laying out the U.S.&#65533;s case for invading Iraq."

TIMELINE: Zarqawi's road to perdition. - TIME

Frok your link:

"New Frontier After the fall of the Taliban, al-Zarqawi slips out through Iran to northern Iraq, linking up with local terrorism groups. He achieves global notoriety when Colin Powell names him in his February 2003 U.N. speech laying out the U.S.&#65533;s case for invading Iraq.

Blow by Blow In the summer of 2003, al-Zarqawi&#65533;s group, al-Tawhid wal-Jihad launches a deadly suicide-bombing campaign in Iraq, including attacks on the U.N. compound in Baghdad, killing 22, and the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, killing about 100"


Read more: TIMELINE: Zarqawi's road to perdition. - TIME

So again, al-Zarqawi was not part of al Qaeda until after the US invasion. The "local terrorism groups" he linked up with were enemies of Saddam, as they were Kurds that attacked Saddam's Iraq. That group was formed after Saddam gassed the Kurds.

Look, I'm not defending Saddam by any measure, it is just that some people are taking things out of context and stretching it just to make their point.

That's always been the tricky part of trying to explain middle eastern terrorism. Alliances are loose and convenient. This was not a war on bin laden nor a war on al qaeda. It was a war on all terrorist groups identified as significant threats.

Zarqawi was an al qaeda "affiliate" for quite some time before he located in Afghanistan. He trained terrorists for bin laden and did the same thing in Iraq. He did not publicly identify as part of al qaeda until 2004. That's a distinction without a difference.

As to his "enemy of Saddam" comment, again the alliances are loose and convenient. Ansar Al-Islam was infiltrated and controlled by members of Saddam's Republican Guard.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Besides, the only reason we went strong in Iraq rather than Afghanistan/Pakistan was because Iraq has oil, the other place doesn't.