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Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
Please extend our gratitude to your son for his service, sincerely hope he comes home soon and safe.
Look, I don't like being in Iraq any more than the next guy, but what'll happen if we leave before they're ready to defend themselves? You think Iran wouldn't take over by any means necessary? We gave those people a shot at liberty and democracy, and we paid a heavy price to do it. Maybe they won't make it anyway, but in view of the situation across the entire middle east, it's a good thing to have an example of a democracy right in the middle of the muddle. I'm guessing there are a lot of young people over there in the entire muslim world that want what Iraq's got. Let's hope the sacrifices we made were worth it.
So he'd love you're avatar, he has a few of those too!
Why do we have to with draw completely from Iraq? makes no sense to me, we are still in friken Europe, Korea, Japan. We should keep a base there as a deterrent for the Iranians.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
Please extend our gratitude to your son for his service, sincerely hope he comes home soon and safe.
Look, I don't like being in Iraq any more than the next guy, but what'll happen if we leave before they're ready to defend themselves? You think Iran wouldn't take over by any means necessary? We gave those people a shot at liberty and democracy, and we paid a heavy price to do it. Maybe they won't make it anyway, but in view of the situation across the entire middle east, it's a good thing to have an example of a democracy right in the middle of the muddle. I'm guessing there are a lot of young people over there in the entire muslim world that want what Iraq's got. Let's hope the sacrifices we made were worth it.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
Please extend our gratitude to your son for his service, sincerely hope he comes home soon and safe.
Look, I don't like being in Iraq any more than the next guy, but what'll happen if we leave before they're ready to defend themselves? You think Iran wouldn't take over by any means necessary? We gave those people a shot at liberty and democracy, and we paid a heavy price to do it. Maybe they won't make it anyway, but in view of the situation across the entire middle east, it's a good thing to have an example of a democracy right in the middle of the muddle. I'm guessing there are a lot of young people over there in the entire muslim world that want what Iraq's got. Let's hope the sacrifices we made were worth it.
Your post makes alot of sense and I agree with you however how long should we stay? we have already been in Iraq 8 years and have spent billions of dollars, I personally think the situation in Iraq is as good as it is going to get, I don't know how much better we can make things over there, at this point right now it is on the Iraqis to decide what they want for their country, to be Irans bitch, turn back into a Saddam like dictatorship or actually try to become a democracy.
Please extend our gratitude to your son for his service, sincerely hope he comes home soon and safe.
Look, I don't like being in Iraq any more than the next guy, but what'll happen if we leave before they're ready to defend themselves? You think Iran wouldn't take over by any means necessary? We gave those people a shot at liberty and democracy, and we paid a heavy price to do it. Maybe they won't make it anyway, but in view of the situation across the entire middle east, it's a good thing to have an example of a democracy right in the middle of the muddle. I'm guessing there are a lot of young people over there in the entire muslim world that want what Iraq's got. Let's hope the sacrifices we made were worth it.
Your post makes alot of sense and I agree with you however how long should we stay? we have already been in Iraq 8 years and have spent billions of dollars, I personally think the situation in Iraq is as good as it is going to get, I don't know how much better we can make things over there, at this point right now it is on the Iraqis to decide what they want for their country, to be Irans bitch, turn back into a Saddam like dictatorship or actually try to become a democracy.
How long? Not very, IMHO. I think they're already asking us to go, so we should go. If it's my call, we're gone by the end of this year. Same with Afghanistan, everybody comes home. Sooner or later they'll have to float their own boat, and besides, we ain't got the money any more. Not to mention the lives lost.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
I appreciate your post and I applaude your son for his service, and yes there are Iraqis that like the US and want Americans there, however there is a great deal of Iraqis that despise us and want us gone, like Moqtada Al Sadr and his followers. Americans are just not safe in Iraq, if me or you went walking down the streets in downtown Baghdad or Tikrit with no security we would be fucking dead or kidnapped, the only safe place in Iraq for Americans is Kurdistan in the North, thats it.
Not all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
I appreciate your post and I applaude your son for his service, and yes there are Iraqis that like the US and want Americans there, however there is a great deal of Iraqis that despise us and want us gone, like Moqtada Al Sadr and his followers. Americans are just not safe in Iraq, if me or you went walking down the streets in downtown Baghdad or Tikrit with no security we would be fucking dead or kidnapped, the only safe place in Iraq for Americans is Kurdistan in the North, thats it.
Thank you, and i totally agree. One deployment sent my son for a year in Baghdad...I WAS A BASKET CASE FOR THAT WHOLE YEAR! He told me that once on a patrol they took a wrong turn and went into Sadr City...NOBODY goes into that area. He said he'd never seen those vehicles go so fast to get out of a place! Lol! His camp was always being mortered..every day. He was with the 101st Airborne then...and Thank God, they all came home safe!
People told me the same thing when I told them I'd driven thru Liberty city, FloridaNot all of them...my son's been there 3 times, and he said many of the citizens were very helpful, wanted to know how to join the american army, the kids were always around wanting them to play, women would bring them food on guard duty. Many Iraqi's worked right on the bases with them. He just felt very sorry for them...with all the extremists in the area, he never knew if he's see someone again - the good ones are the ones that get blown up. It's very hard to see your 26 yr old son crying over what he saw over there, out of frustration of not being able to do enough to help.
I appreciate your post and I applaude your son for his service, and yes there are Iraqis that like the US and want Americans there, however there is a great deal of Iraqis that despise us and want us gone, like Moqtada Al Sadr and his followers. Americans are just not safe in Iraq, if me or you went walking down the streets in downtown Baghdad or Tikrit with no security we would be fucking dead or kidnapped, the only safe place in Iraq for Americans is Kurdistan in the North, thats it.
Thank you, and i totally agree. One deployment sent my son for a year in Baghdad...I WAS A BASKET CASE FOR THAT WHOLE YEAR! He told me that once on a patrol they took a wrong turn and went into Sadr City...NOBODY goes into that area. He said he'd never seen those vehicles go so fast to get out of a place! Lol! His camp was always being mortered..every day. He was with the 101st Airborne then...and Thank God, they all came home safe!
Why do we have to with draw completely from Iraq? makes no sense to me, we are still in friken Europe, Korea, Japan. We should keep a base there as a deterrent for the Iranians.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Why do we have to with draw completely from Iraq? makes no sense to me, we are still in friken Europe, Korea, Japan. We should keep a base there as a deterrent for the Iranians.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Actually, they don't 'hate us'. Most ordinary Iraqis like the US. Of course, they want their country back... a stable, solid country with a future. We should do what is necessary to ensure they have that. If it means leaving troops there longer, then that is what we should do. Personally, I would prefer that than to see the country go to hell in a handbasket after we leave.
Well those countries have asked us to stay, the Iraqis hate us and want us to get the fuck out.
Actually, they don't 'hate us'. Most ordinary Iraqis like the US. Of course, they want their country back... a stable, solid country with a future. We should do what is necessary to ensure they have that. If it means leaving troops there longer, then that is what we should do. Personally, I would prefer that than to see the country go to hell in a handbasket after we leave.
Troops probably need to be there for security reasons but I don't even know if we can afford it, it costs billions to keep the troops in Iraq and from what I understand they are reviewing the war in Afghanistan and the price is the whats being evaulated first, I think its setting in at the top that we really can't afford to be in Iraq or Afghanistan for too much longer at least at this volume.
Actually, they don't 'hate us'. Most ordinary Iraqis like the US. Of course, they want their country back... a stable, solid country with a future. We should do what is necessary to ensure they have that. If it means leaving troops there longer, then that is what we should do. Personally, I would prefer that than to see the country go to hell in a handbasket after we leave.
Troops probably need to be there for security reasons but I don't even know if we can afford it, it costs billions to keep the troops in Iraq and from what I understand they are reviewing the war in Afghanistan and the price is the whats being evaulated first, I think its setting in at the top that we really can't afford to be in Iraq or Afghanistan for too much longer at least at this volume.
Sometimes, you have to look at the picture from another angle, HG. Rather than asking 'can we afford to leave them there?' perhaps the question should be 'can we afford to leave?' I would prefer we not leave and have the country disintegrate to the point that we have to go back again in a few years. The question is 'can we afford to risk walking away before we have secured the place'.
Troops probably need to be there for security reasons but I don't even know if we can afford it, it costs billions to keep the troops in Iraq and from what I understand they are reviewing the war in Afghanistan and the price is the whats being evaulated first, I think its setting in at the top that we really can't afford to be in Iraq or Afghanistan for too much longer at least at this volume.
Sometimes, you have to look at the picture from another angle, HG. Rather than asking 'can we afford to leave them there?' perhaps the question should be 'can we afford to leave?' I would prefer we not leave and have the country disintegrate to the point that we have to go back again in a few years. The question is 'can we afford to risk walking away before we have secured the place'.
Those are very good questions you have asked, to be honest I think the situation on the ground in Iraq is probably as good as its going to get as far as our Troops go, we finally got the Iraqis to stop massacring themselves in large numbers and our troop Casualties are way down there (of course due to a reduced presence) Iraqi Troops and Police have taken over security in most parts of the country, I don't know how much better we can make it because the Iraqi Police and Military will never be up to the same standards of our Troops and Police. If the Iraqis want us to stay beyond this year we really need to sit down and discuss what our goals are there.
Sometimes, you have to look at the picture from another angle, HG. Rather than asking 'can we afford to leave them there?' perhaps the question should be 'can we afford to leave?' I would prefer we not leave and have the country disintegrate to the point that we have to go back again in a few years. The question is 'can we afford to risk walking away before we have secured the place'.
Those are very good questions you have asked, to be honest I think the situation on the ground in Iraq is probably as good as its going to get as far as our Troops go, we finally got the Iraqis to stop massacring themselves in large numbers and our troop Casualties are way down there (of course due to a reduced presence) Iraqi Troops and Police have taken over security in most parts of the country, I don't know how much better we can make it because the Iraqi Police and Military will never be up to the same standards of our Troops and Police. If the Iraqis want us to stay beyond this year we really need to sit down and discuss what our goals are there.
Nice discussion, does anyone have nay numbvers for what it cost us to be in Iraq in 2010? I assume less than 2009 and earlier but have no numbers.
I thought that the situation on the ground determined policy? Or is that only when the NeoCons are running things?Just one more thing the teleprompter user is gonna have to explain away during the '12 campaign.Pentagon Having Second Thoughts On Iraq Withdrawal
WASHINGTON Eight months shy of its deadline for pulling the last American soldier from Iraq and closing the door on an 8-year war, the Pentagon is having second thoughts.
Reluctant to say it publicly, officials fear a final pullout in December could create a security vacuum, offering an opportunity for power grabs by antagonists in an unresolved and simmering Arab-Kurd dispute, a weakened but still active al-Qaida or even an adventurous neighbor such as Iran.
The U.S. wants to keep perhaps several thousand troops in Iraq, not to engage in combat but to guard against an unraveling of a still-fragile peace. This was made clear during Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit Thursday and Friday in which he and the top U.S. commander in Iraq talked up the prospect of an extended U.S. stay.
How big a military commitment might the U.S. be willing to make beyond 2011? "It just depends on what the Iraqis want and what we're able to provide and afford," Gates said Thursday at a U.S. base in the northern city of Mosul where U.S. soldiers advise and mentor Iraqi forces. He said the U.S. would consider a range of possibilities, from staying an extra couple of years to remaining in Iraq as permanent partners.
Less clear is whether the Iraqis will ask for any extension.
Powerful political winds are blowing against such a move even as U.S. officials assert that Iraqi leaders Sunni, Shiite and Kurd are saying privately they see a need for help developing their air defenses and other military capabilities. U.S. training of Iraqi forces up to now has focused on combating an internal enemy, including al-Qaida, rather than external threats.
If the Iraqis choose not to ask for more help, then Dec. 31 probably will mark the end of U.S. military intervention that was so close to failing when Gates became Pentagon chief in December 2006. He once said the U.S. faced the prospect of a "strategic disaster" at the heart of the Middle East.
Meghan O'Sullivan, a top adviser on Iraq to President George W. Bush when his administration negotiated the 2008 security agreement that set upcoming deadline for a final U.S. military withdrawal, said time is too short to negotiate a full reworking of that legal pact.
"The question is, can both sides agree on something more modest but which still provides an adequate legal basis for a smaller number of American troops to stay in Iraq, with quite defined missions?" she said in an email exchange last week. O'Sullivan is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School.
Pentagon Having Second Thoughts On Iraq Withdrawal
One thing is for sure, that boys got some serious 'splainin' to do!
As the clock ticks toward full US military withdrawal from Iraq, American officials who want troops to stay longer continue to warn of a growing Iranian threat. Some argue that the diminishing US presence is turning Iraq into an even-more contentious regional battlefield, giving rise to a low-grade war between the remaining American forces and what the US says are militias tied directly to Irans Revolutionary Guard.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose rule is dependent on Iraqi parties with ties to Iran, appears unable or unwilling to crack down on the most lethal Iranian-back militias, blamed for June attacks that killed the largest number of American forces in two years. While military officials say Iraqi security forces have continued to fight Shiite militias linked to Iran, the US is increasingly conducting attacks alone attacks authorized for self-defense under the status of forces agreement between Washington and Baghdad that expires this year.
We always want to work with the Iraqi security forces but were not going to sit back and get shot at and cant defend ourselves. So if we cant have the help or dont have the help then we will in fact act to defend ourselves, says US military spokesman Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan. For example, says General Buchanan, US Apache helicopters fired on Iraqis shooting rockets at the US base at the Basra airport last month.
They engaged and killed them that was an act of self defense. It would have been far better for all had the Iraqi Army been able to prevent the attack or respond to it and stop it in action but things like that happen... what were not going to do is sit back and watch them shoot at us and wait for the Iraqi army to show up, he says.
15 American fatalities in June
Tens of thousands of followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al Sadr staged a military-style parade Thursday in Baghdad to demand that US troops leave the country as scheduled by Dec. 31, a show of force intended to intimidate Iraqi officials who favor asking that some American troops stay on. Dressed in T-shirts emblazoned with Iraqi flags, the men marched in groups of 100, swinging their arms in a military fashion as they passed a reviewing stand filled with Shiite clerics in the impoverished Shiite Sadr City section of Baghdad, named after Sadr's father.
"No, no, America. No, no, Israel," they chanted. To set the tempo, they punctuated their march by calling out "Mahdi," a reference to the disbanded Mahdi Army militia, in what sounded like a warning that it could be reconstituted if US forces remain after year's end. Sadr is the first major political leader to stage a public demonstration in what's expected to be a heated national debate during the next two months over the American troop presence. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said earlier this month that he'd decide by the end of July whether to seek a new agreement that would let US troops stay longer.
In a speech Tuesday in Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he favored extending the American presence, noting that the Iraqi military will need help with logistics, intelligence and defending its airspace and that a continued US military presence will send a "powerful signal that we're not leaving, that we will continue to play a part."
"All I can say is, from the standpoint of Iraq's future but also our role in the region, I hope they figure out a way to ask," Gates said. The Sadr march, which lasted more than four hours, was interrupted about every 20 minutes by staged burnings of US and Israeli flags. "We reject on principle the presence of foreign troops on Iraqi soil, and therefore we reject the idea of extending the American presence," Hakim al Zamili, a member of Sadr's bloc in parliament, told McClatchy.
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