Why are we still in Iraq, anyway?

[JoeB131]

I bring this up, because Mike Pompeo seems to think that we should stay in Iraq after the Iraqi government specifically asked us to leave.

Iraqi PM tells Mike Pompeo to decide how to withdraw troops

We've been in Iraq for 17 years now this March. What are we still doing there? Why would we insist on staying if they don't want us there and we don't really want to be there?

 

[kyzr]

The Iraqis explained that the US is there to train Iraqis and to provide drone coverage.
Ostensibly no US forces are supposed to be in direct combat.

I'm okay with bringing troops home and saving money and lives, but Iran and ISIS look to be making trouble again. NATO bailed on Iraq, so maybe its time to get out too. If Iraq asks us to leave we should.

 

[JoeB131]

The Iraqis explained that the US is there to train Iraqis and to provide drone coverage.
Ostensibly no US forces are supposed to be in direct combat.

They no longer want us there, and we are using those drones to murder their citizens and guests.

So why are we still there?

 

[kyzr]

The Iraqis explained that the US is there to train Iraqis and to provide drone coverage.
Ostensibly no US forces are supposed to be in direct combat.

They no longer want us there, and we are using those drones to murder their citizens and guests.

So why are we still there?

If Iraq wants us out, fine. But they owe us for the cost of building those military bases, as Trump said.

 

[Fueri]

Because once we establish a strategic forward position we have a tendency to hang onto it.

 

[JoeB131]

If Iraq wants us out, fine. But they owe us for the cost of building those military bases, as Trump said.

Why? We built them for our own use...

Trump trying to save face is not a good reason to still be there.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Only the Iranian support in Iraq wants us out. The Iraqi side boycotted the vote.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

I bring this up, because Mike Pompeo seems to think that we should stay in Iraq after the Iraqi government specifically asked us to leave.

Iraqi PM tells Mike Pompeo to decide how to withdraw troops

We've been in Iraq for 17 years now this March. What are we still doing there? Why would we insist on staying if they don't want us there and we don't really want to be there?

W and O sent us there. Direct your concern there.

 

[BluesLegend]

Because Bush stupidly wiped out Iraq's army destabilizing the entire region positioning Iran to bully its neighbors.

 

[harmonica]

I bring this up, because Mike Pompeo seems to think that we should stay in Iraq after the Iraqi government specifically asked us to leave.

Iraqi PM tells Mike Pompeo to decide how to withdraw troops

We've been in Iraq for 17 years now this March. What are we still doing there? Why would we insist on staying if they don't want us there and we don't really want to be there?

...same as in Afghanistan---the battle against terrorism.......we can't really ''win''--but we want intel sources/assist against the bad guys
....

 

[harmonica]

I bring this up, because Mike Pompeo seems to think that we should stay in Iraq after the Iraqi government specifically asked us to leave.

Iraqi PM tells Mike Pompeo to decide how to withdraw troops

We've been in Iraq for 17 years now this March. What are we still doing there? Why would we insist on staying if they don't want us there and we don't really want to be there?

..we don't want a huge force there, but small, anti-terror forces

 

[JoeB131]

...same as in Afghanistan---the battle against terrorism.......we can't really ''win''--but we want intel sources/assist against the bad guys
....

Hey, I wasn't even going to bring up Afghanistan, where the Taliban runs the entire country out side of Kabul despite us being there for 19 years now with little to show for it.

The problem here is we are treating terrorism a crime as a military issue, which it isn't.

 

[lennypartiv]

I bring this up, because Mike Pompeo seems to think that we should stay in Iraq after the Iraqi government specifically asked us to leave.
Iraqi PM tells Mike Pompeo to decide how to withdraw troops
We've been in Iraq for 17 years now this March. What are we still doing there? Why would we insist on staying if they don't want us there and we don't really want to be there?

Our cars run on oil. Iraq has it, we need it. Do you liberals want us to ride bicycles everywhere?

 

[harmonica]

...same as in Afghanistan---the battle against terrorism.......we can't really ''win''--but we want intel sources/assist against the bad guys
....

Hey, I wasn't even going to bring up Afghanistan, where the Taliban runs the entire country out side of Kabul despite us being there for 19 years now with little to show for it.

The problem here is we are treating terrorism a crime as a military issue, which it isn't.

your mistake is ''little to show'
.....as I stated in many threads and here--you will NOT change their culture/poltics/etc...there WILL be ''little to show'''--it's NOT anything like WW2 where we took islands and worked our way to Germany.....it's not a TOTAL war--it's a war on terrorism/etc
..we are there to get information/intel on terrorists/bad guys.....it's a continuing/long/complex/difficult process .......
...we are there to hopefully assist training/helping.....

 

[kyzr]

If Iraq wants us out, fine. But they owe us for the cost of building those military bases, as Trump said.

Why? We built them for our own use...

Trump trying to save face is not a good reason to still be there.

Trump wants us all the way out of the ME to save tons of cash. We can't afford endless wars.
That $24T Debt is rising fast an it will bite us one of these years.

 

[JoeB131]

Our cars run on oil. Iraq has it, we need it. Do you liberals want us to ride bicycles everywhere?

We will get oil no matter who runs Iraq or Iran. THey still have to sell it.

Trump wants us all the way out of the ME to save tons of cash. We can't afford endless wars.
That $24T Debt is rising fast an it will bite us one of these years.

Well, maybe Trump shouldn't have given tax breaks to Millionaires, then.

your mistake is ''little to show'
.....as I stated in many threads and here--you will NOT change their culture/poltics/etc...there WILL be ''little to show'''--it's NOT anything like WW2 where we took islands and worked our way to Germany.....it's not a TOTAL war--it's a war on terrorism/etc
..we are there to get information/intel on terrorists/bad guys.....it's a continuing/long/complex/difficult process .......
...we are there to hopefully assist training/helping.....

Again, we've been over there for 19 years, and by any measure, we are probably worse off, as the instability spread from Afghanistan to Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, etc.

 

[lennypartiv]

We will get oil no matter who runs Iraq or Iran. THey still have to sell it.

If we don't use our leverage they could screw us on the price or sell it to someone else.

 

[ColonelAngus]

We have been in Japan, Germany, and Korea like 75 years.

 

[JoeB131]

If we don't use our leverage they could screw us on the price or sell it to someone else.

Oil is a commodity. It doesn't matter who you sell it to. There's a finite demand and a finite supply.

Of course, we could do something as breathtakingly rational as try to wean ourselves off of petroleum. We've been on this merry-go-round since 1974 when the Arabs closed off the spigots because we saved Israel in 1973.

We have been in Japan, Germany, and Korea like 75 years.

As invited guests... not unwanted invaders.

 

[ColonelAngus]

If we don't use our leverage they could screw us on the price or sell it to someone else.

Oil is a commodity. It doesn't matter who you sell it to. There's a finite demand and a finite supply.

Of course, we could do something as breathtakingly rational as try to wean ourselves off of petroleum. We've been on this merry-go-round since 1974 when the Arabs closed off the spigots because we saved Israel in 1973.

We have been in Japan, Germany, and Korea like 75 years.

As invited guests... not unwanted invaders.

Ahhh, I didn’t realize Germany and Japan invited our troops. Was that AFTER we Nuked Japan twice? They rolled out the red carpet and invited our troops?