Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan As usual, you have to pay close attention to the news on a Friday afternoon or you miss the important stuff. And of course, that's exactly the time when most people aren't watching or reading news, especially before a 3-day weekend. It's no coincidence. >>In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon reported that illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of both security and basic social services. The report described a rising tide of sectarian violence, fed in part by interference from neighboring Iran and Syria and driven by a "vocal minority" of religious extremists who oppose the idea of a democratic Iraq. Death squads targeting mainly Iraqi civilians are a growing problem, heightening the risk of civil war, the report said. << <a href="http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/feeds/ap/2006/09/01/ap2989407.html" target="_blank">http://www.forbes.com/business /energy/feeds/ap/2006/09/01/ap2989407.html</a> So, where do we go from here? More of the same (the 'stay the course' approach)? Or is it time to hand over the reigns to the Iraqis? Is Rumsfeld the right man for the job? Are the benchmarks for victory the President set last year still achievable and/or 'worth' the cost? (Here's the plan, available in PDF): <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_strategy_nov2005.html" target="_blank">http://www.whitehouse.gov/info cus/iraq/iraq_strategy_nov2005.html</a> Whatta ya think?
Originally Posted By Ursula Turn left at Iran? I wish there was a simple answer, but we're in quite a mess over there.
Originally Posted By nancyan2 time for the boys to get their tiny cute buts back home to their families. We americans are a strong people and we know its time to put away the gernades and tanks. we should leave that desert now before the camel riders cook our tails.
Originally Posted By utahjosh We keep working with the Iraqi government to bring peace/control to the country. I'm guessing a y ear or two more. Eventually we leave it up to them, and 95% of our boys come home.
Originally Posted By Capstan The same way we got out of Vietnam. The honorable way. We sneak out.... (Here we go again....)
Originally Posted By jonvn that's about it. We'll declare victory and leave. Then we'll end up with a country in pieces that will be a theocracy very closely allied with Iran. Great job we did.
Originally Posted By tiggertoo Look, Iraq has had on the proverbial training wheels long enough. If aren’t able to solidify power by now, I seriously doubt it is ever going to happen. As it is, the terrorist insurgents know that the US cannot be there forever, and they also know that the Iraqi government will likely never solidify enough power to make it a viable ideological force in Iraq. Essentially, they are waiting for us to leave while they undermine the authority of the Parliamentary government. My opinion is, the longer we stay, the weaker the Iraqi government looks to the Iraqis and Middle Easterners abroad, and the harder it will be for them to be viewed as a legitimate government.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Being a lib I wish Saddam was still in power and running his rape rooms. [rolleyes]
Originally Posted By RoadTrip How we could actually get out of Iraq... Do like we always do in the Middle East. Make a deal with the devil. We cut a deal with Ahmadinejad. He is allowed to pursue a nuclear program for power generation only. He agrees to let U.N. inspectors come back on a regular basis to verify that weapons development is not going on. In exchange, Ahmadinejad agrees to stop financing Iraqi militias and use his influence with Shiites to convince them to make nice with the Sunnis. So... Ahmadinejad gets his nuclear program which we all know he would continue no matter what. At least this way he gets his ego stroked by having made a deal with the United States. In return we get his help in quelling the civil war so we can get the heck out of Iraq. Now we all know that sooner or later Ahmadinejad will move in and take control of Iraq. Who cares? As long as he keeps a lid on things long enough for us to get out, I don't care WHAT happens in the Middle East.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Did you notice that bush took a different tack this week. Instead of continually proclaiming that things are getting steadily better, he's now back to trying to make his case that iraq is somehow related to the 'war on terror'. He's even back to his old ploy of intoning solemnly about 9/11, and finishing with iraq in the same breath. These guys don't have many tricks up their sleeve, and we've already seen them all. But somebody in the white house must be reading the newspapers, and the multiple poll results that show that americans no longer believe that iraq is relevant to the war on terror. Too bad bush has all of his eggs in the iraq basket. If he wants to keep troops in there longer than the next few months he's going to have to show real and measureable improvement on the ground in iraq. Instead it's been getting steadily worse. That's not "lib talk", that's reality. And I don't think he can do it. Somebody else might, but not bush and not rumsfeld, cheney, and rice. As to the original question 'how do we get out of iraq' - it's exactly what the bush administration most wants to avoid - expulsion. They want to stay forever, if only for the contractors to milk out every last cent of blood money. History will not be kind to bush. I think his legacy will be so bad as to spread it's taint to include his father's term. The bush name will be forever sullied through time. That's some comfort, I guess.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <We keep working with the Iraqi government to bring peace/control to the country. I'm guessing a y ear or two more. Eventually we leave it up to them, and 95% of our boys come home.> Yeah. A year or two more. That ought to do it. 'Good luck, kids,' we'll add, 'Glad to have liberated ya.' And we'll all live happily ever after. Can we join hands now and sing 'kumbuyah'?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<History will not be kind to bush. I think his legacy will be so bad as to spread it's taint to include his father's term. The bush name will be forever sullied through time. That's some comfort, I guess.>> In the end Carter will be more highly respected than GW Bush.
Originally Posted By ecdc ^^^^I also noticed that Bush is back to stammering about how it's hard work. I'll never forget the Saturday Night Live skit with Bush stumbling on about how it's hard work, how he's working nights and weekends, "it's hard."
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Can we join hands now and sing 'kumbuyah'?>> Off topic, but had to comment... We saw Garrison Keillor and The Prairie Home Companion show at the Minnesota State Fair tonight. He really drew well -- probably about 15,000. At any rate... at one point in the show Keillor led the audience in singing 'Kumbuyah'. The show was awesome. Keillor puts you in a totally different world for three hours. The man can distill the Minnesota experience better than anyone else on earth. It's not always flattering, but is always homey and comfortable. We look at ourselves and blush, but at the same time are happy about who we are.
Originally Posted By debtee I don't know much about American political parties, so please forgive my ignorance if I say something wrong. I'm just wondering what the "other" (is it democrats?) party would do if they are voted into power in the next election? Would they immediately pull out of Iraq?
Originally Posted By DAR ^^^Truthfully I don't think anyone knows. And that's pretty much indicative of both parties nowadays. They're like me in my first two years of college don't really have a clue.
Originally Posted By ecdc "I'm just wondering what the "other" (is it democrats?) party would do if they are voted into power in the next election?" Contrary to popular Republican belief, many Democrats have proposed specific plans for Iraq. Most include a timetable for withdrawal and only differ on what that timetable should be and what conditions should be like in Iraq. Considering the Pentagon's new report, the sooner we get out, the better.
Originally Posted By YourPalEd <<<Can we join hands now and sing 'kumbuyah'?>>> I've never liked that song. I always preferred ghost stories.
