Comments on: Democrats Push to Start Iraq Withdrawal

By: anjin-san

anjin-san — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:16:29 +0000

>I don’t think we’re going to be receptive to the notion there’s a fixed timetable at which we automatically pull out, because that could be a true disaster for the Iraqi people.

As opposed to whats already happened?

By: Steven Plunk

Steven Plunk — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:44:34 +0000

Perhaps the worst did not happen in Vietnam but some very bad things did happen. As far as vacationing there today it's more than thirty years since the war.

Maintaining a force in Iraq is not about American pride it's about sound policy and strategic goals. If we let our foreign policy and defense policy be decided by committee I think we will end up with a wishy washy plan that accomplishes no goals and damages our credibility worldwide. More importantly it damages our credibility in the middle east.

This is not analogous to Vietnam in any way. From our entry into the war to the conduct of the war comparing the two is wrong in almost every way. The thing most alike is the overt political opportunism surrounding them. Some times it's best to keep family business within the family instead of airing it out for all to see.

I await the full tactical and strategic plan that the democrats owe us now that they have power in congress. Hopefully it is a good plan.

By: Greywolf

Greywolf — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:23:16 +0000

Mario:
1) The "worst" did happen it Vietnam...and Cambodia.

2) Iraq IS a mess, but getting out means leaving the second largest oil reserve in the hands of "who"?

Oil??? We are going to got "energy independence"...any day now.

Just listen to the journalism majors and lawyers who infest our public debate.
Do any of them have a clue about the technical/economic feasibility of "energy independence" ?
No

Our National Interest is closely tied to oil, no matter where it is.

By: Y.A.C.R.W.B - Yet Another Conservative, Right Wing Blog » Cut and Run

Y.A.C.R.W.B - Yet Another Conservative, Right Wing Blog » Cut and Run — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:22:58 +0000

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By: Anderson

Anderson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:56:14 +0000

If, on the other hand, we remove the lion’s share of combat troops and leave behind upper-echelon logistics personnel along with strategically selected civil affairs and other special operations forces for training and reconstruction missions ... then, after Iraq goes to hell, the Repubs will *still* campaign on "the Democrats made us cut & run." I think the Dems are making a mistake, a huge one, by already talking in these terms. What they should be doing is saying, "all right, we've had your so-called plans ... now, what is the REAL PLAN for Iraq?" and put the ball back in the White House's court, with the new incentive that it's hard to ignore a Democratic Congress. Then, if Bush waffles, the Dems can point that out and say "look, he has no plan, we have no choice but to get out rather than keep our troops dying for no plan." Or if there *is* a plan, then its merits can be debated & the Dems can read the polls.

By: mario

mario — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:55:33 +0000

This reminds me of the days before we pulled out of Vietnam. The same old arguments prevail: "we can't just bail out", "we must win the war against the commies", or "we have a moral obligation to the southeast and the troops that have died", etc etc etc. We left and "the worst" never happened. In fact, you can vacation in Vietnam these days. So far, no one has shown any proof that if we left Iraq, "all hell would break loose"...it's only pure guessing by those who support the war and are looking for any way to hang on. It's time to come home, put American pride behind us, and let the Middle East be the Middle east. I have to praise the Democrats for willing to take the first initiative to end the war, and the sooner we leave, the less American lives we will lose.

By: Dean Esmay

Dean Esmay — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:40:41 +0000

I suppose it all depends on just how drastic and fast they try to make the changes--and how hard the administration fights against anything drastic.

It's not unreasonable for the US to say "look we've given you this many years of direct support, this many billions of dollars, but we have limits."

Still, I think any plan which does not involve some US presence in the country for the next several years is probably disastrously bad.

By: Moderate Voters.org - An Alternative to the Far Right and Far Left.

Moderate Voters.org - An Alternative to the Far Right and Far Left. — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Intelligence Agency and the director of national intelligence, and will then interview Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain by videoconference. On Tuesday, the group plans to meet with Democratic foreign policy leaders. [IMG] Blogged At: Daily Kos, Outside The Beltway, Talk Left How the West is Being Won NewsweekAmerican politics has always been defined (or imprisoned) by Mason and Dixon, by regional rifts engendered by slavery, the Civil War and the Bible Belt. But now the relevant names are Lewis and Clark. The