There you go using facts and figures again, when we all know that opinions are all that matter, and we have the opinions of many of those in Iraq. Some of those opinions are exactly the same, so you know they must be true. After all, who would write a script full of lies?
Posts: 16996 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
I don't know that it could work, I just hope they get our guys out of there sometime soon...my son-in-law ships out next week and I'd really like for him not to know a life of war. He joined the Army to serve his country, and is proud to be going...but he's young enough not to really understand WHY.
OMG...just as I posted that it occurred to me...back in 1970, I was thinking almost the same thing when my DAD was on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam...same war, just a different part of the world
“An editorial is a phrase or article by a news organization, newspaper or magazine that expresses the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher.”
Well, yes, of course. I don't think anyone could say for sure what the best thing to do about the whole Iraq mess is. No one could tell us for certain what might happen as a consequence of any of the plans floating around at the moment being put into effect.
Finding a way forward in Iraq is all just guesswork and opinion - and probably involves picking the least of several evils. The smart thing would have been not to invade in the first place.
“An editorial is a phrase or article by a news organization, newspaper or magazine that expresses the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher.”
Oh no! Say it ain't so, NNN. Did you post an opinion?
Posts: 3165 | Location: From the Mountains to the Sea. | Registered: 06-08-02
I think we all know what an opinion is, but that certainly doesn't mean that the opinion of an intelligent person is equal in value to that of an imbecile. The motivation of the opinion giver needs, always, to be taken into account.
Your opinion may be that you are suffering from indigestion. Your cardiologist may opine that you are in need of a catheterization. Which opinion would you want to heed???
I'm always posting opinions - sometimes my own, and sometimes lifted from awful left-wing websites. This whole site is full of opinions. Is there something wrong with posting opinions? Have I ever said there was anything wrong with posting opinions?
I guess the thing is that opinions need to be sensible and supported by facts.
Does anyone have an opinion on what would be best for Iraq, next?
But the Pentagon doesn't seem to want to give an opinion;
'In a sign that top commanders are divided over what course to pursue in Iraq, the Pentagon said Wednesday that it won't make a single, unified recommendation to President Bush during next month's strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations.'www.mcclatchydc.com
'The Democrats remain divided on how to get America out of this fiasco. Despite criticism of Mr Bush, they have failed to come up with an alternative strategy. Whatever you may think of George Bush, at least he has a strategy. In essence, he does not want to go down as the president who lost Iraq...
...if anything, most Democrats are backing away from the idea of a timetable for withdrawal. They remain fearful that Iraq would turn into a bigger mess should they pull the plug. So for all their carping, they remain paralysed.
This means that in all likelihood the Iraq quagmire will be inherited by the next president.
The surge is often portrayed by the administration as buying time for Mr Maliki. More accurately, it is to buy time for Mr Bush himself.'www.guardian.co.uk
Originally posted by newnickname: 'The Democrats remain divided on how to get America out of this fiasco. Despite criticism of Mr Bush, they have failed to come up with an alternative strategy. Whatever you may think of George Bush, at least he has a strategy. In essence, he does not want to go down as the president who lost Iraq...
...if anything, most Democrats are backing away from the idea of a timetable for withdrawal. They remain fearful that Iraq would turn into a bigger mess should they pull the plug. So for all their carping, they remain paralysed.
This means that in all likelihood the Iraq quagmire will be inherited by the next president.
The surge is often portrayed by the administration as buying time for Mr Maliki. More accurately, it is to buy time for Mr Bush himself.'www.guardian.co.uk
The contents of this post actually point out the real problem. That is the very fact the Democrats were so successful with their political lies & campaign rhetoric, they got the country conditioned to the thinking we need to get out of Iraq ASAP. They won the '06 elections with their propaganda campaign.
Yet now they have control of both houses of Congress, what have we got??? A Congress with arguably the lowest public opinion in history. As it turns out, the Democrat leadership does not have a clue. They still paint this war as a fiasco. And that is where they have really blown it. This war is, and has been from the initial start, about fighting terrorism and maintaining our National Security.
As time goes on, it is getting more clear & obvious. The Democrats care more about their power & maintaining their majority in Congress than they care about the best interest of the country. Hopefully in the '08 elections, the voters will recognize this fact and do what it takes to correct the situation.
Posts: 2277 | Location: Martinsville, IL | Registered: 06-03-02
This war is, and has been from the initial start, about fighting terrorism and maintaining our National Security.
What a strange way to fight terrorism - get hundreds of thousands of people killed creating a failed state which is pretty much a terrorists' playground. Invading Iraq has arguably increased terrorism.
You may be right that Democrat leaders haven't a clue. They don't seem to have much more of an idea for a way forward than Bush does. You may also be right that the war has always been about fighting terrorism and National Security (although it's debatable - what terrorist threat or threat to National Security did Iraq pose that justified an invasion?), but that doesn't mean that it can't also be a fiasco. Iraq by the numbers.
It suggests that the worst option is a gradual withdrawal - which would simply leave remaining troops vulnerable. Keeping as many troops there for as long as possible might give normal civic infrastructures time to be established, but maybe it's already too late for that, and the US army is just about exhausted. (Iraq report shows slow progress being made) An immediate withdrawal might precipitate bloody chaos, but - although it sounds cynical - there is going to be more bloody chaos anyway.
Meanwhile Bush's buddies are betting on the breakup of Iraq - follow the money. And Bush looks more and more like he's muddling through from week to week, doing anything to avoid being the President who has to say the venture failed.
'The elements of an honorable exit strategy should include the following:
1. Confession. Declare to the Iraqi people and the international community that the United States was wrong in conducting this war.
2. Apology. Apologize to the Iraqi people and the international community for its conduct of the war.
3. Reparation. Take responsibility for the repair of the damage caused by the war, and bring the people and the physical condition of Iraq back to the condition they would have been in had the United States not invaded Iraq. Iraqi families who have suffered the loss of lives or injuries should be compensated in amounts established by a neutral commission and fully funded by the United States.
4. Leadership. The United States should leave Iraq immediately and turn over its responsibility for reparation to an international coalition that will direct the rebuilding of Iraq.
5. Relinquish profits. The profits gained by U.S. companies and individuals as a result of the war should be turned over to the reparation effort.
6. Disengage from Iraqi affairs. The United States should make a legally binding commitment to refrain from any overt or covert attempt to affect the internal affairs of Iraq.
7. Accept accountability. U.S. individuals, including the highest-ranking civilian and military personnel, should be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and to domestic courts to answer to war crimes charges.www.yesmagazine.org
