Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Uh-oh. Obama thinks he found his "in" on the Iraq debate and his poor judgement regarding the surge. I guess you haven't seen this fodder-rich "briefing" Johnny Mac gave to Obama as a parting gift.
I'm going to enjoy watching him try and turn this story around and squirm out of his previous comments.
In addition, Maliki said he would like to see troops withdraw "as soon as possible". Again, it's all based on conditions on the ground, the same thing the president has said all along.
Thank god Obama didn't get the defeat he was after.
But Mosul's deputy governor said he feels otherwise. "The U.S. presence in Iraq is useful now, but if the security situation gets better, I think it's not necessary to keep all these big numbers of soldiers here," Khasru Koraan said.
Quote:
"We hope they will stay until 2020," said Brig. Gen. Bilal al-Dayni, a commander in the southern city of Basra, where about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers patrol the streets after a major offensive in March against extremist militias.
"The U.S. presence in Iraq is useful now, but if the security situation gets better, I think it's not necessary to keep all these big numbers of soldiers here
Exactly the plan, now and before. Is it really so surprising with the successes the Iraqi government has had, both with our help and starting the political reconciliation needed to move forward, that they would want us there forever? No.
The agreement that "W" and Maliki announced the other day is just part of that.
This is good, good news. Our troops will be coming home, but not because some clueless, weak politician with an artificial timeline says so.
But a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks "were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately."
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.
Much ado about not much, as Obama desperately tries to find a way out of the trap he is in.
"You can’t make a commitment in March 2008 about what circumstances will be like in January of 2009," she said. "He will, of course, not rely on some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator. He will rely upon a plan – an operational plan – that he pulls together in consultation with people who are on the ground to whom he doesn’t have daily access now, as a result of not being the president. So to think – it would be the height of ideology to sort of say, 'Well, I said it, therefore I’m going to impose it on whatever reality greets me.'
Again, Obama agrees with Bush. I've been saying all along that Obama would not really end the war. It will end because it has to. Now that Maliki is calling for a draw down of forces where they aren't needed, we have no choice but to make plans to leave starting very soon. Iraq has a functioning government. While noble, I don't believe it was a wise use of our national resources mostly owed by our next 3 generations.
Again, Obama agrees with Bush. I've been saying all along that Obama would not really end the war. It will end because it has to. Now that Maliki is calling for a draw down of forces where they aren't needed, we have no choice but to make plans to leave starting very soon. Iraq has a functioning government. While noble, I don't believe it was a wise use of our national resources mostly owed by our next 3 generations.
Support the troops, bring them home.
He agrees with Bush and McCain now that the surge worked/is working, which made it possible to bring those troops home.
He called for bringing the troops home when the conditions on the ground did not support it. If he had his way 1 1/2 years ago, the troops would have been withdrawn by March 2008, which would have spelled disaster for the Iraqi's who would have been left to their own devices to face a very strong force of AQ terrorists and insurgents and a hiding in the wings Iran.
It would have been genocide. A bloodbath. A huge victory for AQ.
If he had his way 1 1/2 years ago, the US would have suffered a humiliating defeat.
They will be coming home. Patraeus said early this year that if the trend continues, by late summer/early fall they would start a phased withdrawal. I do believe the surge troops have already come home.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
from sanrene's article
