How long will we be in Iraq?

D

Desert Heat

New member
I don't want to argue the justification of the war, I just want an intellegent conversation on the timeline. Also, do you fellas think we will go into another war while we are still in Iraq??

P.S., please don't bash people's opinions and thoughts, lets be better than that.:)
 
Probably the next twenty or thirty years. With several hundred thousand weapons just being "unaccounted for" and in the hands of the insurgents, along with Biden announcing the plan for a divided, partitioned country based upon three separate peoples, it is pretty much setting the stage for a long, drawn out civil war.
 
Hop[efully, a long time. Once the country is stabilized, it will make a very good place for us to stash military hardware and personnel. I'm sure Bush recognizes this, but it's not a great selling point given the current unstability so it's not talked about. With the pullout of troops from Saudi Arabia, having a stable place to place them in the region becomes even more important.
 
I recall similar comments on Korea; where folks wondered how long we would station troops on DMZ for patrol...

We may be in Iraq for a long time. This war is not our fault; we did not initiate the struggle. Our presence in Iraq is a buffer and while dangerous and a hazard to troops, it is the price we pay for relative peace back home. The mission was based on sound strategy and the mission cannot be weighed based on lives lost in the struggle. Did we abandon the American Revolution due to the struggles at Valley Forge? Did we abandon the Civil War because 30,000 troops died in one morning at Antietam? Did we abandon World War II due to so many dead on the Normany beachhead? These are our history and our counselors... we pay homage to troops fighting the war and hope that things improve. Until they do, we are in it for the long haul...

I find that discussing the relative merits of the situation in Iraq less needy than thanking the troops at war and keeping peace here at home. Their duty makes the issue so clear. Their patriotism sustains our freedom...
 
How long?? well, lets see... How long have we been in S. Korea? Cuba? Japan? Germany?... Probably about the same time line I think.
 
Gary Conner said:
Camp David, I have a question on your post. You say we did not initiate the struggle. Who did so?
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I believe Desert Heat said that he didn't want to "argue the justification of the war" therefore I will honor his wishes by not doing so. But to answer your question, on the morning of September 11, 2001 we were going about our business. The initiation that morning was not of our doing.
 
I believe Desert Heat said that he didn't want to "argue the justification of the war" therefore I will honor his wishes by not doing so. But to answer your question, on the morning of September 11, 2001 we were going about our business. The initiation that morning was not of our doing.
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I'll honor it also. I am just trying to remember how it was, that Iraq attacked us on September 11th. I was watching the New York catasrophe, but I don't remember Iraq being involved. I thought it was the terrorists based in Afghanistan who belonged to Al Queda who supposedly flew the planes into the twin towers. But I never once saw, nor recall anyone within the current Administration claiming, that Iraq was responsible for that attack.
 
Camp David
This war is not our fault; we did not initiate the struggle.
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DH did ask for intelligent conversation on duration, not justification...
You went straight to what he asked you not to in your third sentence and followed it up with a condescending comment to Gary -
Please follow the line of the post or find someplace else to pick a fight.
Please stay on topic... Duration estimation, not justification.
 
How long have we had troops in Japan or Germany? In excess of 60 years now, isn't it?
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That was basically due to the threat of the USSR and China during the cold war. If you compare the reductions from 1946 to the present we reduced forces there. When was the last time a soldier was killed by an instrument of War in Germany or Japan? Like comparing apples and oranges.
 
My thoughts on the matter change daily, but I do see our troops there for many years to come. I don't want to see a soldier or two die everyday for years to come. I am guessing that we will occupy Iraq for another few years until we get into a bigger war with you know who and those soldiers will be deployed elswhere.
 
My thoughts on the matter change daily, but I do see our troops there for many years to come. I don't want to see a soldier or two die everyday for years to come. I am guessing that we will occupy Iraq for another few years until we get into a bigger war with you know who and those soldiers will be deployed elswhere.
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We'll either have troops there for years, using the location as our primary Middle East base (thereby reducing the Saudi's control over our operations) or we'll pull out in a matter of a year or so, leaving a situation worse than occurred when we left Vietnam. Iraq will go the way of the Balkans, but bloodier and with access to far more dangerous weapon systems.

As for getting into a bigger war, the net result would be fewer troops but more effective operations. We are currently hampered not by lack of troops, but by a desire to reduce "collateral damage" to the point that effective interdication and neutralization of the insurgency is intefered with. If there is a larger conflict, we'll be faced with the decision to cut and run, or to take the kid gloves off (i.e. taking the fight truly to the insurgents, interdicting the flow of supplies from Iran and Syria, forcing the Iraqi gov't to deal with the insurgents within their midst).
 
Gary Conner said:
I am just trying to remember how it was, that Iraq attacked us on September 11th... But I never once saw, nor recall anyone within the current Administration claiming, that Iraq was responsible for that attack.
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:rolleyes:

Did Germany or Italy bomb Pearl Harbor? I thought after we declared war we would go immediately to fight in Japan... But I never once saw, nor recall anyone within the Roosevelt Administration claiming that Germany or Italy was responsible for that attack on Pearl Harbor... :D
 
CD, don't go down that path or you'll end up having to discuss the chronic violations of the cease fire by Hussein; the violations of sanctions by our "allies";, and the pattern of military actions we launched into Iraq for over a decade that did nothing but use up our resources.
 
or we'll pull out in a matter of a year or so
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ha ha, you said pull out. Anyway, you are saying that if enough public outcry and/or enough people in office against the war will lead to us leaving? I know all the chat on the hotlines is saying if Polocy(don't know the spelling) takes control that everything will change and W will be challanged at every turn. My though is that we wont leave until either a really liberal Dem is Commander and Chief or something bigger must be dealt with.

I agree though, either we will be there for years and years to come, or we leave in a year, either way, I think that it is the government's respnsibility to tell the people what it plans to do. I know that the word "timeline" strikes a nerve, but a rough estimation would put a lot of the public at ease.
 
Did Germany or Italy bomb Pearl Harbor? I thought after we declared war we would go immediately to fight in Japan... But I never once saw, nor recall anyone within the Roosevelt Administration claiming that Germany or Italy was responsible for that attack on Pearl Harbor...
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Actually, once we announced retaliatory measures against Japan
(re 12/7/41) Germany declared war on us since Germany and Japan were allies. Italy was naturally included in that as they were part of the Axis powers.
 
Anyway, you are saying that if enough public outcry and/or enough people in office against the war will lead to us leaving? I know all the chat on the hotlines is saying if Polocy(don't know the spelling) takes control that everything will change and W will be challanged at every turn. My though is that we wont leave until either a really liberal Dem is Commander and Chief or something bigger must be dealt with.
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If they tie up funds for the military, the Dems can cause us to pull out in exceedingly quickly without being in control of the entire Congress. They just have to prevent DOD from getting funds to pay the troops and to support the Iraqi military. Once that happens, things will get so bad that we'll have to pull out or be destroyed in place.
 
Hop[efully, a long time. Once the country is stabilized, it will make a very good place for us to stash military hardware and personnel. I'm sure Bush recognizes this, but it's not a great selling point given the current unstability so it's not talked about. With the pullout of troops from Saudi Arabia, having a stable place to place them in the region becomes even more important.
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wtf o_O why on earth does america have the right to stick its' nose into the business of the middle east? why should we have a stash of military hardware and personnel there?


oh that's right, the "war on terror" :rolleyes: let's justify occupying a country and threatening surrounding nations because it's in the best interest of america. **** the rest of the world, if it's good for america who cares if anyone else gets hurt.
 
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