No doubt some U.S. senators have been watching the poll numbers and thinking about next year’s elections. But whatever their motivation, it was good that the Senate stepped up, albeit timidly, this week and demanded that the Bush administration “explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq.” The public has grown increasingly frustrated with “stay the course” responses, when the status quo is daily bombings and little progress in training Iraqi troops. Lawmakers such as Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., also don’t appreciate recent speeches by Bush that demonized war critics. “Suggesting that to challenge and criticize policy is undermining and hurting our troops is not democratic, nor what this country has stood for over 200 years,” Hagel said.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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26 Comments
It is garanteed that US troops will be in Iraq for the next eleven hundred and some odd days. After that it will be someone else’s problem. Dubbya will be gone.
We can count on toady Pat Roberts to toe the PNAC line and support whatever Bush wants. However, it is good to see at least some Republicans come out against the status quo and to not support torture.
Just how many years should it take the ARI to be able to take over the fighting? According to Bush they have 200,000 trained troops; let them take over and bring our troops home.
There is no such thing as a time line in war.
This isn’t a credible “war”, it was a huge mistake and it’s turning into another Vietnam. It’s time to start looking at how we can get ourselves out of this mess without totally turning our backs on the Iraqis. I agree with Guy, it probably won’t be until Dubya’s gone. It’s going to be a long, hard, and frustrating 3 yrs.
I believe it is a crediable war, it is not a mistake, and it is nothing like Vietnam.
After talking to several guys who went over to Iraq, I am convienced, just as they are, that this war is justly needed for the long term security of the United States and the World.
You can disagree and desent against the war, and that is fine. I have nothing against people who do, because it is a legitimate debate, so long as there is nothing said or done that will cause increase harm to the troops.
That being said. For all those against the war, let just say that the overwhelming vast majority of the people in the military and the troops fighting the war on terror disagree with you and are for the war. So you stand alone on this.
Joe Williams,
Yeah, 60% of the American public ’stands alone’ in thinking that it was not worth going to war in Iraq.
http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm
And frankly, I have a hard time believing that military personnel, active and non-active, overwhelmingly support the war.
I did not feke the erection!
I did not feke the WMD!
I did no take leek on covert agents! That would be treason!
I did not keep the war going without having a way to win and stop all the killing.
I did not profit from Haliburton Oil Company repairing all we destroyed. Where did all the money go.
I did not tee anyone who Plame was! I told the media so they could tell everyone!
If you do not support me and my war for: (Iraqi freedom, to create democracy, to help Haliburton, To make America stand United, to kill all the saudi 911 hijackers) (choose one – for the real valid reason for this war)
You don’t support all my lies and deception then you are a trader!
That will show Plame!
Vietnam was a real fake war. It is treason to think this is a more valid fake war. Keep sending your tax dollars and your kids to die for Iraqi Freedom. We all know as soon as we leave there will be total caos! What Iraqi freedom? All of Iraq is not worth one dead American!
LIBERAL TROLL! LIBERAL TROLL! GO, GO, GO!
Why did we attack Iraq when the 911 hijackers were all from Saudia Araba?
Was it Bush senior’s bad blood with Saddam?
Is it for freedom for all the waring tribes in Iraq just so they can have their own civil war?
Is it worth our dead children?
Why do they lie about Saudi Arabia?
Why do they lie about WMD?
Why did they intentionally committ treason and reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame?
Our American kids are worth moe than all this treason and lies!
The Senate steps up . . . but where’s Pat Roberts and his Intelligence Committee?
Hey, Old Rubber Stamp, you still breathing?
I don’t feel that asking returning soldiers about Iraq is a real barometer about what is going on over there. They are bound by military code of ethics to not speak out against it or against the president, or face courtmartial. To say that people can say what they want as long as it does not increase harm to the troops is talking out of both sides of your mouth. To support torture ensures that our troops will face a similar fate if captured. It make us just like the terrorists. People will say anything to stop the torture. This is not “turning” into another Vietnam. It already is. You cannot fight a war against “insurgents” and win. Iraq has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in the world. Why do you think no foreign army ever invades here? Because we have a heavily armed civilian population.
This is Vietnam all over again. Talk all you want about high-minded principals, but it’s all about money. Oil money, and the money companies like Haliburton make feeding off the dead carcass of a country. The defense industry makes a killing building more weapons for the military.Joe Williams, I doubt if you’re old enough th really know much about Vietnam, so your claim that this war isn’t like Vietnam doesn’t carry much weight. For those of us who lived through that era and fought in that war, the parallels are frightening.I thought this country had learned a lesson from Vietnam. Obviously not.
” Why do they lie about Saudi Arabia?”
Bin Laden was kicked out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, then went to Sudan, then to Afghanistan where he set-up shop with the Taliban.
Israeli propaganda about Saudi involvement is absolutely false. The United States and the Saudis have had a good relationship over decades, and still do, but the Israelis want to break that up.Israel wants Saudi oil.
Senior Democrat Rep. John Murtha is calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/17/murtha.iraq/index.html
We just gave “Israel” 2.5 billion dollars for “party money” while Americans suffer.
Enough is enough.
We need to stop buying trouble from Israel and allowing them to get us into it.
WE don’t need to give them money to build in the West Bank. We need to tell them to get out of what needs to be a Palestinian State.
The “tricked” us into Iraq and that needs to be the last “trick.”
Joe,I’m happy to see someone else actually realizes that this war is a necessary. If these people would stop moaning and complaining…go out and ask people who are actually in Iraq what they think of the war. All the information you have is from the press. Would they distort information?? Oh golly no! How bout ya’ll go check out http://www.military.com go to the forums and talk with the people who have actually been there.
Mandy,
A ‘necessity’? Here’s a different view from a soldier who participated in last year’s ‘assault’ on Fallujah:
http://ftssoldier.blogspot.com/
The Bush family has like 15 nephews and neices of draft age, and none of them are serving in Iraq.
Hmmm . . .
Bush says it’s a “noble cause,” but strangely not noble enough for his own family.
Well, Bush always said he was a uniter, not a divider. Seems like he’s finally uniting the nation in opposition to him and his policies! It’s no wonder why; his administration is arguably the most incompetent and corrupt in our nation’s history. It’s even incompetent at being corrupt, and arrogant about it to boot!
There’s no such thing as a timeline? What about a plan? There was obviously a plan to go INTO war, but someone failed to plan beyond that. Very telling, I’d say.
When pushed by Congress and citizens about troop withdrawal, Bush’s answer is always vague.1) When Iraq has freedom. (Ask the people over there if they feel “free” from their occupiers. Ask them if they feel safer now than they did during Saddam’s reign.)2) When the Iraqi army is fully trained. (Think about this. Is our own army ever fully trained? So does this really mean that we will continue to stay in Iraq until eternity, continuously training their soldiers at the cost of how many lives? Is this nothing more than DubyaSpeak? Like “Mission Accomplished?” Like all those flowers that were to be thrown at the feet of our troops? Like the less than 6 months we were supposedly to stay in Iraq? Like the fact that major combat is over and has been for some time?
I know I’m not the only one on these boards who is sick of the lies and double-talk we’ve been handed over the past 5+ years. If the demand from Republicans in Congress to set a time to bring our troops home is backed by nothing more than fear of losing their seats, then I’m all for it. I wasn’t planning to vote for any of them anyway.
The oath that all servicemen take says that they will obey the lawful orders of the officers appointed over them. They are not threatened by courts-martial to tell the truth. Obviously brown was just rambling.
“The Bush family has like 15 nephews and neices of draft age, and none of them are serving in Iraq.”
And was there a point to this statement?? Last time I checked we haven’t had a draft in how many years? So since there not over there that makes Bush bad? Find something else that makes since to complain about.
Hey CF,I cant think of words to describe that website….other than wow. I’m just going to go with this readers comments to sum it up for me because that man disgusts me. If he was actually over there I feel sorry for the men that he served with. I think I’ll stick with the people that I actually know go overseas and their views of what happens over there…instead of siding with some guy that can’t prove he was there. This is taken from the website on someone else’s view of this ummm (man?)
USMC IN IRAQ said…CPLPlease do not address this scumbag as “sir”. You are 100 times the man he is. In answer to some of your questions. He was a pogue specialist-HENCE NOT iNFANTRY MOS – whose extent of combat was watching (and complainming about) the USMC success at Fallujah. He was apparently a driver or a gunner on a HMMWV for a VIP. By his own account he describes watching the battle -not participating -of course No not him! He’s too big a seditious pussy to help win the war. He’s too busy trying to defeat us by offering support to the enemy. He is devoid of honor and not worth your time. He will pass into ignoble anonymity like his fellow traitors. Nobody respects a coward or a loser. He’s both.3:31 AM
And you guys say this war isn’t necessary….
http://www.usvetdsp.com/atrocities_iraq.htm
Mandy–
Consider Marine Col. Paul Hackett, took part in the attack on Fallujah, now running for the Senate in Ohio.
“The war is over. It’s not going to get any better than this.”