We’ve been there since when? Three years, four years, hell, I can’t even keep track.

The Iraqis know that whatever the US was trying to do in Iraq, we FAILED.

By fighting with each other instead of us, they are basically saying we don’t matter.

And they’re right.

Casey: Iraq war becoming internal fightELENA BECATOROSAssociated PressBAGHDAD, Iraq – The conflict in Iraq is changing from a fight against U.S.-led coalition forces to an internal struggle for political and economic power, the top U.S. general in Iraq told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

Gen. George Casey acknowledged the security situation has become more difficult in the past few months, and said Iraqi leaders must find common ground on key issues if progress is to be made.

“We’re starting to see this conflict here transition from an insurgency against us to a struggle for the division of political and economic power among the Iraqis,” Casey told the AP.

The general made the comments as he finished a visit to a northern Baghdad neighborhood to talk with local officials about an operation aimed at curbing violence in the capital.

Maj. Gen. Bashar Mahmood Ayoub, commander of the 9th Iraqi army, said the situation has deteriorated in recent months.

“These days, the violence is worse and the politicians are not supporting us,” Ayoub told the AP. He said it was up to political leaders to resolve the security situation, adding that the army could do nothing further for now.

Casey acknowledged the difficulties.

“I think the security situation is more complex and more difficult than it was in December ‘05,” when Iraq held general elections.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/breaking_news/15574620.htm

You don’t get it, do you?

We aren’t responsible for the people we DON’T kill. We are responsible for the people we do.

We can exit Iraq (”cut and run”) and do it in such a way that it is less violent that it is now.

It just takes a leader who isn’t obsessed with controlling the oil.

Crosswalk Susan Jones Senior Editor (CNSNews.com) – Democrats and liberal advocacy groups have been talking about impeaching President George W. Bush for months. But when Republicans say the president indeed may be impeached if Democrats regain control of Congress, they’re just trying to scare people, a Democratic operative says. In an op-ed column in Thursday’s Detroit Free Press, Robert Weiner, a former press secretary to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), accused Republicans of “trying to create hysteria about the likelihood of impeaching President Bush.” According to Weiner, “Impeachment

http://article.wn.com/view/2006/09/21/Dont_Worry_Democrats_Wont_Impeach_Bush_Democrat_Says/

And if the moon were made of green cheese I could end world hunger by bringing it all here.

Iraq Study Group: ‘Time is short, the level of violence is great, the margins for error are slight.’By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

In a sobering assessment of the situation in Iraq, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, chief of the US Central Command, said that it is unlikely that there will be any US troop reduction in Iraq before next spring, and that there may be a need for even more troops over the next few months.

The Washington Post reports that General Abazaid said that if sectarian violence is left unchecked, “it could be fatal” for Iraq.

… Abizaid, who has overseen the US military strategy in Iraq since July 2003, said he had hoped six months ago for the withdrawal of several thousand US troops from Iraq by now. “We clearly did not achieve the force levels that we had hoped to,” he said, citing sectarian unrest, ongoing weaknesses in the capabilities of Iraqi security forces – in particular the police – and the five-month political void in the country after the December 2005 national elections.

Asked point-blank whether the United States is winning in Iraq, Abizaid replied: “Given unlimited time and unlimited support, we’re winning the war.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0921/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu

U do make a point, and as Ben said we must analyze the past, not just our past in Iraq but the past when it comes to Vietnam and the World Wars…

We must let the military leaders call the shots.

Now, I don’t think we need to leave Iraq, but i do think its time to pull back. If Iraq is going into civil war, let them. Its time for the US to let let them fight it out on their own and once its decided, go back in and clean up the mess.

Its the only sane solution. Our troops don’t need to be in the middle of a civil war trying to keep the children at bay. We need to be on the sidelines, out of the cross fire.

Dont leave Iraq, just pull back, let them decided what to do with it themselves…

Posted by: Joel | September 20, 2006 at 09:48 PM

Joel – you raise a valid point; that is why we are in such a conundrum. Howevever, we MUST at least examine that past so that we don’t repeat the mistakes that have FUBARed this so badly. And part of that is to not rely in the same incompetant morons who got us stuck in this quagmire.

We need to leave right now.

When you have warring sects throughout a nation, then maybe a dictator is just what a country with that problem needs. The warring sects, if left to their own, will kill each other, as well as anybody in the way.

A dictator, on the other hand, kills off the opposition, and a shaky kind of peace rules the land. There will be the occasional killings, but nothing to even come close to what’s happening over there now.

I’m not trying to justify a dictator, but given a choice, what would the people of Iraq choose, knowing what each would do?

The US is killing Iraqis every day as well.

When we leave the violence will stop as the Iraqis can then flush out the Jews { Mossad } as they can no longer hide amongst the Americans.

How can you sit here and use the deaths of the Iraqi people to say that Bush is wrong and this is wrong and then say we should cut and run leaving even more to die?

What sense does that make?

And then you say you don’t consider me to be an adult?

What about the schools being painted?

Or the new school that opened up with a fancy American name to it? (only to be closed for security reasons)

Or the extra hour of electrictiy on “Must SEE TV” thursdays?

How about the “Hey I didnt like my neighbor anyway, Glad he died going to the grocery store” bonus?

Man OH MAN you Dems and Leftists just dont know whats going on, because your blinded by your hatred for George Bush!!!

You yourself admit that our leaders are lying to us about the situation in Iraq (length of conflict/American deployment) Yet you continue to support them.

You HAVE to do that. It is required of you in your service.

Us “adults” will continue to advocate that you be used judiciously. That is our duty that our leaders have shirked.

We’ve seen how well it’s gone so far with the “adults” in charge.

We don’t have enough troops, and it is all Bush’s fault that people are being killed.

So you demand that we withdrawl in the next year and let Iraq sort it out.

And you say you actually care about the people being killed here?

Let the adults handle this children.

Likewise, we keep telling the Iraqis to be grateful, but even in freedom it is hard to be grateful when bombs are exploading all around your home. Even if this is the best thing for Iraq (which at this moment I do not believe) it is still a difficult situation.

The best, and maybe most sickening thing, is to actually declare war on terrorism and attack them without reservation. This is, in all reality, the only way to fight a war. The problem we run into, however, is if this is justified or not.