Coming Home

[Cynthia]

Does anyone here have real data and information about what would happen to the middle east if we pulled out from Iraq by this summer, let's say?

What has to occur in order for the troops to just come on home?
If we were to completely pull out, what would happen?
I would like to know how we can just come home.....pay our bills.

[Plane]

Does anyone here have real data and information about what would happen to the middle east if we pulled out from Iraq by this summer, let's say?

What has to occur in order for the troops to just come on home?
If we were to completely pull out, what would happen?
I would like to know how we can just come home.....pay our bills.

I would just be guessing.
I don't beleive we can know hat present trends will change or continue.

Here is my guess.

The Iriqui goernment is better prepared to take controll now than it was a few months ago , and in a few months more  will be better prepared still. The odds that they would suceed on their own improve with time.

Someone who can be in contact with the situation first hand should be empowered to say when enough has been done , and on that signal our departure should commece , with many cerimonys where our flag is lowered from the pole and the government flag is raised , Perhaps e should start in Germany I think enough has been done there.

[BT]

What has to occur in order for the troops to just come on home?
If we were to completely pull out, what would happen?
I would like to know how we can just come home.....pay our bills.

what's the rush?

[Xavier_Onassis]

what's the rush?
=======================
Let me guess....

(1) it is costing a fortune.
(2) soldiers are dying. And getting maimed, and turned into human vegetables it will cost millions to maintain.


Withdrawing from Germany would be okay, but no soldiers are dying, and it is not costing the US for them to be there...the Germans are footing the bill for this.

[BT]

Seems to me they were sent their with the approval of the majority of this nations representatives.

And seems to me, the majority of the nations representatives could bring them home.

They haven't.

One has to wonder why.

[sirs]

BINGO.....they have the absolute Constitutional authority, that Bush has no control over what-so-ever, of defunding the war.  Simple as that

[Michael Tee]

<<One has to wonder why.>>

May I suggest, on the Republican side, greed, fascism, militarism and imperialism, and on the Democratic side, cowardice and venality?

[Michael Tee]

My guess, in answer to the original question in this thread, is that the fighting will continue at wildly fluctuating levels of intensity until somebody, probably a secular Sunni soldier tied to a large secular Sunni party with strong backing from a nationalistic and secular Shi'ite group, seizes power with two other soldiers, creating some sort of triumvirate which will attempt to stabilize the situation for one or two years after which a shake-out (or maybe a sheikh-out) will occur in the triumvirate and one guy only will be left in charge.  A period of about five years of consolidation would occur and at some point the army would have to move into Iraqi Kurdistan to bring those regions back into the fold.  There would be efforts to forge a mutual self-defence pact with Iran, but this would fail because Iran doesn't need Iraq's help in self-defence and Iraq won't give up any sovereignty to Iran.  They might agree to share nuclear technology with Pakistan and/or Iran, though.  IF they're smart, when the regional defence pact efforts don't bear any fruit, they'll try to build closer ties with China and Russia.

[Cynthia]

Thank you all for you replies. I think to admit that perhaps Bush was indeed wrong to 'invade' a nation that did not directly have anything to do with 9-11 is difficult to do. Huckabee did that tonight in the debate.

It's a difficult thing to resolve, because we are in this 'war' now for the long haul. Perhaps it will pan out in the end, but I just pray it's not another Vietnam.

What will it mean to win this struggle-war? Will it mean that saddam is gone..and mission accomplished? Will winning this war mean that America will leave the very road to Bagdad that was more traveled, and thus a dead end path? I fear that we will go so far into dept. and that we will lose so many  young men in combat.....that our wounds will either kill our nation, or make it stronger. We are selfish, greedy and lazy in our wealth. We spend money like the Rich of Rome...We must take more care in caring for our resources, strengths, children and stop trying to rescue the world. I speak in the devil's advocate tone here, as I was once a staunch supporter of the war because I felt that the regime under Saddam was a dead end street for so many innocent lives......and for so many possible centuries ahead.

Now, we don't have Osama Bin Laden. We don't have a strong hold on "mission accomplised", and Bush is an idiot. I am sorry, but he is.
I don't care if he had a great heart to want the best by invading Iraq. He did it irresponsibly, and arrogantly, imo.

We could have invaded Afghanistan, spent our resources and efforts there to take down the bad ass guy who flew huge planes into tall buildings and ripped through out very pentagon.....and we could have also solved a lot of problems at home like healthcare and education....if we had not invaded Bagdad. Heck, we keep our eye on so many around the world, we could have kept our "eye" on Saddam for a while longer, while taking out the very idiot who was behind the 9-11 attacks.
Isn't that why Bush took us into war? 9-11?\

You know, Sirs, I would love to hear your reply about this after all these years...I know for sure that I once supported this conflict on this board.....I don't apologize for turncoating..or coming to another conclusion, but I just can't see the good coming out of all of this.

I fear the issues of dept will be a huge problem.

Why the rush, BT?
Why stay in for whatever period of time it takes....to what? To what?
What will we accomplish, really?

Democracy? Well, ok...sure...let's say we save the people of Iraq and set up a gov. of peace and stability.....I'll eat my words.

But is this a reality..

Just upset with the way of status quo..and sitrring up the pot, here.

Thoughts....and anxiety about the future.

Cynthia

[BT]

patience

[Cynthia]

Yeah, I suppose.