Posted on 12/06/2005 1:44:47 AM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -
WASHINGTON - If U.S. forces leave too soon, Iraq will become a haven for terrorists and the base of a spreading Islamic superstate that would threaten the rest of the world, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday.Speaking at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Rumsfeld warned that al-Qaida leaders such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden would seize power in the wake of an American withdrawal and turn Iraq into the kind of terrorist safe haven that Afghanistan was before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Moreover, Rumsfeld said: "Iraq would serve as the base of a new Islamic caliphate to extend throughout the Middle East, and which would threaten legitimate governments in Europe, Africa and Asia. This is their plan. They have said so. We make a terrible mistake if we fail to listen and learn."
"The message that retreat would send to the free people of Iraq and to moderate Muslim reformers throughout the region and the world would be that they cannot count on America," Rumsfeld said. "The message it would send to our enemies would be that America will not defend itself against terrorists in Iraq, and it will not defend itself against terrorists anywhere."
The Bush administration has been warning of the dangers of a new caliphate - an Islamic superstate based on Islamic laws with religious and political authority over much of the Muslim world - to bolster waning support for its policy in Iraq.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at realcities.com ...
What is really depressing is that this is not completely obvious to everyone on the planet and that it even has to be stated.
Rumsfield has it right.
Rumsfeld has it wrong. We are there PRIMARILY to protect Israel and our access to the oil. Once we get out of the area, the insurgents will lay down their weapons and live in peace. This balony that we fight them over there to avoid fighting them here is a big red herring. how will they get here? in dows?
Bring our troops home and seal our borders.
Well, there was that bunch that arrived in PASSENGER JETS THAT HIT THE WORLD TRADE CENTERS!!
Troll!
Islamic Superstate?
They fight more amongst themselves than with anyone else.
Rummie's stretching the metaphor a little bit on this one.
I'm more worried about Iran consolidating power there among Shiites.
In tandem, and with a nuke deterrent, they could make a lot of mischief.
Congrats on lasting long enough to make two posts.
She brought her friend beaver in with her. Well its early , maybe the moderators are asleeep.
This is so obvious! its sad that it needs to be said.
This fog generated courtesy of your ever-destructive, Bush hating, liberal naysayers.
Exactly right. Unfortunately, the Anschluss of Shiite Iraq by Iran will take place 15 minutes after the last American leaves. The Kurds will declare a an independent Kurdistan and there will be a long-term vicious civil war among all the factions for control of oil resources. We still can't face the fact that these people are not the same as us - for them, family, tribal and religious loyalties trump abstractions like democracy and freedom. Our best shot is to eliminate as many of the true jihadis as we can find and try to inoculate the country against their return by appealing to the people's inherent local loyalties. We need to decide that our goal is not a 'free and democratic Iraq', but an Iraq that is not a terrorist base.
I'm guessing you were asleep during 9/11...
littlemiss is now littlemissing. lol
Do you smell ozone?
"Rumsfeld has it wrong. We are there PRIMARILY to protect Israel and our access to the oil. Once we get out of the area, the insurgents will lay down their weapons and live in peace. This balony that we fight them over there to avoid fighting them here is a big red herring. how will they get here? in dows?
Bring our troops home and seal our borders."
What have you been drinking?
If we leave now a civil war starts. You may very well see Sadam back in power.
How will they get here? Well they already got here once. They imigrated and then hijacked planes into buildings on 9/11.
Defense doesn't work. There are too many targets of opportunity. Defend any one target and they move on to the next one. You will bankrupt yourself trying to defend the whole country. You must eliminate the root.
We will never "lay down our arms" as you suggest. Iraqis would be slaughtered and we would be appropriately labeled weak and attacked repeatedly by terrorists here and abroad.
Honey, 9-11 really did happen!
littleMissie, you missed it and really should continue playing with yourself and leaving the war to be discussed by the grown-ups.
Damn, this is pretty early for a DUmmie.
Islamic superstate.
Seems I've read that idea before. ;^)
Snort. Have some Kool-Aid, littlemiss, and please go away.
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