Free Republic

IRAQ STANDS less than 10 days away from a momentous vote on a new constitution, the first of a series of events that in the next several months will make or break the U.S.-backed attempt to unite the country under a new political system. Yet serious discussion of the Iraqi political process in Washington seems to have faded to a whisper. President Bush answered only one question about Iraq during a 55-minute news conference Tuesday; in doing so, he again wrongly described the principal U.S. challenges as defeating Islamic terrorists and training Iraqi forces. There are many flaws in the...

NEW YORK In a column noting the high number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq who will be far from home on Christmas, USA Today founder Al Neuharth declared today that if he were eligible to serve in Iraq, "I would do all I could to avoid it." He also wrote in his weekly column for the paper that America's New Year's resolution should be to bring the troops home "sooner rather than later." Neuharth, 80, a World War II vet, said he would happily volunteer for that kind of "highly moral duty again." But he would avoid serving in...

The Democratic Party's top foreign policy expert in the Senate said Sunday that the U.S. is losing what he described as a war with "too little legitimacy" in Iraq, even though attacks against U.S. troops have plummeted in recent weeks and enemy leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi has publicly proclaimed the battle of Fallujah a massive U.S. victory. In a morale-busting diatribe that's certain to bring delight to the hearts of America's enemies worldwide, Sen. Joe Biden complained that while U.S. forces have won every battle, the Bush administration's flawed strategy has doomed the war effort. "We've won everything we've...

Can we get store somewhere all the pathetic predictions of doom by the media, pundits and politicians of surrender so we can openly ridicule them when Iraq succeeds? It is so very irritating to hear them attempt to pass themselves off as worthy of consideration when they've been wrong in such serious matters.... What do you think?

THE DESIRE to escape the Iraq trap grows stronger every day. As daily reports from Iraq richochet between grim and grisly, the psychological vise tightens. The brain wants out. But the ugly headlines, photographs, and video won't go away. One neighbor says he is reading a book on physics to escape war news. At the start of a Mother's Day road race, a fellow runner confesses a newly acquired taste for mind-numbing television shows like "Extreme Makeover." Home and Garden TV is a personal draw; it is much more pleasant to contemplate the touches that give a house curb appeal...

I was wrong. It's that simple. When the Bush administration announced its plan to invade Iraq early last year, I supported them. I thought, like so many millions of others did, that the American forces would be in and out of there before you could say Grenada. I truly believed that Saddam would be toppled and a new government set up within a year, with minimal American casualties. I also thought that in such a quick conflict, Bush could finish the job that his old man couldn't, and that it would send a message about American resolve that needed to...

The Best of Bad Choices Given the Iraq War’s mounting costs and impossible goals, America should transfer sovereignty and come home. By Christopher Layne The administration’s Iraq policy is in shambles. Iraq has become a geopolitical humpty-dumpty that America cannot put back together, and the time has come for the United States to withdraw. We now face a full-blown uprising against the occupation of Iraq. Events plainly belie the administration’s spin that order will soon be restored and that the revolt is just the work of a few Iraqi extremists and a handful of terrorists from other Middle Eastern states....

CHICAGO - Faced with escalating turmoil in Iraq, George W. Bush spurns any talk of pulling out. "America will never run," he vows. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, disagrees: "This disastrous mission must be ended before any more lives are lost. It is time to bring our troops home."

What's left of the noble tradition of assertive liberal internationalism in the Democratic party is now gangrenous. The rot has gotten so bad that even some principled Democrats are amputating themselves from their own party. Retiring Democratic Senator Zell Miller announced on Thursday that he will endorse President Bush for re-election."This does not mean I am going to become a Republican," Miller said in a written statement. "It simply means that in the year 2004, this Democrat will vote for George Bush."Miller's decision was prompted in part by his disgust with the Democratic presidential field. "It makes me ashamed....

<p>The polls show that most Americans understand the coming burden and still favor war; after 9/11 they realize the dangers of ignoring foreign threats. About U.S. elites there are greater doubts. Our liberal pundits and politicians are fickle interventionists; many of them signed on early to topple Saddam but have lately been offering caveats and cavils as D-Day approaches. Will they run for moral cover if the going gets tough, as they did in Vietnam?</p>

<p>The brazen missile attack on the Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad and a recent spate of suicide bombings illustrate that anti-American violence is increasing in frequency, sophistication and deadliness. Moreover, a recent poll by an Iraq research center showed fewer than 15% of Iraqis see U.S. forces as liberators, down from a tepid 43% six months ago. That's an ominous sign that popular discontent over a prolonged occupation could cause anti-U.S. attacks to snowball. The only way to let the air out of the resistance is to quickly turn Iraq back to the Iraqis and withdraw U.S. forces. The violence arises primarily as a reaction to the invasion and occupation by a foreign superpower.</p>

<p>The details of nominating a president of the United States have evolved constantly in the nation's history, determined by changing communications technology, demographics, political circumstances and, most recently, a trendy clacque of expensive political operatives known euphemistically as "consultants."</p> <p>The election of 2004, particularly on the Democratic side, is heading toward an apotheosis of this process, composed on a monotonal theme on the word "no." There are two kinds of presidential aspirants. First, there are the "anointed" figures, chosen by party leaders and the media, whose names are increasingly tossed about in speculation, one or two of whom are depicted as frontrunners. Second, there are those who usually hold public office, but who are not nationally well-known.</p>

George, here's what to do in Iraq: Declare victory and bring the troops home. A senator from Vermont once suggested such a policy during the Vietnam War. It would have meant a defeat. In this case, it might mean chaos, at least for a while, unless you can get more international help. You asked for help from the UN. That was good. Get back to them and say, "We're serious. We're on a fast track to leave." To America's soldiers, you can say: "You're fighters, not social workers. The fighting's done, excellent work, and you can start going home." Thousands...

Congressmen say Iraq cash would be better spent at home By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 24/09/2003) Senior congressmen of both parties have warned the Bush administration that a revolt is brewing over its request for £54 billion to rebuild Iraq. The warning came as details emerged of such spending as £62.5 million for a witness protection scheme, £181 million for the fire brigade, and nearly £6 million to give the country a system of post codes. Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, flew to Washington this week to urge a "grandeur of vision" in...

Recognizing that the United States is gradually sinking into a military quagmire in Iraq, analysts have applied the historical analogy of the American intervention in Vietnam. They have warned that US leaders are repeating today in the Middle East the policy mistakes that their predecessors made in Southeast Asia 50 years ago. Indeed, as they agonise over the failure of White House and Pentagon officials to anticipate the postwar predicament in Iraq, pundits have compared the architects of the military occupation of Iraq -- including Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice and other...

“This invasion of Iraq, if it goes off, will join the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Desert One, Beirut and Somalia in the history of military catastrophe.” The American people are not committed to a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Cheney's staff is. Rumsfeld's deputies are. The White House speech-writing office is. The guys they're working under are. But what about the families of those who will do the fighting? What about the country that will have to suffer the casualties that are the wreckage of every war? A Washington Post/ABC poll found 57 percent of us back a ground attack on...

UMM QASR, Iraq — It's hard to smile when there's no water. It's hard to applaud when you're frightened. It's hard to say, "Thank you for liberating me," when liberation has meant that looters have ransacked everything from the grain silos to the local school, where they even took away the blackboard. That was what I found when spending the day in Umm Qasr and its hospital, in southern Iraq. Umm Qasr was the first town liberated by coalition forces. But 20 days into the war, it is without running water, security or adequate food supplies. I went in with...

WASHINGTON, April 4 — Even by the standards of the Third Army's headlong dash across France under Gen. George S. Patton in World War II, the allied invasion of Iraq has accelerated with stunning speed in less than a week.No less remarkable has been the transformation of the political atmosphere at home and, to a lesser degree, abroad. The dramatic, lightning-like thrust of the tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, their way eased by the devastating application of air power to the Republican Guard, has taken the political heat off President Bush and his hard-nosed Pentagon boss, Defense Secretary Donald H....

Which of the following U.S. military conflicts has the highest direct costs, measured as % of annual U.S. GDP during the period?(Answer the quiz question here)A. Korean War (1950-1953) B. Vietnam War (1964-1972) C. 10 times projected costs for Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2003?) D. War of 1812 (1812-1815)

Fair Weather Americans By Monty Rainey March 31, 2003 Like thousands of military personnel before me and thousands more since my time in service, I have sacrificed so that each and every American would have the right to protest. As a former military man, I can also say, the very instant a war begins the time for protesting is past. We are a nation that loves sports, so allow me to pose an analogy. You support your local team. They are your team. You support them in good times and in bad. The local coach announces he is going to...