Posted on 10/16/2006 9:58:48 AM PDT by World_Events
To me, the relentless mud slide of insurgency and civil war in Iraq is leading to unacceptable strategic disaster for the U.S. There appear to be no viable paths to follow in order to avoid it. Neither "staying the course"--whatever that Bush strategy now means--nor the Democrats' idea of exiting by timetables offers a semblance of success. Both approaches produce only nightmares: general chaos; Iraq's center taken over by terrorists emboldened by victory over America, their pockets bulging with Iraqi oil money; southern Iraq controlled by pro-Iranians or Iran itself; and Iraq's neighbors picking at the nation's carcass until regional war erupts and prompts oil prices to hit $150 a barrel.
But while those fears have a real hold on me, I can't help transporting myself back more than 30 years to that day in Vietnam when I felt certain the dominoes would fall throughout Asia and destroy America's strategic position there and elsewhere. I was wrong about those dominoes, as were almost all foreign-policy experts.
It was April 28, 1975. The last U.S. officials scrambled aboard helicopters, bound for home, heralding defeat as North Vietnamese troops tramped into the South Vietnamese capital. And it was the most ignominious kind of defeat, one that came after a decades-long war, after tens of thousands of Americans and Vietnamese had been killed, after our Presidents had pledged it would never come to that.
We expected China and the Soviet Union would be ascendant, that allies like Japan and South Korea would doubt our resolve and reposition themselves, and that North Vietnam would claim the rest of Indochina. Almost none of that happened.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
I wish that after midterm elections, Bush would grow a pair and say what the hell, I am not going to run again and the country is just more important then politics, then turn our full military loose with the orders to win this war with whatever means necessary. You would see a huge Republican win in 2008.
They are not kids. They are brave men and women who put their lives on the line of their own choice. We should stand behind them instead of telling them they are just dumb kids who can't handle it. Better yet, turn them loose and let them fight.
Dim talking points.
Fighting a global war takes time. I don't understand how people think we should be in and out of there in just a year or two. Patience.
"I wish that after midterm elections, Bush would grow a pair and say what the hell, I am not going to run again and the country is just more important then politics, then turn our full military loose with the orders to win this war with whatever means necessary. You would see a huge Republican win in 2008."
Indeed. In fact, if the Republicans would stick to TRUE conservative principles ACROSS THE BOARD they might never lose again.
As far as "winning the war by whatever means necessary", to me, that is the ONLY way to go to war. When we are truly at war then let's truly make war utilizing our full spectrum orf resources and get it over with. The quicker the better for ALL concerned, but most especially the Iraqis whose hearts and minds we are supposed to be trying to win with this....ah......limited engagement.
War should be TOTAL; nasty, brutish and short. That is an ugly truth, but it is indeed as simple as that.
Our guys are doing some real good over there. Its so different then what the media tells. Thats alot the problem. People are listening to the constant bad news from the media. How would anyone even know if we have victories when the media would refuse to report it. We are being brainwashed by the media and alot of people don't even recognize it. Everyone who is giving their analysis of whats going on over there, have they actually been there?
Finally a voice of reason.
Indeed it is, but our wimpy politicians are too scared of the dimwits to act.
who's saying that they're dumb--don't put the Cindy Sheehan argument on me.
Maybe not dumb, but the word children for our fine men and women just irritates me.
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