LOL!
Posted on 11/24/2006 6:46:08 PM PST by kristinn
I'm reading an astonishing number of comments on Free Republic these days by posters who have joined the ranks of the anti-American left in calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Some claim to have military experience, some claim to be patriotic Americans and some claim to be smarter than the rest.
These posters are joining the Murtha-Rangel-McDermott treason caucus. Oh, they say they love the troops, but their decision to abandon them in the field speaks otherwise.
Three years ago, the United States led an international coalition to rid the world of one of the worst regimes on the planet. Saddam Hussein was an international terrorist: He financed terrorism, he trained terrorists and he harbored terrorists. He waged war on Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel. He waged war on the people of Iraq, including genocidal campaigns against the Kurds in the north and the marsh Arabs in the south.
Saddam successfully subverted the Oil-for-Food program and was wearing down support for continuing the sanctions keeping him in check.
He had numerous contacts with al Qaeda over the years. He tried to assassinate a former U.S. president. He maintained research capabilities to implement nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as soon as the sanctions were lifted. There is evidence that some of these programs would have been operational within a year even with the sanctions in place.
The decision to remove Saddam and his regime as part of the Global War on Terror was correct.
Three-and-a-half years after Iraq and the world were liberated from Saddam and his terrorist regime, there are those on Free Republic who are clamoring to give up, surrender, cut and run, stab the troops in the back, betray the Iraqis, betray our allies in the GWOT, spit on the graves of our fallen heroes and join Cindy Sheehan, Medea Benjamin and Ramsey Clark in bringing about America's defeat in the GWOT.
It's only been three-and-a-half years--only six months since the freely elected government in Iraq was formed. In that time, what has been called a mini-Marshall Plan of construction and reconstruction has come to fruition. The Iraqis have held three national elections, they have held numerous local elections, fourteen out of eighteen Iraq provinces are relatively peaceful and stable.
Six months ago, when the Iraqi government was formed, the experts said the war would be taken to Baghdad because our enemies in the region could not abide the example of a free, democratic society in the Middle East. For once, the experts were right. The battle of Baghdad has been a prolonged Tet Offensive style operation of headline-grabbing attacks intended to sap the morale of Americans and Iraqis alike.
From what I've been reading on Free Republic lately, a lot of Freepers have fallen for the enemy's ploy and are howling like barking moonbats for our immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Some of that talk is couched in talk of 'we're fighting a PC war like Vietnam!' The soldiers I met in Iraq recently told Debra Argel Bastian to pass on a message to the Vietnam vets criticizing the war: With all due respect to your service, this is not Vietnam. It is not being fought like Vietnam. Please let us finish our mission.
But our enemy is playing the Vietnam ploy to great benefit. They know they can count on the American and world media to broadcast their propaganda. They work with leftist Americans to sabotage the war effort at home. They know these leftist Americans have allies in the Democratic party. They know they do not need a military victory--only political and psychological victories are needed to defeat America.
You guys are playing right in to their hands. Congratulations.
There are those who argue that murder and dictatorship is the mindset of the Middle East and that will not be changed by our actions. Funny how those who smugly denigrate the Arab peoples' capacity for freedom forget the wholesale slaughter of millions of Westerners by Westerners at the hands of Western dictatorships just a few generations past.
I hear complaints that the Iraqis aren't standing up. Yet, to use one common example, when police recruits are slaughtered in bombings, Iraqis line up the next day at the same recruiting center. The insurgency is small in number, but they are able to do enough damage on a daily basis to stretch out the time it will take to secure the whole of Iraq.
At this time of our testing, the American people are starting to go wobbly. Sadly, many Freepers are too. Our troops and their Commander-in-Chief are not, thank God. It's only been three-and-a-half years. The progress made has been phenomonal. Throw in the towel now, and you'll just have the terrorists follow us home. Everyone knows that, including you. I'm not willing to pay that price, not now, not ever, but you are.
Let me close by offering similar sentiments recently offered by two men 'in the know' on the situation in Iraq who are not giving up. First, Kurdish Regional Government Prime Minister Barzani: "When I was in the United States recently and read the negative news in the Washington Post, New York Times and in the network TV broadcasts, I even wondered if things had gotten so bad since I had left that I shouldn't return."
Next, Gen. Abizaid: "When I come to Washington, I feel despair. When I'm in Iraq with my commanders, when I talk to our soldiers, when I talk to the Iraqi leadership, they are not despairing."
But I don't suppose you're much interested in the truth, are you? Much more fun to be cute and insult in ignorance, eh?
If Saddam was feeling benevolent and they could get out of Baghdad and the areas around that quickly enough...sure....
or they are racist imho.....
"risking their lives" to vote, has little to do with being ready. they have, so far, shown themselves unable to form the institutions (free of corruption) and security apparatus needed to sustain a democracy. anybody can vote and dip their finger into an inkwell.
LOL!
I'll just be glad when he hangs. This period leading up to his execution's not helping any with the violence. Atleast he's got his fair trial which is more than anybody (except maybe the UN)can say about his victims
I'd be willing to support the plan to partition Iraq.
If it was just a guestworker program I would be for it. But it is not, within all the bills they kill the 1996 expansion of the RICO Act.
Saddam's connection to Al Qaeda alone trumps WMD
I wish we could dip our fingers in inkwells to make the RATS lose every election. However, we had corruption galore in some of our vaunted institutions, hadn't we? LOL
Al Qaeda terrorists, Iranian agents and Syrian agents disrupting a democracy has little to do with the large majority of Iraqis being ready for democracy.
no, I am talking about the sitation we have - right now.
look, I was onboard with this thing. I figured that within 9-12 months, iraqi security forces could have been developed to secure the country. it hasn't happened.
US forces are presently hamstrung in iraq - because its not our country, we have this democracy over there now that is not ready to secure itself, not able to sustain the institutions needed to host a democracy (corruption, allegiance to militias instead of the elected government, etc) - but Maliki will not allow US forces to do much about it. so what do we do? do we sponsor a coup to overthrow Maliki? do we re-declare ourselves the military occupier of iraq and invalidate their elections? there aren't alot of good options available, that's why you see Baker looking into some backroom deals for a "regional plan" - which is going to involve the US having to agree to some very unpleasant things over there.
Me too. As long as we can track them and control it.
Another MAJOR reason we should not cut and run is that Syria and Iran are most likely next on the list and going there from neighboring Iraq makes more sense than Murtha's redeployment to east asia plan.
Good news here
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1744380/posts
Yeah like we are free of corruption...
the first job of any democracy - is security. if it can't secure itself, it can't sustain itself.
the iraqi police forces - are generally regarded as just a bunch of guys looking for a steady paycheck. the army is in much better shape, but still lacking. and the government apparatus is loaded with problems - look at the new thread running now, Maliki just fired 3000 employees for being loyal to the militias and not the elected government. this is what it means to be "not ready".
They should have been executed on the spot. That's 3000 more added to the streets.
but the comparison to make - is whether the United States could have sustained itself from 1776-1787 in that environment, not a comparison of the US today to a new democracy in iraq.
So do the liberals in this country.
I for one can't believe some of the cowardly comments I have been reading on various threads, I wanted to send them all a white chicken feather but I don't have that many white hens!
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