[Check_Your_Premises]

Thoughts?

[RightWhale]

The whole point is that Iraq had threatened Israel with the Rain of Fire. The action in Iraq has been successful to the extent that Israel has not yet been forced to the point of nuclear war.

[Redcloak]

Casualties have reached "critical mass"?! We've lost just over 700 since the Iraq campaign began. As I recall, there were over 3000 lost at Omaha Beach alone on June 6th, 1944. Check premises? You need to check your perspective.

[Red Dog #1]

The emery can never hope for a military victory. Instead they are trying to create a political one by targeting our soldiers. Those young people are being killed for no other purpose than to make you think what do. Also South Vietnam didn’t fall until sometime after we left. They may very well have survived if congress hadn’t turned their backs on them.

[cynicom]

Check...

We are in Iraq in particular and the Middle East in general for a far greater reason than imposing democracy on Iraq.

Regardless of the outcome in Iraq, we will be in the ME for a long time to come.

[traumer]

going WOBBLY (on Fallujah in particular) was a MISTAKE !

[Check_Your_Premises]

Yeah, I figured I would catch some hell for that one.

I do appreciate the input from those who actually read the thread instead of just reading the title and assuming from there.

No I don't think we can pull out of Iraq, nor should we. And I did fail to mention the wonderful side effect of removing Saddam, and that is that we are getting to kill all sorts of wonderful people.

No, I am not going wobbly. I have no problem with another Hiroshima. I am just pointing out that to many other people are.

[Just another Joe]

I can't agree totally with your thoughts.

We have already succeeded in what we originally set out to do. The regime of Sadham has been eradicated.

If "critical mass" has been reached in your thoughts then you should rethink what "critical mass" really is.

Considering that there is a minute fraction of these, so called, militia compared to the number of Iraqi people AND considering that a goodly number of the, so called, militia are probably from other arabic countries I don't think that you can really say that we care more about their freedom than the Iraqi people do.
They have been ground down for so long that it may take some period of time before they realize that their future IS in their own hands.

[Mac94]

How do you sap the will of a determined foe? That is the question here. The Afghans could never defeat the Soviets militarily, but they could bleed and outlast them, and they did. The Soviets certainly did not treat the rebels there with kid gloves, but they could not break the will of their enemies. And, if a closed society can buckle under the weight of mounting losses, can an open society such as ours do the same? The Soviets were driven out not by the military might of the Afghans but because the Soviet public turned against the war, and if the weight of public opinion can stop a Communist dictatoriship, can we stand more firm if the Iraqi rebels have the steel to persist no matter what? Heck, look at the debate one year into the war in this country and the divide in our populace. If the Iraqi rebels have the will to carry this through, do you all think we have the stomach to still be fighting ten years from now in Iraq? It is a question of will, ours versus theirs and how to break their will completely. We did it against the Gemans and Japanese, but are they comparable to an Islamic militant? What breaks their will to fight and die?

[RobRoy]

You aproach this issue from an incorrect paradigm. We are not in Iraq to bring democracy to Iraq - we are only trying to make that a positive side effect.

We are in Iraq because of 911. And the specific reasons are beyond the understanding or patience to learn the reason to most armchair analysts.

Yes, even though Iraq was a secular state, we are there specifically to build a beachhead from which to battle Islam at it's very front porch.

And better their front porch than ours...

[Lost Highway]

As I see it there are two objectives to the Iraq war.

1. Kill as many terrorists as we can there so they don't kill us here.

2. Install a democracy so we don't have to go back in 10 years and do objective 1 again.

We're not nation building just because we are trying to be nice guys. We're doing it to protect Americans.

[My Favorite Headache]

[mewzilla]

I take it you'd rather fight them over here?

[joesnuffy]

One of the major problems is having the enemies propaganda tools looking over the troops shoulders and then their spinning of the facts into antiwar propanda for the folks back home...(many folks who are already predisposed to do anything it takes to bring about defeat of Pres Bush in the upcoming election anyway)

...This kibbitzing and propagandizing by a hostile press...may in turn may influence govt. policy... which in turn may dictate military tactics...and a wobbley lack of commitment gives the armed islmo-fascist enemy the confidence they need to keep fighting...which in turn cause more loss of life and fuel for the enemy propaganda machine...(both foreign & domestic)

imo

[GottaLuvAkitas1]

It may take several years to see the results, but I truly believe Bush will go down in history as the BEST president in U.S. history.
I believe he is now, and my gg-grandchildren will know it as fact.

[Chieftain]

This is NOT WWII, it is MORE IMPORTANT.

The reputation of our country is on the line. Those entities who wish for our demise learned the propaganda game from what happened in Viet Nam. The 4th branch of government, the media, learned it as well.

The president knows this and he is committed. We, the American people who have the vision to support the president need to suck it up and not succumb to the media blitz of nothing but BAD NEWS.

Just listen to words of a Marine officer in Iraq in a letter published recently in frontpagemag.com:

"That is why I am asking for your support. Become a voice of truth in your community. Wherever you are fight the lies of the enemy. Don't buy into the pessimism and apathy that says, "It's hopeless," "They hate us too much," "That part of the world is just too messed up," "It's our fault anyway," "We're to blame," and so forth. Whether you're in middle school, working at a 9-5 job, retired, or a stay-at-home mom you can make a huge difference! There is nothing more powerful than the truth. So, when you watch the news and see doomsday predictions and spiteful opinions on our efforts over here, you can refute them by knowing that we are doing a tremendous amount of good. Spread the word. No one is poised to make such an amazing contribution to the everyday lives of Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world than the American Armed Forces. By making this a place where liberty can finally grow, we are making the whole world safer. Your efforts at home are directly tied to our success. You are the soldiers at home fighting the war of perception. So I'm asking you as a fellow fighting man: Do your duty. Stop the attempts of the enemy wherever you are. You are a mighty force for good, because truth is on your side. Together we will win this fight and ensure a better world for the future.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis, 1st Lt. Robert L. Nofsinger USMC Ramadi, Iraq

I will honor the good Lt's request. Will all of you at freerepublic do the same?

Semper Fi, Devil Dogs, the American people support you!

[bootyist-monk]

You have a house. It's a nice house. It has high walls that seperate you from your neighbors. All is well with the world. Then one day, you notices some roaches in your house. Just a few. You get out the Raid and take care of the problem. All is well again, until a couple of days later, the roaches have returned. This time their are more than before. You call in an exterminator. Spend the money, tent the house. Roaches gone. Until, a few days after you think you've saved your house, the infestation returns, in even stronger numbers. Frustrated, you go outside and notice that the roaches are coming over the wall. You look next door, and see the neighbor's house so full of roaches that they are flowing out of the windows and doors.

What do you do?

[kenth]

The poster who said 'perspective' is right. If my only thought was that it was for the betterment of the Iraqi people, then it would not be worth it. We spend way too many lives rescuing ungrateful nations from themselves, only to be looked down upon by those same people who now have the luxury of thinking freely. I think presenting the war in Iraq this way is a mistake. By trying to play upon the conscience of America, he set himself up for criticism caused by the inevitable failure of muslim society.

He should have bypassed the coddling of the left and the immature and only told the American public that Saddam needed to be removed, and in doing so a secondary war against terrorists would be waged on soil other than that of the United States.

[John Lenin]

My thoughts are you have been brainwashed by the media.

[PISANO]

As long as our MILITARY is actively involved and there is ONE soldier, sailor, airman or Marine left in IRAQ, I will not waiver in my committment to them and the mission. We have lost 534 due to combat and their HONOR and MEMORY demands we do NOT!!

[JesseHousman]

I am starting to think going to Iraq was a mistake,...

Me too.

I thought Cuber should have been knocked off first, then the unbelieveably corrupt Mexico, then assorted socialist states in South America.

Moving right along, I would then put Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria out of business.

Then I would have given Saddam 24 hours to get the hell out of Iraq.

Russia and assorted African "nations" would be put on warning.