Posted on 02/15/2016 12:28:07 AM PST by Enlightened1
Sunday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warned if the Republican Party isn’t willing to admit the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake, then the party will be defeated in the upcoming general election.
Trump said, “The Iraq war was a disaster. It was a mistake. We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives, thousands of lives, wounded warriors who we love all over the place. What do we have? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Iran is taking over Iraq as sure as you’re sitting there. And that’s the way it is. We get nothing. They get the oil, they get everything. We get nothing. So it was a huge mistake. Whether people like it or not. and I’m the only one with the vision to have said don’t do it. And I wasn’t even a politician when I said that.”
He added, “Something’s going to have to happen with the party or we’re going to lose yet another election. I’m not even doing it to win election, I’m doing it out of common sense. The war was a horrible thing. If we’re not going to admit that, you’re going to have yet another election where the Democrats are going to win.”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
See #80.
It looks like a diversion from more current issues.
Two trillion is small compared to what Duh-1 had dumped during his time in office, and I wonder how much of that has gone into 'alternative energy' boondoggles, and how much has been just siphoned off. (Seven trillion dollars is 7 thousand billion dollars, and a mere tenth of a percent diverted would be 7 billion.)
I would say the South Koreans very much disagree with you.
Bush’s team had its problems, but I give credit to the Media, who promptly forgot why we went, pushed the Bush lied meme, and went antiwar early on. Vietnam redux makes it hard to have a decisive win, fighting two wars, an ‘air’ war in the media and one on the ground where the bleeding happens.
The war could have left us with strategic bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Considering our warm and fuzzy relationship over the years with Iran, that could have been important when that conflict arose (not to mention eliminating Saddam and fighting the Taliban and AlQaida on their home turf).
Duh-1 seems to be cozy with the Iranians (considering ValJar, I'm stunned) and their proxies, and had pitched any advantage there to the wind.
The whole media war on Bush started the major divide our enemies will use against us (there have always been differences, but now there are two visions of America.)
Or while Republicans continue their love of circular firing squads, others love their fellows roasted medium rare.
When asked why are you behaving so negatively, the reply was because “we are in the election of the century and only by being honest can we inspire the people to vote one of us POTUS.”
So they were asked, “Is this what an adult in the room looks like?”
Before they could answer, the crowd that had gathered got up an left the hall, some walking over to the Sander’s hall and others to the Hillary coatroom.
After their performance during the first part of the election year, there was little doubt which party would win, even though some polls were contrary. By the month preceding the election, the remaining diehards that identified with the GOP or even admit they were Republicans were few and far between. The only real questions were would the election be the largest landslide in the area once known as America and what would be the first thing President Bernie would do.
1975 all over again.
Winning a war is about more than just blowing up a bunch of sh*t. You have to be able to stomach the occupation necessary after the hostilities cease.
The thing that needs to be dealt with is was the Iraq War necessary? Was it our problem to begin with? I was for it at the beginning, but then again I believed the hype. There were any WMD’s, at least not the kind we were being told to worry about. Setting up freedom in the ME turned out to be a fools errand. All we did was make a ton of new enemies and spend a lot of blood and money for nothing.
He doesn’t know. He’s just regurgitating Code Pink BS. There’s nothing below the surface on much of what Trump says. Just political talking points. Some from the right and some from the left.
If Biden ends up being the nominee, it’s the one and only foreign policy statement he’s ever been right on. Hillary obviously voted for the war so there is that.
I think anyone who argues that we should have done the Iraq war, given the situation today, is simply in denial. The various people of this region of the world don’t desire the west’s iteration of a “better life.” These “countries” need the magic elixir of strong armed dictators, the always entertaining “clerics” with their whimsical “fatwas” on life’s minutiae, and they need it all wrapped together in the message of love and understanding from the magic carpet rider.
We don’t need their oil, so let’s leave the region entirely and allow these clowns to keep each other busy.
It was, at least staying after toppling Saddamn was.
It’s also not an issue in this campaign, it doesn’t help the party to bring it up. We want voters to FORGET about George W. Bush.
We have been defending South Korea for 66 years come June, and they still have an active enemy on their northern border.
Besides they are rich enough to pay for their own defense.
28,500 US troops on a tripwire has to end at some point.
“Trump ought to be telling people why the Iraq war turned into a disaster.”
Exactly. Whether or not you agree/agreed with Bush’s strategy, it was never to just defeat Iraq and start a democracy there. It was to establish a beachhead in the Middle East, and send to message to other regimes in the area that we were serious. All those lives, and all that effort later, and we gave it all away.
The way the war was prosecuted was CLEARLY a mistake and Obama/Hillary haven’t learned jack from it. We were NEVER going to make Iraq (and now Libya and Syria) a Jeffersonian Democracy, not in 1000 years, given their make up.
However, it was time for Saddam to go - he was thumbing his nose at UN agreements and an example had to be set.
He ain’t wrong - it was a disaster that relegates it to the mistake category. You can argue about why we went in and what we hoped to accomplish, but the “compassionate conservatism” was bad enough at home - it was a disaster as a component of winning a war.
Exactly.
The lesson of the last 1400 years is that Muslims must be dealt with by force, and made to stay in their sandbox.
The last time this lesson was learned was in 1673 at the Battle of Vienna, and culturally, it has been bred out of us in the West.
Islam is based on a tribal mentality, where the strongman rules. When one strongman dies or is defeated, another one rises to take his place. It is a belief system totally incompatible with modern Western thought.
And these two cultures will continue to collide along the geographical fault lines until one subjugates the other.
I totally agree....he’s lost a lot of folks by trying to play the blame game on why we went into Iraq.
Well put. I know how eff’ed up the ME is by the fact that, if I were to express it here, my post would just be deleted to the strings of profanity therein. Which proves how effective and useful profanity is, but I digress...
For those that were forced to fight in the war, hats off to you. I am a veteran and I know what the deal is. The politicians who decide when where and how to fight the wars are the issue. Bush II is not blameless - he pretty much lied, or at the very least was pretty stupid about the venture.
Trump will be endorsed by Code Pink. The only GOP person to have that title. Will look interesting at a Trump Rally. Code Pink standing next to Vets. Cant wait til that happens
oops! don’t go there Donald
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