Iraq: To Leave or Not To Leave

[GeauxTo]

Iraq: To Leave or Not To Leave, That is the Question.
http://cagle.msnbc.com/working/051123/varvel.jpg (http://www.cagle.com/caglecards/main.asp?image=http://www.cagle.com/working/051123/varvel.jpg)

[RW13]

As someone who opposes Bush and the new Republican platform (bash queers and spend too much money, personally I'm a 1970s or 80s republican ideologically) and now opposes the PREMISE for the war, I say stay and stay for at least 2 or 3 years. That cartoon kinda simplifies the situation, but yeah, leaving is a bad idea now that we are there.

[SeattleGamecocks]

Here is where the Machiavellian approach to Iraq is going to effect us. We would have been justified in going into Syria or Jordan pretty much for the exact reasons initially given for going into Iraq at that time, and we would have had widespread international support. But the forged intelligence has hurt our credibility. Yes, its a good thing that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, but the "bait and switch" reason for invading Iraq has our allies skeptical and has lost support for our occupation of Iraq. We need the support of our allies b/c we are not ready to leave Iraq, but there are certainly these other issues pending and we cannot afford to spread our military too thin. If anyone thinks this opinion means I "hate America" then they are an igonorant poo-poo head.

[RW13]

No, I think we all get that Seattle and I think 90% of America would agree (sans a few hardcore liberals and a few hardcore Bush relatives). Syria, Iran, or N. Korea would have been better, Hussein was definately an evil man, but unfortunately we're not ridding the world of the rest of them in power, and yeah, now we lose support when we had a chance to rid the world of evil, Iraq should have been like #5 on the list, not #1....

[cocky4ever]

I agree with both of you. Iraq was further down on the list of threats than many other places. However, Iraq happened to have the second largest oil reserve and pending contracts with many nations in the world. Therefore, we ended up in Iraq. As much as I dont like almost all the things Bush has done while in office, I can see that we dont need to leave Iraq now. Of course, I dont know if we'll ever be able to feel good about the shape Iraq is in during our lifetimes. If we cant secure our borders how are we gonna secure a country that is completely surrounded by our enemies and who will become enemies of Iraq as soon as we set up a system there. Like I said, I completely disagreed with us going into Iraq but we certainly cant leave now, and that is just another part of the frustration for me. Add that to the fact that NO ONE has been held accountable for getting us into this situation and thats a LOT of insult added to a LOT of injury.

[WayzUp]

What we've done and what I think the main reason for Dubya's 30something percent approval rating is gotten ourselves into a Catch-220....a catch 22 times ten. As the cartoon generally portrays, if we leave now there will certainly be a reason for us to return within the next few years, whatever or whoever that reason is doesn't matter. We may as well stay and make certain that the country we've spent the better part of the last couple years gutting can stand up and take care of itself when we do leave.

On the other hand, we're pouring money into the Iraq Money Pit to the tune of 9 BILLION DOLLARS EVERY MONTH while we're letting things here at home (i.e. schools, social security or whatever it's going to be in 10 years, healthcare, secure borders, etc) fall on the trailer park side of quality living because we simply cannot afford to take care of them and Iraq at the same time.

We can't afford to leave and we're not going to be able to afford to stay. Catch-220.

I feel for whoever wins in 2008....they're gonna have one helluva of a mess to clean up.

[GeauxTo]

The most problematic spot in the world is probably Iran. If they keep on developing what appears to be a nuclear weapons capability, it will be Israel who jumps on them with both feet and no one will be able to stop Israel from removing Iran as a sovereign country.

[RW13]

Yeah, you're exactly right GeauxTo, Israel will preemptively attack them and if it ever came down to it, Israel would use the Nukes that they "don't" have.....

[Neo]

Yeah, you're exactly right GeauxTo, Israel will preemptively attack them and if it ever came down to it, Israel would use the Nukes that they "don't" have.....





http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7743/nuclearexplosion6iu.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nuclearexplosion6iu.jpg)
BOOM! :D


Break out the Oscar Meyer's and Marshmallows. :D :cool:

[jneesy]

yep we need to leave iraq........we need to head north and west to obliterate iran and syria then the job will be nearly done

[RW13]

I'm with neesy, as long as we take N. Korea as well..., let's get Israel involved and finish this thing once and for all....

[cocky4ever]

I'm with neesy, as long as we take N. Korea as well..., let's get Israel involved and finish this thing once and for all....
WOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!


World War Three here we come!!!

Seriously though, if we can barely handle Iraq how are we supposed to be able to take out enemies who are more of a threat? Our military has been spread so thin by this administration and now military recruiting is going down. Not to mention that now countries who would've once been more than willing to help us will be more reluctant to jump in head first with us. I dont really see us having the capability to take on new projects right now.

[uscrebel]

I'm with neesy, as long as we take N. Korea as well..., let's get Israel involved and finish this thing once and for all....

You might want to consider China as a peripheral player. I assume that they would get a little pissy about us stomping around in N. Korea. Besides, I have a friend who is an IR professor whose area speciality is Korea, Kamchatka and the maritime island between Russia, China, and Japan. He says that N. Korea is about to implode and may be in complete anarchy within the next three years.

[BAMAMARINE]

You might want to consider China as a peripheral player. I assume that they would get a little pissy about us stomping around in N. Korea. Besides, I have a friend who is an IR professor whose area speciality is Korea, Kamchatka and the maritime island between Russia, China, and Japan. He says that N. Korea is about to implode and may be in complete anarchy within the next three years.

Korea is the worst place in the world!!! I think it was worse than Iraq. I was there for 31 days in the summer on a joint task force mission, it rained 30 of the 31 days, I went back during the winter months, aboard a High Speed Vessel(HSV) we docked in South Korea unloaded the ship and I literally froze my ass off, I have been to Bridgeport for cold weather training, but oh my God I thought I was gonna die, anyway when we got there Convoyed up really close to the boarder of N. Korea and S. Korea they still call it the DMZ up there, we were at condition 1 weapons(round in chamber ready to kill whatever moved)they kept telling us if we hear any artillery hit the deck that the North Koreans were no more than a couple of miles from us, shit over there was crazy.

[RW13]

Damn, are they expecting something to actually happen? That's crazy they told you to shoot anything that moves....

[BAMAMARINE]

Damn, are they expecting something to actually happen? That's crazy they told you to shoot anything that moves....

Maybe that is an exagerration, they didnt tell us to shoot whatever moved they just had us prepared in case some stuff did happen, we would get in trouble if we went to the bathroom without our rifle.

[jneesy]

Damn, are they expecting something to actually happen? That's crazy they told you to shoot anything that moves....


i did a detachment to the air station at guantanimo bay cuba and one things for sure....those marines get downright serious about that damn fence


Seriously though, if we can barely handle Iraq how are we supposed to be able to take out enemies who are more of a threat? Our military has been spread so thin by this administration and now military recruiting is going down. Not to mention that now countries who would've once been more than willing to help us will be more reluctant to jump in head first with us. I dont really see us having the capability to take on new projects right now.

and people tend to forget this outstanding record of the US military is not in the size of its standing numbers but in our industrial might to arm a much larger force. the US military can handle much more than their doing at the moment....dont sell them short

[WayzUp]

and people tend to forget this outstanding record of the US military is not in the size of its standing numbers but in our industrial might to arm a much larger force. the US military can handle much more than their doing at the moment....dont sell them short
This is a good point and not one to be understated. If we, as a country, put our minds to it, I don't believe there is anything we cannot do. That being said, the majority of people in the US don't believe we should be there, according to most polls. If you take that into account and add in the fact that nearly every other member of our "grand coalition" is pulling troops out now or have already made plans to in the first part/over the course of 2006, we need to start thinking seriously about whether or not Iraq can be made into a sovereign country that can take care of itself with the likes of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia (i'll never trust those fockers) and whoever else. Hell, Trinidad & Tobago could probably conquer Iraq right now if we left.

Like it or not, this 'war on terror' our leaders think needs to be fought in Iraq isn't going to be won, lost or drawn by 2008 so that's why I said I feel for whoever wins the next Presidential election. They're going to have a helluva job cleaning up our house...it's gotten pretty messy over the past 6 years. And for some reason, I don't see a whole lot getting cleaned up over the next 2 to help out Bush's successor.

[Cianne]

we need to start thinking seriously about whether or not Iraq can be made into a sovereign country that can take care of itself with the likes of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia (i'll never trust those fockers) and whoever else.

See, all those countries need to be groovy like Dubai. That place is awesome.

[ColonelKurtz]

All this whiney vomit being spewed by the lunatic left should be captured so that they may all be drowned in it when we're through in Iraq!

What's funniest about it all is that memories are VERY LONG in that part of the World and all of the truely good stuff our troops & organizations are doing there will pay enormous dividends in the decades to come.

Insofar as these muslamic morons stirring up trouble there, the day the last US soldier leaves Iraq, you can start the clock on the elimination of all that crap. The Iraqis WILL, once they don't have us looking over their shoulders, administer their own style and means of dealing with them. Summary execution, ahh, a wonder means of keeping the courts unclogged so that the petty stuff you can collect fine money for can function efficiently!