The War in Iraq

[super kid]

Re: The War in Iraq

I think the next president is going to get us out of Iraq. But we have Sadom why arent looking for Osama. We are in Iraq because Bush is finishing what his Dad started. They both are dumb.

[MalReynolds]

Re: The War in Iraq

I think the next president is going to get us out of Iraq. But we have Sadom why arent looking for Osama. We are in Iraq because Bush is finishing what his Dad started. They both are dumb.

Well put. Eloquent, to the point. Why not search hundreds of thousands of cave-miles in an attempt to kill a figure head. Yes, give him a higher status as a martyr for his cause, that will surely quell the masses. Killing his generals has proven SO effective, I applaud your forward way of thinking.

My Dad built a shelf one time. While he was building it, he divorced my Mom. We threw the shelf out, we didn't finish it.

[lord_carbo]

Re: The War in Iraq

I don't have too much of a problem with the concept of going to war, but it could have been executed much, much better.

Guido and TPS pretty much sum up what I'm thinking.

[Cavernio]

Re: The War in Iraq

Ah Tps, I agree with you.

Seriously though, no one's really said a reason as to WHY the war is on in the first place. All I know is that, initially it was mixed into the war on terrorism, and that weapons of mass destruction were being looked for.

Also, as to forcing democracy onto a country that doesn't want it...well, firstly, that's highly undemocratic right there, and secondly, that explains nothing as to why Iraq in particular was chosen out of the multitude of un-democratic countries.
Also, and purely on what has been said on this forum, (I have no idea what's going on in Venezuela), but I DO know that Venezuela produces its own oil, and sells it to their citizens for dirt cheap compared to the rest of the world, and if the US is trying to force democracy onto them (I don't even know what type of government they currently have, its sad), I strongly suggest that the US is simply trying to get it's hand on a precious resource.

I don't think its not so much as not paying attention to the media, but simply thinking critically about what's going on. I don't read a heck of a lot of media about the war in Iraq (or anything else), but whenever I do, I find myself frustrated with lack of information. I get confused easily about what's going on, mainly because I don't get why things are going on, and I often rely on opinions of others who make an argument and take some form of explanation.

[Tps222]

Re: The War in Iraq

Trying to find one cause or reason for the war is kind of hard to do. There are a multitude of reasons why we went, and right now I don't think it really matters. It's not like we can time-travel, so we have to deal with the current situation at hand. Trying to put the blame on someone only detracts attention from the situation at hand that needs to be dealt with.

As soon as we made the war in Iraq one for Iraq freedom, a plan for the future should already have been set in place. The US took too long in deciding how they wanted to handle the situation. If a decisve decision was made, it may have gone over much smoother. Personally, I felt we were heading in the right way during the first couple of years in the war(from a strategic and logistic viewpoint anyways). Once the major fighting was declared over is where the turn for the worse occured. The procedure for handing over the government to a US friendly system became increasingly difficult because of the lack of organization on our part. We needed to set up guidelines, increase the amount of troops overseas(Which I blame on the American public. I don't understand how you can call yourselves American and not realize the situation we are in over there.) If we were able to buff troop size, and crush any form of opposition as the Iraqis built up their own army, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in today. Baghdad is in constant disarray, and all the American public wants to do is pull out and run. We can't pull out right now, any form of reducing the troops will prove catostrophic for Iraq and all the nations around it. Iran and Syria are constantly funding(secretly) opposing factions within Iraq, and us leaving would help them gain some influence within that nation.

In my opinion, we need to send over hundreds of thousands of troops over there now. We need to regain complete control over the region. Crush the opposing factions, and set up a government that will work, and be stable. I realize a democracy is hard to upkeep when not all of the citizens want it, which is why US occupation is required for the next century or so. We need a strong base of support in the middle east before we can deal with the other growingly dangerous situations going on there.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking "Why do we need to be involved at all". Well, I agree with you here. I would like to not be involved as well, but once we decided that it was America's job to police the world, we were stuck in that position. I believe it was Roosevelt who issued his Corrolary(sp?) that stated we would police the world. Pearl Harbor and WW 1 and 2 strengthed this. Once WW2 ended, and we played a part in creating Israel from Palestine(which much of the American public is far too uneducated in to realize why there is fighting over there) we were pretty much cemented in our role. The Cold War made us police more(policy of containment(Truman Doctrine)).

Overall, I don't see this issue in Iraq being stable for at least a few decades. We can't pull out know, so what we need is the American people to unite behind the future leaders, and to help Iraq become stable.