So - when do we bring our guys and girls back home?
Search for WMD in Iraq ended
Effort folded shortly before Christmas
The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814588/
The Easter Egg Hunt.... Is over....
Home Run
U.S. troops will begin leaving Iraq this year as the Iraqi army, national guard and police force take on a larger security role, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview released Wednesday by the State Department.
more --->
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6727646/
Rock,
-- Slap Shot
more --->
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6727646/
Rock,
-- Slap Shot
Re: The Easter Egg Hunt.... Is over....
Kind of funny that you should bring this up at the same time the DAV posted evidence that the illnesses and problems suffered by Veterans of the Gulf War I are caused by Nerve Gas and other agents which Saddam supposedly did not have or use. Go figure.DMC wrote:So - when do we bring our guys and girls back home?
Search for WMD in Iraq ended
Effort folded shortly before Christmas
The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814588/
MUST STOP POSTING ! MUST STOP POSTING !
Shut up and Ski!
Why's Everybody Always Pickin on Me?
Shut up and Ski!
Why's Everybody Always Pickin on Me?
Re: The Easter Egg Hunt.... Is over....
True... But - that was then... Were talking now..Dr. NO wrote:Kind of funny that you should bring this up at the same time the DAV posted evidence that the illnesses and problems suffered by Veterans of the Gulf War I are caused by Nerve Gas and other agents which Saddam supposedly did not have or use. Go figure.DMC wrote:So - when do we bring our guys and girls back home?
Search for WMD in Iraq ended
Effort folded shortly before Christmas
The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814588/
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Bubba
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Let's be rational here. The easter egg hunt is over, yes. However, the easter bunny, Saddam, had had WMD in the past and, while he apparently (or at least probably) destroyed them in accordance with the terms at the end of Gulf War 1, he also did everything he could to keep the world believing that he still had WMD right up until Gulf War 11. He fooled the world's intelligence services intentionally, therefore, why are we to blame for taking him seriously?
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
hmmm......Bubba wrote:Let's be rational here. The easter egg hunt is over, yes. However, the easter bunny, Saddam, had had WMD in the past and, while he apparently (or at least probably) destroyed them in accordance with the terms at the end of Gulf War 1, he also did everything he could to keep the world believing that he still had WMD right up until Gulf War 11. He fooled the world's intelligence services intentionally, therefore, why are we to blame for taking him seriously?
One man's opinion...Congressional rep from Mass...and yes, he's a Democrat, but he seems to have an informed opinion on this subject
Meehan: U.S. must plan for leaving Iraq
Back from war zone, rep says campaign 'in wrong direction'
By MATT MURPHY, Sun Staff
BOSTON Weary from nearly 52 hours of flight over the past eight days, U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan returned to Boston late Friday night after a whirlwind tour of the Middle East, convinced that American policy in post-war Iraq is failing.
"Two years into the occupation and we are going in the wrong direction," said Meehan, a Lowell Democrat and member of the House Armed Services Committee, at a press conference at Logan Airport yesterday morning.
Just two weeks before scheduled elections on Jan. 30, an escalation of violent attacks by the Iraqi insurgency threatens to disrupt the country's first election. And as the death toll rises, leaders in Washington and Iraq have raised red flags as to the legitimacy of an elected government without participation by the Sunni minority, who may stay away from the polls for fear of their lives.
As of Friday, 1,526 coalition troops had been killed in Iraq, including 1,366 U.S. forces. Another 10,372 U.S. troops have been injured since the war began in March 2003.
Meehan said when he returned to Washington he planned to draft a policy paper and push for President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to agree to a phased drawdown of American troops that would reduce the fighting force on the ground in Iraq from about 150,000 troops today to a "small, mobile force" within 12 to 16 months.
"We cannot cut and run, but we must make clear our intentions to leave," Meehan said. "I think a 12- to 16-month period is long enough to train Iraqi forces so that they can defend themselves."
Meehan said he believes such an announcement and gradual withdrawal of American forces would signal to the Iraqi people that America does not intend to be an occupying power. It could lend legitimacy to a new Iraqi government, splinter insurgent groups, encourage the Iraqi government and factions within the country to work together rather than rely on the United States to make sacrifices, and help unify the international community, he said.
"We are going to be in Iraq for a long time, but such a large presence is undermining our efforts to defeat the insurgency," the congressman said.
Meehan traveled through Iraq and Afghanistan over the past week, visiting hundreds of soldiers, Allawi, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Gen. George Casey, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte.
It was the congressman's second trip to Iraq since the war began the first in August 2003 and Meehan said what stood out sharply for him was how the country had become possibly "the most dangerous place on earth."
Meehan said in 2003 he was able to travel more freely and speak with Iraqis on the street. This time around he couldn't even stay in Iraq overnight for security risks, instead flying by C-130 aircraft or army helicopter from Jordan to visit U.S. military bases and Iraqi security training facilities.
Any travel done by Meehan and his colleagues from the House Armed Services Committee had be to approved by U.S. military personnel, and the congressional delegation was escorted from place to place in armored Humvees.
Meehan said in some areas he could hear gunfire, but it was impossible to tell if it was from insurgents or U.S. forces doing their jobs.
The elections on Jan. 30, which will choose 275 members of Iraq's national assembly, should and will happen on schedule, Meehan said. But Prime Minister Allawi predicted to congressmen that while 60 to 65 percent of the Iraqi population would cast ballots, there is the chance that close to 0 percent of the Sunni Muslim population would vote.
If Sunnis don't vote, Meehan said the challenge will be to reach out to Sunni constitutional scholars for input into drafting the country's new constitution by October.
"If the election was canceled, there is no evidence that the violence would subside," Meehan said. "And it would be a victory for the insurgents."
At U.S military bases, Meehan said he found troop morale to be high, and was pleased that American forces seemed to finally be receiving the armor and ammunition that they should've been provided since day one.
It is important, however, that the troops begin to see "light at the end of the tunnel" in the form of a defined exit strategy, he said.
Afghanistan offered a more hopeful glimpse of what a post-war Iraq could be, but Meehan said the major difference in that country is that the people welcomed American forces.
After visiting Kabul, Meehan said Afghanistan was much safer than Iraq, and newly elected President Karzai was reaching out to farmers in an attempt to curtail the production of poppy seed and find new cash crops that don't fuel the drug trade.
Meehan: U.S. must plan for leaving Iraq
Back from war zone, rep says campaign 'in wrong direction'
By MATT MURPHY, Sun Staff
BOSTON Weary from nearly 52 hours of flight over the past eight days, U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan returned to Boston late Friday night after a whirlwind tour of the Middle East, convinced that American policy in post-war Iraq is failing.
"Two years into the occupation and we are going in the wrong direction," said Meehan, a Lowell Democrat and member of the House Armed Services Committee, at a press conference at Logan Airport yesterday morning.
Just two weeks before scheduled elections on Jan. 30, an escalation of violent attacks by the Iraqi insurgency threatens to disrupt the country's first election. And as the death toll rises, leaders in Washington and Iraq have raised red flags as to the legitimacy of an elected government without participation by the Sunni minority, who may stay away from the polls for fear of their lives.
As of Friday, 1,526 coalition troops had been killed in Iraq, including 1,366 U.S. forces. Another 10,372 U.S. troops have been injured since the war began in March 2003.
Meehan said when he returned to Washington he planned to draft a policy paper and push for President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to agree to a phased drawdown of American troops that would reduce the fighting force on the ground in Iraq from about 150,000 troops today to a "small, mobile force" within 12 to 16 months.
"We cannot cut and run, but we must make clear our intentions to leave," Meehan said. "I think a 12- to 16-month period is long enough to train Iraqi forces so that they can defend themselves."
Meehan said he believes such an announcement and gradual withdrawal of American forces would signal to the Iraqi people that America does not intend to be an occupying power. It could lend legitimacy to a new Iraqi government, splinter insurgent groups, encourage the Iraqi government and factions within the country to work together rather than rely on the United States to make sacrifices, and help unify the international community, he said.
"We are going to be in Iraq for a long time, but such a large presence is undermining our efforts to defeat the insurgency," the congressman said.
Meehan traveled through Iraq and Afghanistan over the past week, visiting hundreds of soldiers, Allawi, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Gen. George Casey, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte.
It was the congressman's second trip to Iraq since the war began the first in August 2003 and Meehan said what stood out sharply for him was how the country had become possibly "the most dangerous place on earth."
Meehan said in 2003 he was able to travel more freely and speak with Iraqis on the street. This time around he couldn't even stay in Iraq overnight for security risks, instead flying by C-130 aircraft or army helicopter from Jordan to visit U.S. military bases and Iraqi security training facilities.
Any travel done by Meehan and his colleagues from the House Armed Services Committee had be to approved by U.S. military personnel, and the congressional delegation was escorted from place to place in armored Humvees.
Meehan said in some areas he could hear gunfire, but it was impossible to tell if it was from insurgents or U.S. forces doing their jobs.
The elections on Jan. 30, which will choose 275 members of Iraq's national assembly, should and will happen on schedule, Meehan said. But Prime Minister Allawi predicted to congressmen that while 60 to 65 percent of the Iraqi population would cast ballots, there is the chance that close to 0 percent of the Sunni Muslim population would vote.
If Sunnis don't vote, Meehan said the challenge will be to reach out to Sunni constitutional scholars for input into drafting the country's new constitution by October.
"If the election was canceled, there is no evidence that the violence would subside," Meehan said. "And it would be a victory for the insurgents."
At U.S military bases, Meehan said he found troop morale to be high, and was pleased that American forces seemed to finally be receiving the armor and ammunition that they should've been provided since day one.
It is important, however, that the troops begin to see "light at the end of the tunnel" in the form of a defined exit strategy, he said.
Afghanistan offered a more hopeful glimpse of what a post-war Iraq could be, but Meehan said the major difference in that country is that the people welcomed American forces.
After visiting Kabul, Meehan said Afghanistan was much safer than Iraq, and newly elected President Karzai was reaching out to farmers in an attempt to curtail the production of poppy seed and find new cash crops that don't fuel the drug trade.
-
BigKahuna13
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Gulf War 11? What'd I sleep through 3 through 10?Bubba wrote:Let's be rational here. The easter egg hunt is over, yes. However, the easter bunny, Saddam, had had WMD in the past and, while he apparently (or at least probably) destroyed them in accordance with the terms at the end of Gulf War 1, he also did everything he could to keep the world believing that he still had WMD right up until Gulf War 11. He fooled the world's intelligence services intentionally, therefore, why are we to blame for taking him seriously?
Maybe so, but lots of people didn't believe him. Seems we -- and maybe the Brits -- were the only ones who did, and we were wrong.
What is not possible is not to choose. ~Jean-Paul Sartre
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XtremeJibber2001
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- Joined: Nov 5th, '04, 09:35
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I think he meant Gulf War IIBigKahuna13 wrote:Gulf War 11?Bubba wrote:Let's be rational here. The easter egg hunt is over, yes. However, the easter bunny, Saddam, had had WMD in the past and, while he apparently (or at least probably) destroyed them in accordance with the terms at the end of Gulf War 1, he also did everything he could to keep the world believing that he still had WMD right up until Gulf War 11. He fooled the world's intelligence services intentionally, therefore, why are we to blame for taking him seriously?
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Bubba
- Site Admin
- Posts: 26324
- Joined: Nov 5th, '04, 08:42
- Location: Where the climate suits my clothes
Yeah, what he said.XtremeJibber2001 wrote:I think he meant Gulf War IIBigKahuna13 wrote:Gulf War 11?Bubba wrote:Let's be rational here. The easter egg hunt is over, yes. However, the easter bunny, Saddam, had had WMD in the past and, while he apparently (or at least probably) destroyed them in accordance with the terms at the end of Gulf War 1, he also did everything he could to keep the world believing that he still had WMD right up until Gulf War 11. He fooled the world's intelligence services intentionally, therefore, why are we to blame for taking him seriously?
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe