Quote Originally Posted by swirly_the_toilet_fish
It was a whole load of bull everyone bought into. I'm not saying I didn't, hell I wanted to go in at the time. Not anymore. Is the total life cost worth the fact that our intelligence was wrong? (just referring to WMDs, not the fact they'll become a democracy in this one)
Yes. We started this. Let's finish it the right way. The consequences of not doing so are a devasted Iraq controlled by religious fundamentalist extremists. Then we will have to go back anyway. Just consider Iraq the new germany. We were in germany forever for stratgeic reasons, now we will be in Iraq forever for strategic reasons. And BTW, regarding Iran. They are primarily Shiite. And guess what? The new power of Iraq is mostly Shiite. A free and democratic Iraq will boost support for the many reformists of Iran.


Was it not the speculation of WMDs that got the US over there in the first place?
That is, uhm, pretty much what I said Swirly. The fact we were wrong is irrlevant now. If we were lied to, then I support impeachment. But we need evidence. Not a hunch or a guess or a speculation or a stone skipped across the water with a daydream of lives never lived and dreams that will never be.

I do argee that we need to stand for something and stand our damn ground once in a while, without our big brothers across the blue chastising us for every step. However, even if we withdraw leaving them enough power and our guarantee of protection, will that stop the new government and infrastructure from surviving an Iranian or Syrian invasion? No. And all of our years of effort, money, and lives will have been for nothing. Instead of 2006 they should have said 2010. Be factual, not optomistic.
Woh woh Woh. MR. Negativity here. Let us be factual then. The US would love to take out Syria. And Iran. Do you not agree? And don't you think they both know that? And if we establish a fledging democracy in Iraq and it is stepped on by big bad Iran and mean Mr Syria, don't you think we would now have an excuse to blow them up too? Right. So now that is settled. They want to survive so they aren't going to do a damn thing. Besides, The Syrians like the Iraqi Baathists and the Iranians like the Iraqi Shiites. No one is doing anything over there.



I know, and they know. As such they have attempted to raise taxes on goods shipped to the United States to discourage trading with us. However, that will only slow there economy to a stand still. Regardless they still threatened us with a nuclear strike for interfering with a problem of theirs that stems from the early twentith century.
It is called posturing. It is a statement meant to show us that they still have teeth but not meant to be an actual threat. You bite me, I bite you back kind of thing. Nobody wants nuclear war, including the chinese. They are just putting on a show. Remeber the cold war? That was ALL posturing. We just flexed and flexed and flexed until the soviets decides to go home.


I agree it is the best we have, but I do believe things could and should have been done differently. Everyone was swept into zeal because of an attack on our soil. It should not have gone unpunished, because it is our soil. Iraq couldn't hold its own in Desert shield or storm, what made people think they had acquired WMDs? Everyone seen the piss weapons they used. And with slavery and the Japanese internment camps being bad, don't you agree Guantanimo Bay is a little excessive?
I remember the lead up to the war quite distinctly. I was reenlisting and trying to go. Alas, stop move stop loss prevents all forces from transfering units. I missed the good part. Now it's just us vs. ourselves over there. Who will win? Patience and commitment? Or Liberal media sabotage?