We're Going to Be in Iraq for 50+ Years?

[Lemur]

Say it ain't so ...

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush would like to see a U.S. role in Iraq ultimately similar to that in South Korea in which "you get to a point in the future where you want it to be a purely support model."

"The Korean model is one in which the United States provides a security presence, but you've had the development of a successful democracy in South Korea over a period of years, and, therefore, the United States is there as a force of stability," Snow told reporters.

So our bases will be more or less permanent?

Snow said U.S. bases in Iraq would not necessarily be permanent because they would be there at the invitation of the host government and "the person who has done the invitation has the right to withdraw the invitation."

"I think the point he's (Bush) trying to make is that the situation in Iraq, and indeed, the larger war on terror, are things that are going to take a long time. But it is not always going to require an up-front combat presence," Snow said.

Oh, my aching head ...

I know we're going to be in Iraq, in some capacity or another, for a long time. But modeling it on Korea? Hrm, I'm curious what the Orgahs think of this new development in Presidential rhetoric.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I bet its a lot longer than that

[Shahed]

Did you expect otherwise ? Not me.

[Zaknafien]

Yeah, gotta have a force to secure those oil and construction contracts. And thus the empire grows! Hail, Caesar.



Hm this map's a little off though I think we should throw in most of Western Europe and Japan too.

[Boyar Son]

Actually I think Venezuela should be next. Add some western African countries for the diamonds too, Easter Europe wont give us musch value.

We'll need bases from which we can attack/defended from China in our upcoming war. Control of Syria (which will be difficult) but will help because Syria is the key to Mesopotamia.

[Whacker]

Lemur, you seem to have a knack for digging up hard to find stuff. Try this one out for size.

I recall several years back listening to the local college radio station on my way home from work. It was a talk show, and they had a guy on, think he was a poly. sci. prof., and they were talking about the invasion of Iraq and the pretenses that it was based on at the time. This prof. mentioned that there was a publically available paper published by a think tank that basically outlined a strategy for US subjugation of the Middle East, Iraq was the lynchpin. Further, he rattled off a large list of the major authors of this paper that were part of this think tank, and lo and behold the only two I remembered were Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

Sorry, that's all I can offer, it's been ages and I was more or less not paying too much attention until he said those names. I am pretty sure my other rather highly ambiguous statements based on my memory are correct. Perhaps you or someone else on this board can dig this up, I've always been a bit curious to see that.

At any rate, based the above, I'm not the least bit surprised. Further, I am fully expecting Bush and his adminstration to do something just like you posted earlier, about setting it up so his successor 'won't be able to exit anytime soon'.

What a huge and costly mistake this has all been.

[Whacker]

Yeah, gotta have a force to secure those oil and construction contracts. And thus the empire grows! Hail, Caesar.



Hm this map's a little off though I think we should throw in most of Western Europe and Japan too.

How has Scotland managed to conquer that much of the map already? Looks like they must be going up against Egypt and Hungary right now. /M2TW humor

[Shahed]

Yeah, gotta have a force to secure those oil and construction contracts. And thus the empire grows! Hail, Caesar.



Hm this map's a little off though I think we should throw in most of Western Europe and Japan too.

If this was a map of the "empire", a lot is missing here, the European Union, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa. All these nations are under the thumb, whether they like it or not. How about all the Arab states. Oh and Pakistan, of course.

[Zaknafien]

I totally agree. That map just shows US military intervention in the past 50 years. If you wanted to show the empire western europe, japan, australia, etc would all be on there too. Client states, if you like.

[drone]

The model works in South Korea because the troops are there to deter a hostile nation-state from attacking. An attack hits the politic tripwire that pulls in full support in defence. Apples and oranges. It doesn't apply here because the threats are internal* not external.


* I am aware of the external actors in Iraq, but Iran, Syria, et al. are not likely to overtly attack "Iraq" across the border. Yet.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Yeah, gotta have a force to secure those oil and construction contracts. And thus the empire grows! Hail, Caesar.

Someones been playing too much RTW

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

IT's basically how Britain and Rome before her aquired an Empire.

Bush isn't Augustus though, he's a plonker.