Petraeus: Iraq troop decision likely by September »
Posted By not2needy 4 months, 3 weeks ago in NewsThe fall assessment of the politically unpopular war would put the Iraq debate front-and-center in this year's presidential elections, and possibly influence Iraqi provincial elections expected this November.
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not2needy
I am a Christian, Married, Liberal, and retired social worker. One son. I enjoy my computer, gardening, reading, cooking and having a good time with ...
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not2needy4 months, 3 weeks ago
FTA:
Petraeus has previously been reluctant to say when his next assessment of troop levels would be. In a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, the four-star Army general said conditions on the ground will still determine whether more troops can come home.
But, he noted, "My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time for some further reductions.
Very Rovian strategy.. right before election, a politically unpopular war, start pulling them out, try to get McCain elected, and then send them right back to Iraq. AN IDIOT could see through this scheme.
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cowboygrandpa4 months, 3 weeks ago
n2n:
Let's see. Petraeus thinks he might be able to sway the elections in both nations by sending some American troops home.
By delaying the vote in Iraq he is hoping to protect the Republican party from being embarrassed by the vote in in Iraq should it turn out badly in any way.
Of course this is nothing new for the neocons. They think nothing of playing with other peoples lives in order to attain what they seek.
We are here for their purpose, don't you know? Otherwise they don't need us. We just take up precious food and and other commodities.
Sorry you are not feeling well. Feel better soon.
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libsRfunny4 months, 3 weeks ago
Two completely idiotic statements posted above.
"Petraeus has previously been reluctant to say when his next assessment of troop levels might be. This spring he recommended â;; and Bush agreed â;; to withdraw by July the 30,000 extra troops sent to Iraq last year as part of a major security push to blunt increasing sectarian violence.
"In testimony last month, Petraeus said he needed a 45-day period of evaluation and then an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts..."
Some 30,000 troops will be pulled out by July. Of course he won't know until fall if more can be withdraw. And Iraqis delaying their election from October to November hardly makes a difference.
Only an idiot suggests it's a "neocon" plot.
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ETproductions4 months, 3 weeks ago
Only an idiot could suggest the entire Iraq debacle is anything other than a Neocon plot.
There were no weapons of mass destruction and we now know Bush knew that and directed his administration to spread deliberate lies to take us to war. Iraq posed NO threat to the USA.
Aside from killing 4,000 plus Americans and who knows how many Iraqis, the war has made Americans LESS safe, not more safe.
Invading Iraq pulled vital resources away from the real war in Afghanistan. The Taliban and al Qaeda Leaders were allowed to slip away and fully reconstitute their forces.
Invading Iraq has vastly strengthened Iran's hand, and thereby their surrogates, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Neocons simply don't care about reality or facts. They are so certain of the perfection of their ideology that the outcomes of their actions are completely irrelevant to them.
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GLee4 months, 2 weeks ago
SORRY N2Needy. A mistake pos vote that was meant to be a neg.
'Patraeus' is the man. I really can't imagine Barack or Hillary 'pulling the trigger'........ Duhhhh.....
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2sidestoeverything4 months, 3 weeks ago
Well I guess that means I am not an idiot . . . at least for today. :~)
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lfergie8124 months, 3 weeks ago
"The fall assessment of the politically unpopular war would put the Iraq debate front-and-center in this year's presidential elections, and possibly influence Iraqi provincial elections expected this November."
I never expected anything less. I also expect the price of gasoline to start dropping around that time but it never helped them two years ago.
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SwampFox-82nd4 months, 3 weeks ago
Most cool, my friend, you again posted wisdom in my aged eyes! People forget that when Clinton left, a barrel of crude was a whopping $10.00. Even had a damned surplus for Bush to steal.
I by nature despise war-mongers. In my eyes, that includes those oil barons. I heard that Bush wants to push a $4.00 a gallon nation-wide, before crawling back from wince he begat.
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SwampFox-82nd4 months, 3 weeks ago
Sweet Texangelwings, I must ask your forgiveness, for my errant and unworthy post. Try and remember, the last of my living family are in Matagorda, TX. I realized afterward (when taking my damned meds) I really have no business here if I neglect my medication. You are a dear friend, deserving better than I can articulate. Peace
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raats66624 months, 3 weeks ago
It will be INTERESTING to see how they explain 'troop reduction' if there is STILL violence in Basra.
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SwampFox-82nd4 months, 3 weeks ago
Cool EagleEye, glad to see again. You have a way to post lot in a few words. Gad, that's what this swamp-arse should learn, sweet and succinct. You know why our real American Brothers and Sisters thought so highly of eagle feathers?
Eagles only make nests on the side of cliffs, higher the better. It took a dude some two-days climbing up a sheer mountain cliff to possess an eagle feather. Anyone with that kind of hutzbah, was indeed someone very special. keep flying, cool friend, that's what I hope to be doing very soon.
Peace
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Niimki4 months, 3 weeks ago
Eagles here make nests in high trees. Not picking a fight. Just a matter of fact. But your right about the amount of respect given to the feathers that we hold sacred. THe type of gathering of Eagle feathers you are speaking of is part of a ceremony done by south western tribes. The northern tribes have a whole different way of doing things as do the plains people.
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SwampFox-82nd4 months, 3 weeks ago
Hey Shadowwolf, swampie here. That's the wolf in ya' dude. You can sense bad-guys, for miles (and their nasty-a$$ed friends). Wished to hell a wolf could vote!!! But, hey, we still got our cool pal Wolfie to lead the way. Right on!!!
Did you know I was a LRP in de swamps? I flat loved being a part of the best fighting force that ever jumped out of the ass of a C-130 (Tailgating). Remember the sound of a wolf when losing someone close? I heard that a lot then, my friend.
Peace
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SwampFox-82nd4 months, 3 weeks ago
My cool friends, and all Americans should have figured-out that like Vietnam, generals don't always do the right thing.
I served in the 82nd Airborne from '60-'63. Then our CO was non-other than MajGen James (Slim Jim) Gavins. He resigned when requested to command South Vietnam. In his place was some clown named (retired) Colonel William Westmoreland in '61.
But hark: First they had to make him a general, then Colonel Westmore had to make five-jumps (as required by anyone in the AA (All American) 82nd Airborne. Dude did it from a Huey in one-day. Fact: Westmoreland never jumped with any man of our division. Dated June 20, 1964, General William Westmoreland succeeds General Paul Harkins as head of the U.S. forces (MACV) in Vietnam. Hell, we blamed the entire Eastern Asia fiasco on that moron aka Colonel William Westmoreland. He had never served in a combat unit. He was a damned desk-jocky his entire military career. The day he took command, we knew we were destined to lose.
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lfergie8124 months, 3 weeks ago
You're right wolfie, we've been distracted by the stories of Bush wanting to attack Iran. Any troops that are deployed from Iraq would probably be sent into Iran after November.
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dunkirk4 months, 3 weeks ago
ROFLMAO< gee anyone thing troops wont be coming home in Sept to be followed by the next "surge" in Decemeber after the elections.
But it is kinda odd, why none of the righties are complaining about how that helps the insurgents by giving them hope, ya know lets keep it quiet for a few months and they'll go away. AND, (horrors of horrors), we can follow them home and fight them there.
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not2needy4 months, 3 weeks ago
Takes on a whole new meaning doesn't it..When put in the neocon perspective??
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libsRfunny4 months, 3 weeks ago
"But it is kinda odd, why none of the righties are complaining about how that helps the insurgents by giving them hope..."
Anyone with half a brain knows troops won't be pulled back unless the Iraqis continue taking care of their own security. You must have missed the part where they already control most of the security details with Basra being the one sticking point.
It offers no hope to "insurgents." It tells them their time is nearly done. That's a hell of a lot different than declaring "the war is lost! Poll out now" as so many fools in Congress on on Propeller proclaimed a year ago.
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dunkirk4 months, 2 weeks ago
"You must have missed the part where they already control most of the security details with Basra being the one sticking point."
ROFLMAO you must be missing the news where there sems to be problems all over Iraq including the GREEN ZONE which is suppose to be the most secure point in Iraq. But then again I guess controlloing the secur9ity details is far more im[portant that actually aving security. When drink the kool-aid the realization that the REPUBLICANS have yet again screwed the pooch seems to slip right on by. Maybe, since you claim things are going so well, you can explain what mcLames comment about staying a 100 years meant? After all if things are just going so well why was there no corection issued by the administration? LOL, time to start using that other half of the brain.
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hefaa14 months, 3 weeks ago
Know History? Look what happen in South Vietnam in 75' when the U.S. pulled out. The strong South Vietnamese infrastructure the U.S thought it left behind folded like a cheap accordion. Envision the last helicopter leaving the green zone's tallest building with a line of refuges being stranded on a roof top. The real insurgents are just waiting. This whole war was a colossal mistake.
Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.
Since our poor excuse for a president never had to go to Vietnam and was probably high/partying during this historical period in time, this will all be new to him.
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jimdoze4 months, 2 weeks ago
"Regardless how long the administration may choose to remain engaged in the strife in that country, our troops are better off with the leadership these two distinguished soldiers provide," said Levin, D-Mich.
Clinton, D-N.Y., thanked the generals for their "incredible leadership."
Oh, BTW, to those comparing Iraq to Vietnam... Iraq is strategically far more important than Vietnam ever was.
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walden34 months, 2 weeks ago
"...an endorsement by the panel's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton."
Not much different between Repubs and Dems. Without a counterbalance, even an artificial one, we can't stay in the middle. There needs to be an opposition party, if for nothing else then just to challenge ideas and conventional wisdom.
Any way you look at it Iraq is a FOB. It is the new DMZ. There will be tens of thousands of US troops in Iraq for decades.
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Poulenc4 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes, this is a game of footsie, isn't it: a bit of tickle, then withdrawal (but not of the troops) then re-tickle, and...
There's no end to the number of times this can occur; what it does is create a climate of possibility, even of hope, to which people desperate for same (which is all of us, frankly), can latch onto.
So the meaning of "is" is..."maybe."
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Charlson4 months, 2 weeks ago
I will not trust anything this sycophant, Betrayus, says or does.
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