The Stab a Soldier in the Back Act 2007

So - they set a deadline for getting out. Beats having no idea at all when/if the troops will be getting out, right.

Put a little bit of pressure on Iraq to pull up its bootstraps and actually work towards getting their own damn country under control.
 
Yea, a great idea. Tell the enemy when we'll leave. If they just bide their time, instead of giving up, they now know we're not in it for the long haul.
 
Gonz said:
Yea, a great idea. Tell the enemy when we'll leave. If they just bide their time, instead of giving up, they now know we're not in it for the long haul.
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They always knew it, Gonz. So did most of us.
 
Gonz said:
Yea, a great idea. Tell the enemy when we'll leave. If they just bide their time, instead of giving up, they now know we're not in it for the long haul.
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Isn't the point that you were suppose to make Iraq self-sufficient? Strong military, police, legal infrastructure?

If you think that being there 'for the long haul' is going to speed that along, you're fooling yourself. Why should Iraq fight for it's own freedoms when the USA is willing to pay the bill AND risk their own lives in the process.

Iraq=:lurk:
 
This is not about Iraqs self sufficiency. It's about telegraphing our intentions. 1975, as our Hueys were lifting off the embassy in Vietnam, the Cong were slaughtering hundreds of thousands. Right up the street, Pol Pot adding his name to the million man (doubled) Genocide roster.

If they aren't ready & if we tell the world we're gone on X date, one way or the other, a humanitarian crisis will ensue.
 
Or let the ones you want to know in on it and keep the enemy from the information. It ain't like we owe them a publicized press release.
 
What I mean to say is that Politicians live and die by the press. They practically have to get all their plans published to stay in power and maintain a certain amount of transparency.

It's virtually impossible for the 'departure' plan to not get published.... hell, the moment one troop in Iraq knows the departure date, the news'll go stateside (family), then to the press, and within 24 hours, the insurgents will know about it.

If the politicians/decision makers don't release the information first, they'll be accused of being secretive and/or liars.

It's inevitable.
 
Can you give me a date that the American pullout of Germany, Japan or Korea happened? What, didn't Gen McArthur think it was needed? How about Eisenhower? Screw the NY TImes. Our military is not required to filiter its information through the press.

Say, when are we pulling out of Bosnia? A year wasn't it?
 
MrBishop said:
If the politicians/decision makers don't release the information first, they'll be accused of being secretive and/or liars.

It's inevitable.
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I'm sorry, but I call :bs: .

I've said this before, too. If you or anyone else truly in your heart believes that we as citizens are privvy to 1% of the information available to elected leaders you are deluded. You and your "right to know" simply are not that important.

Are there leaks? Undoubtedly. Even more ammo for my argument. The very fact that some things managed to get done WITHOUT Katie Couric's prior approval proves that not everything is open for viewing. I'd hate to think it was.

Speaking only for myself, I vote for various candidates to do various jobs for me. Blowing a saxophone while wearing cool wrap around shades is not one of those things. Protecting me from Islamofascists who want to decapitate me simply because I have the wrong religion is. To that end, I tend to cast my vote toward the person I feel is best qualified to do so, and part of that responsibility is the appropriate handling of sensitive data...not spooging on some lardass heifer's dress. I vote for the dog catcher I feel is most capable/willing/qualified to catch dogs. I vote for the accountant over the cobbler when they face off for county tax assessor. What a concept.

Maybe some feel differently. Maybe you do. Maybe you want a world where every piece of intelligence is thrown open for public scrutiny and then online opinion polls are conducted to set the public policy. Pandora, we found your box.

So go ahead. Convince me that our enemy must by necessity know our battle plans...that it is inevitable for them not to...because I don't think we knew about some airplanes that were gonna be flown into skyscrapers. If you knew about it and didn't warn anybody, you got a dreadful day of reckoning ahead of you. (And yes, I am aware that a handful of psychos advocate precisely the example I used. Point remains.)

Set to. You got a long-ass row to hoe before the day's done.
 
Gonz said:
This is not about Iraqs self sufficiency. It's about telegraphing our intentions. 1975, as our Hueys were lifting off the embassy in Vietnam, the Cong were slaughtering hundreds of thousands. Right up the street, Pol Pot adding his name to the million man (doubled) Genocide roster.

If they aren't ready & if we tell the world we're gone on X date, one way or the other, a humanitarian crisis will ensue.
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:rofl4: But it was once. Funny how the justifications keep changing. If you need to keep justifying something then it probably wasn't justified in the first place, now was it?

Re Pol Pot, we were never in Cambodia (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Re the Viet Cong, etc, whose fault was it, the people who refused to keep fighting a war based on lies or the original liars? Gulf of Tonkin anyone, anyone at all?????
 
chcr said:
:rofl4: But it was once. Funny how the justifications keep changing. If you need to keep justifying something then it probably wasn't justified in the first place, now was it?

Re Pol Pot, we were never in Cambodia (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Re the Viet Cong, etc, whose fault was it, the people who refused to keep fighting a war based on lies or the original liars? Gulf of Tonkin anyone, anyone at all?????
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Psst...context. ;)
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
I'm sorry, but I call :bs: .

I've said this before, too. If you or anyone else truly in your heart believes that we as citizens are privvy to 1% of the information available to elected leaders you are deluded. You and your "right to know" simply are not that important.

Are there leaks? Undoubtedly.
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This isn't about what the politicians should do - but more about what's likely to happen
me said:
It's virtually impossible for the 'departure' plan to not get published.... hell, the moment one troop in Iraq knows the departure date, the news'll go stateside (family), then to the press, and within 24 hours, the insurgents will know about it.
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Communication speed has gone a long way since the 1940's. The president can pick a date... then it has to go down the line so the troops can be prepared to bug out. Pulling 120k+ troops isn't a 24 hour affair..especially doing it safely.

The moment one trooper knows what the date is, and calls his family/loved ones..the game is over. Start the presses..
Our boys are coming home
in 70-point type above the fold in every newspaper across America.
 
And of course they all have to come home at the precise same minute. We do have more than half a dozen soldiers still deployed, ya know.

Keep hoeing.
 
Speaking only for myself, I vote for various candidates to do various jobs for me. Blowing a saxophone while wearing cool wrap around shades is not one of those things. Protecting me from Islamofascists who want to decapitate me simply because I have the wrong religion is.
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If you wanted protected you voted for the wrong guy.

mj-attackgraph.jpg


You got someone that would kill a bunch of people for having the wrong religion instead.

Oops.
 
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