Island Dog

It has NOTHING to do with Optimism or Pessimism It has to do with REALITY. The idea that what is going on in Iraq is because of the foreign terrorists is just not true. The Kurds want control in the north. The Shea and Sunni's want control of all other areas. Our adding 30,000 troops does NOT alter the desire for the competing factions to want control of Iraq. That is why the Surge will only add to our casualties and increase the cost of this war. The end result will be the same and the real losers from the Bush Surge are our military and the tax payers of America.

Only the reality you choose to see, conveniently not grounded in fact and heavily tinted with bias and hatred. WHAT HATRED? Every person except Bush and Cheney have said the very same thing—the violence is between the factions in Iraq who want control of that country.

Based on your expert analysis there is a civil war in the United States of America. Democrats and Republicans have been fighting for control of the nation since the 1860’s and has not stopped yet. I can conclude from your expert analysis that the democrats should leave the U.S. because that is the only way to end the civil war.
Yes, this is silly, just as silly as you assertion that we are losing the war. You have written articles that we on the right should respect the majority yet you don’t think that the same rule should apply in Iraq. You have three major groups that want power. Two are in power one is not and you believe or seem to believe that the minority wanting power again constitutes a civil war. all because there is less than one third of the nation is in turmoil. An unsustainable fight without outside help from Iran. So if we leave then the majority will be pushed out of power because of the interference from an outside source.

A poll using a sample of 5000 people in Iraq, most polls here in the States use samples much smaller usually between 1500 and 2000. Say they want us there, they are optimistic, and they are better off than they were when Saddam was in power. This poll was taken before the surge. Take your own advice and respect the majority. The majority elected the current leaders, the majority feels they are safer with our troops there. The violence has dropped because the leaders of the “civil war” are hiding in Iran and they have no leadership and no outside resources because of the surge.
With all that information at your disposal you conclude that we are going to lose and the surge won’t work.
You sir are a political hack not an analyst.



So the military is losing because of the President. Speak to people like I have that have come back from there. They are very optimistic until they see the news reports when they get home. They tell me of hospitals and other help they were involved in and how the first time they went there it was rough and violent and now it is getting to be the exception to the rule rather than the norm. This was told to me by a young Marine I spoke with in between stops at an airport this weekend. He wants to be part of the surge but his unit was ordered home. This was a Lance Corporal (E-3) USMC coming home from his second tour.
My point is that the rank and file see they are doing something and making a difference, they feel they are doing good and want to stay and finish. I had spoken to a Spec-4 U.S. Army just in passing and he thinks he was doing good over there. I have not spoken to any squids I mean Navy people in recent weeks but when I get a chance I speak to people in uniform and ask what is really going on. I spoke to a Lt. Colonel in the Army and he is happy with what he sees going on there and he was on his way back there. His only complaint is that he can’t bring his wife. Think of that, it is so dangerous that we should bring our troops home but our troops want to bring their spouses to live there. I know he was in the army and my be denying the truth as you often do but he seemed lucid and intelligent even for an Army soldier. (smile)
Keep in mind that this is not Vietnam the troops are not conscripts but volunteers that knew what they were getting into before the bullets started flying. They are professional soldiers doing the best they can with the little support they get from home.

Paladin77

So the military is losing because of the President. YES. Even people who still support going into Iraq admit the way the war was fought was a SERIES of mistakes. Not sending the required manpower. Not sending the proper equipment. Disbanding the Iraqi Army and Police. Now not having the medical faculties to treat those that have been injured! ALL is because of GWB The Commander-in-Chief!

ColGene. NEWSFLASH, our troops are THERE! This is not a video game, a test or a political football. IT'S A WAR!! It's a war over ideologies. There are terrorists in Iraq who make it a point to kill civilians. They have only 1 purpose in mind... cause lilly livered cowards like yourself to pressure the government to surrender in Iraq. Surrendering in Iraq IS surrending in the war on terror. To back the terrorists is to betray our troops and our own freedom.

You terrorist loving piece of trash. You would have spit on the Jews of Poland, telling them they had nothing to worry about because only Jews in Germany were being targeted. I bet you would even tell a woman that if she was getting raped she should just lay back and enjoy it. Why do I say that about you? Because every word of your blog tells America to lay back and enjoy the attacks. We tried your way through the 80s and 90s... it didn't work.

Para Ted 2K

Hey you flaming ASS!! I served my country unlike the idiot you support!

Wow, Tokyo Rose, is that you?

So serving in the national guard is not serving ones country. This will come as a shock to the gardsmen. Your hate of Mr. Bush is so blinding that you care not who you hurt with your insults as long as smmewhere on the target is Mr. Bush. He served and was honorably dischaarged. When I first read this I thought you were taliking about Mr. Clinton who evaded all servive and attacked our country by protesting outside our shores. But knowing you as the political hack you are that would be truthful and you don't like the truth.



According to you the will of the people and Majority rule is what you favor. The majority in Iraq say this is not a civil war according to the last two polls taken in that country. One with a sampling of 2000 and the other with a sampling of 5000. Why is it you can't accept the majority as you say we should do now that your side has control of the Congress?



This is a lie from a political hack that wants to blame the nation and its leader for the mistakes of the past leaders of our nation.

The war was because we were attacked for 30 years and did nothing about it until we had a president forced to take action. The enemy in Afghanistan fled to Iraq for safe haven causing us to go into that country as well. They are losing in both countries and only have support under the table in Iran and Syria because of our attack on Iraq instead of the open support that Saddam gave. Lesson learned.



This is another political lie from a political hack! If what you say is true then the war would not have ended so quickly (6 weeks) instead it would have dragged on or we would have lost in days for not having enough troops there. Just because we did not use strategy decades old that all enemy forces have studied does not mean that we did not follow doctrine. The plan worked but you refuse to admit it 4 years after the war ended.



I find this part of your argument fallacious as well. Here is how I got there. You said we did not follow military doctrine in the invasion of Iraq, yet in this case we followed the standard practice after we have won the war and it failed. In WWII we took the German government apart as we did in Iraq. The only guide we had for winning wars since the left has kept us from winning in Vietnam, Korea, and trying to do the same here in Iraq. As I said we took the government apart and put in people WE could trust just as we did in Iraq. Are you saying Gene, that it was ok for Mr. Truman to do it that way but not Mr. Bush? There is historical reference for doing it the way it was done so it was not some wild hair up his butt that made him do it that way.




You are unbelievably dishonest. No, we should not blame the war on Mr. Washington! We should blame the war on the one that started it. I know this is a radical idea but how about we blame the war on Al Qaeda and their declared war on the United States back when Mr. Clinton was in office. As I said I know it is a wild idea to blame it on the people that attacked us instead of blaming it on the people attacked. But I can use that to work for us it was Iraq’s fault we attacked them.

Paladin77

You are a complete IDIOT. You simply do not know what you are talking about. It is good you were not an Officer. YOU CAN NOT THINK!

The way Bush served in the National Guard IS NOT SERVING ANYONE BUT BUSH!

If you refuse to respect Lt. Bush's National Guard service why should anyone respect your reserve service?  You can keep up the lie that he didn't serve all you want but all it says is that you don't respect military service at all.

You spit on the people serving in Iraq and pray for their defeat... What support is that?

It's the moronic attitude like yours, that will end up costing us this war! It is Bush that has cost this country this war! It was a mistake to invade Iraq and the tactics used compounded the first mistake. The result is what you see day after day!

Clinton or Bush 41 did not take this country into a Civil war! That took the idiot we have in office now!

Bush wasted the 3,200 dead and the 25,000 injured. Committing our military to a war that was NOT needed and that has made this country LESS safe is just about the WORST thing a President can do!

Actually col, it's the attitude that we should just up and leave and that there is no hope that will lose this war.  Keep repeating your talking points, Bush will surely not get elected again in '08.