US Troops "Might Stay in Northern Iraq"

US Troops "Might Stay in Northern Iraq"

www.truthout.org

US combat troops may stay in northern Iraq after a deadline for them to pull back by the end of June has passed, the top US commander in the area has said.

Col Gary Volesky said his soldiers would stay in Mosul and other nearby cities where al-Qaeda remained a threat if the Iraqi government asked them to.

US and Iraqi officials describe Mosul as al-Qaeda in Iraq's last major urban stronghold in the country.

Barack Obama has said he wants all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

"If the Iraqi government wants us to stay we will stay," said Col Volesky in a teleconference with journalists.

He said the US military was conducting an assessment of the situation in Mosul after five US soldiers were killed in a suicide lorry bombing there on Friday.

In January, Ryan Crocker, the outgoing US ambassador to Iraq, warned that a hasty withdrawal of US troops from the country would create "severe risks".

He said al-Qaeda remained a threat and that an overly rapid departure would have a "chilling effect" on Iraqis.

The US currently has more than 140,000 troops in Iraq, and combat troops are due to pull out of Iraq's cities by the end of June.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Ok so the same exact thing has happened in Germany, Korea, Japan, Italy, Kuwait, the Philippines and many many others. Now after our official pull out date we are going to stay and keep maintaining our global empire which is completely falling apart. Bring all our troops home now so we can take care of our homeland...

www.truthout.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 15-4-2009 by iamjesusphish]

reply to post by iamjesusphish


Well you can nix Vietnam but ok I see what you're getting at.
I think our time in Iraq is done. They will have to run their own country sooner or later.

I say sooner and bring our boys home

yes i agree we have been in iraq for far far too long. Its time we bring our boys home, not just from Iraq but from all other countries aswell...

reply to post by iamjesusphish


Of course our military will remain in Iraq for a longer time. It's all been planned that way IMO. A change in president and even change in the president's party affiliation will not alter the course the world is set on. Unfortunately for our military personnel, these places they will be assigned to, Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, etc., are not the fun places to be stationed, like where I used to be sent. Japan, South Korea, Greece, Germany were great places to be assigned. No sooner would I return to the states then I would be looking for a new assignment overseas again. Oh, the excitement to receive orders! Yay! Out of here! Gonna explore and experience a foreign country! At least in Viet Nam a soldier could return to base and go on pass to the exciting city of Saigon for some fun and adventure. You can't say that about Kabul or Baghad or Kuwait City.

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by iamjesusphish

 

Well you can nix Vietnam but ok I see what you're getting at.
I think our time in Iraq is done. They will have to run their own country sooner or later.

I say sooner and bring our boys home

My, it seems like only last year that your sentiment was met with cries of "cut and run" you traitor, terrorist sympathizer.

reply to post by SLAYER69

They will have to run their own country sooner or later.

There's not much left to run in case you missed that on the nightly 6 o'clock propaganda dosage.

The Iraqi Army is deserting in record numbers, they can barely hold their own without US troops holding their hand every step of the way, you've got foreign fighters pouring in like a flood, Turkish troops all along the Northern border, Sunnis & Shi'ites not being able to look each other in the eye without fighting, Iranian arms being passed on to Shi'ite militias, an entire generation of impressionable and desperate young folks who cling to extremists like flies to sh*t and still no official word from the Interim government about signing off on an American exit date.

You leave and all these little dots mentioned above, instantly connect and light up the powderkeg.

They had a country once... under Saddam. It wasn't perfect but at least almost all Iraqis had drinking water and more than 5 hours of electricity per day and could walk from their house to work without having an IED go off in their face.

Leaving means letting this problem ferment, get out of hand, creating the perfect conditions for another Saddam to rise up (only this time a Fundamentalist Saddam) in the future and just destabilise the region and continually piss the US off.

You can either face the problem now, and solve it decisively, once and for all. Which of course means, staying probably for the better part of the next decade.

OR run now, let Iraq blow up, wait 20 years and see a guy take power who makes Saddam look cute.

[edit on 16/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

What are you talking about?
Fighting a war is one thing being an occupying force is another.

Even in S Korea, Japan and Germany the countries govern themselves now it's Iraq's turn to govern themselves.


Have everybody forgotten world history nobody remembers all the riots in Japan and the massive internal communist threat in Japan?

But they trudged through it and they are all doing fine now.




[edit on 16-4-2009 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by SLAYER69

now it's Iraq's turn to govern themselves.

How are they gonna do that?
Really... I'd love to see your suggestions here.

They have an army that's equivalent to a US State Police force. They have about 100 different insurgency groups vying for power.

They have an extremely polarised religious demographic who cannot and will not cooperate with each other.

They have every surrounding country trying to undermine them and piss on them.

They can't even provide electricity or water to people outside Baghdad, Mosul and Basra, not to mention they're economy is just floating on oil currently and a very thin layer of it too.

Get real. Run themselves? Yeah into the ground...

This is not WW2. This is not post-Nazi Germany. Do you understand the massive differences?

Here's a BETTER EXAMPLE: Vietnam. How is Vietnam doing today?

Yeah I rest my case.

[edit on 16/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

DUH! You think the US is gonna withdraw from Iraq... you fools. It won't happen, forget it. Even if all ``combat troops`` withdraw, there will still be thousands of soldiers there on US military bases, so you'll NEVER leave Iraq, just like South Korea, it's too much important for NATO.

Bush used the same trick... Al-Qaeda is still strong, we're gonna stay... then a year later... al-qaeda is still strong... we're gonna surge... ect... for 6 years now.

And let's not talk about US and UK special forces dressing up as arabs and blowing stuff up to create civil war and real terrorism.

[edit on 16-4-2009 by Vitchilo]

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


This is exactly why the Brit's split after fragmenting the old Persian empire.
They are either going to destroy themselves or learn to live with each other.

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira


Here's a BETTER EXAMPLE: Vietnam. How is Vietnam doing today?

Yeah I rest my case.

Wonderfully
Why
What does that have to do with the price of eggs in china?

reply to post by SLAYER69

This is exactly why the Brit's split after fragmenting the old Persian empire.

Another irrelevant historical analogue.

They are either going to destroy themselves or learn to live with each other.

Yeah try the latter. And by destroy, you should really mean take the rest of the Middle East down with them.

The entire country will break off into Balkanized states, one to Turkey, one to Iran and the rest to god knows who.

Wonderfully
Why

Vietnam is a far more valid example that post-WW2 Germany or the Ancient Persian Empire to compare to Iraq.

Vietnam is wonderful?

147th place in the Economic Freedom index.
111th place in the Corruption Index.
109th place in the Human Development Index.
155th place in the Freedom of Media Index.

Just wonderful hey?
They still have people blowing up left and right from mines planted in the 1970's for crying out loud.
You certainly have a rosey view of the world sunshine.

Expect the same result for Iraq 40 years down the track. That's what happens when you abandon countries you bomb the living daylights out of 10 years or so.

Thankfully for you guys though, there hasn't been another NVA rising up. I think that's the first plus...

[edit on 16/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira



Reality check Sunshine.
You choose to use historical data when it suits you then ignore it when you dont like the truth.

Vietnam was a hell hole way before the French got thrown out and before we came and left. What happened there is of their own doing it's been over 35 years give it a rest.

Also check out Vietnam today If you dare.

www.snagfilms.com...


As far as Iraq.

Iraq has always had these issues Saddam Kept the peace by death and brutality that's no way to live, and now they are free of that ilk and will have to deal with their own religious issues just like the rest of the world.

So if you don't mind getting off your high horse for a minute maybe we can discuss this like adults?

Or are you not through looking down your nose at me?




[edit on 16-4-2009 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by SLAYER69

You choose to use historical data when it suits you then ignore it when you dont like the truth.

What am ignoring here?

That is Iraq is a "democracy" now? That they are the epitome of the successes of nation building? They have completely transcended their extreme religious differences?

No offence but if anyone's ignoring reality here it's you.

Vietnam was a hell hole way before the French got thrown out and before we came and left. What happened there is of their own doing it's been over 35 years give it a rest.

Ah yes, it's always history's fault!
There's always something, somewhere along the line that you can pawn off the blame to isn't there?

Yeah the Vietnamese, of their doing, dropped 10 million of their own bombs on their own country and evacuated from their own land to leave radical elements that they of their own doing, aggravated by invading their own land, based on the pretext of stopping Communist insurgency, which they came up with, "of their doing".

That's what they did. They caused this all.

Do you want to stop playing charades now?

The French were a piss in the ocean compared to America's intervention.

Saddam Kept the peace by death and brutality that's no way to live, and now they are free of that ilk and will have to deal with their own religious issues just like the rest of the world.

"Religious issues"?

That's a nice way of putting it. You certainly spun that like gold.
I don't see too many other democratic nations in the world dealing with civil war between irreconcilable religious groups, do you?

Saddam did indeed keep the peace.

And life's all about compromises. One bad dictator in one country is a pretty good trade off to have instead of 10 bad dictators in 10 countries wouldn't you say?
And if that makes Republicans in Washington b*tch and moan, well too bad.

If you really believe, which I'm sure you do, this was all about "freedom" and freeing the oppressed from iron-fisted rulers, then why did I see the US "liberating" Zimbabwe?
Or Sudan?
Or Turkmenistan?
Or Fiji?
Or Liberia?
Or Transinistria?

Come on now, don't stop the magic, there's plenty of oppressed to go around for everyone.

Could it POSSIBLY BE because Iraq sits atop 80% of the world's oil reserves and America needs to secure the world's hydrocarbon reserves to survive, otherwise it's economy along with it's government and their neck-deep-in-the-Oil-Industry friends, will simply wither away?

No of course not. Out of the equation completely.

[edit on 16/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

They are either going to destroy themselves or learn to live with each other.
Yeah try the latter. And by destroy, you should really mean take the rest of the Middle East down with them.

I didn't realize that the whole ME was that fragile that the "Great Satan" Has to save them from themselves

The entire country will break off into Balkanized states, one to Turkey, one to Iran and the rest to god knows who.

And just who exactly created the state of Iraq and why? Can you answer me that?

Expect the same result for Iraq 40 years down the track. That's what happens when you abandon countries you bomb the living daylights out of 10 years or so.

As much as you would like others to believe most of the violence in the past 2 to 3 years have been Muslim on Muslim violence blowing each other up over ancient hatred it's so old The US wasn't even thought of so you're going to tell me that having us there will solve these ancient problems?

Whats with you anyway? on another thread you were spewing that the US was surrounding Iran and threatening them from Iraq and Afghanistan and now you're supporting the further occupation of Iraq.




[edit on 16-4-2009 by SLAYER69]

No offence but if anyone's ignoring reality here it's you.

Ah yes, it's always history's fault!
There's always something, somewhere along the line that you can pawn off the blame to isn't there?

Have you ever spoken to a Vietnamese who lived during those periods? they consider the American period as a drop in the bucket in their very long and ancient history.

That's what they did. They caused this all.

Do you want to stop playing charades now?

Sure it takes two to tango. What the Soviets and Chinese had absolutely nothing to do with that war? Right! Is that what you're saying?

Yeah lets stop playing charades.

China - Vietnam War 1979 ( Battle of Cao Bang)

The French were a piss in the ocean compared to America's intervention.

Crack open some history books no better yet talk to some older Vietnamese I have and yes the US did it's do, but you would really be shocked to find out whats really important to them and their history and the US despite my HUGE American ego was really nothing to them

If you really believe, which I'm sure you do, this was all about "freedom" and freeing the oppressed from iron-fisted rulers, then why did I see the US "liberating" Zimbabwe?
Or Sudan?
Or Turkmenistan?
Or Fiji?
Or Liberia?
Or Transinistria?

Come on now, don't stop the magic, there's plenty of oppressed to go around for everyone.

You know for somebody who seems to pride himself on his own wisdom and obviously pleased with himself you sure make a lot of assumptions about me now don't you?

Well. Now are we to be the worlds police? On one hand you spew that the US has a huge ego and is an imperial force sticking its nose into everybody's business after the worlds oil and now your supporting the continuing occupation of a country that has 80% of the worlds oil now which is it?





[edit on 16-4-2009 by SLAYER69]

reply to post by SLAYER69


wtf does persia have to do with iraq????? why dont we delve into the mongols while we are at it..........

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira
This is not WW2. This is not post-Nazi Germany. Do you understand the massive differences?

Check out a book called "Endgame 1945: The missing final chapter of World War Two". If people read that, they'd get a clue that trying to get a country that you just fought back on their feet ain't easy. Europe was a goat-rope of massive proportions at the end of the war.

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira
Here's a BETTER EXAMPLE: Vietnam. How is Vietnam doing today?

Actually, Vietnam is doing pretty well right now.

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira

The French were a piss in the ocean compared to America's intervention.

Have you read anything about Vietnam? The French colonizied that country and pretty much were well on their way to raping it before the Japanese overran it during WW2 and did the same thing.