Comments on: Top Marine: No Plan For Post-Saddam Iraq

CBS News Exclusive: General And Superiors Didn't Have Plan For Control Of Iraqi Cities

[prof_peewee-2009]

After WWII the French republic sent General LeClerc to Vietnam to assess what would be needed to re-establish French rule there. His answer was %u201CIt would take 500,000 men to do it and even then it could not be done.%u201D

He was right, and his answer would have applied just as well to Iraq.

Did everyone think Saddam had WMD's? I see a lot of quotes from the Clinton era, all from 1998. IIRC that was when Clinton decided to bomb the *** out of Iraqi weapons sites.

In 2002 lots of people thought Saddam might have some limited WMD capability, but only the NeoCons were arguing that he constituted a big enough threat to go on the kind of dead-end adventure described by LeClerc. The rest odf us were satisfied with the return of the UN inspectors, especially as it became apparent that they were getting unprecedented access and confirming that the last of Saddam's serious weapons were destroyed by 1998. The idea that a few hundred empty, corroded artillery shells prove that this debacle was necessary is a pathetic rationalization.

[sdl1512]

At this point it doesn't matter whether Iraq was a mistake or not.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
I agree that Bush made a huge mistake when he determined to invade Iraq. Virutally from the beginning it has been managed poorly. The loss of life is not defenseable. The problem, of terrorism, has been magnified and now we must find a solution. The solutions are not difficult to see.
1. Iraq? Let the people of Iraq decide. Hold an election to see if we stay or leave. If they want us to leave then we should go. If they want us to stay then we should stay and eradicate every terrorist and supporter of terrorist in Iraq. Ever terrorist could be eradicated IF the Iraqi people wanted it done. They know who the terrorist are and they could eliminate them, quickly, if they so choose.

2. Terrorism? The only solution is to make the price of a terrorist act so high that they choose not to pay it. The cost must be higher then just their individual life.

Our country is facing the most difficult choice in its history. Are we going to find the solution or just argue over the cause of the problem? Terrorist and terrorism are fatal for the entire planet.

[bucklibido]

In response to those who are saying that our general officers "let our country down" by not refusing orders from the defense department, I would like to remind them that what they are advocating is a military coup. It is the most basic tenant of our constitution that the civilian authorities control the military, and it is the most important of all the checks and balances in the constitution.

Please be aware that you are advocating miltary dictatorship when you insist that our general officers have a right and duty to disobey orders from the the civilian authorities.

If you don't like the course that the war is taking in Iraq, then put the blame where it belongs - on yourselves, the American voters. Because you are the ones who elected the civilian government that is in charge of the military.

Please stop calling for a military coup, and start working toward a civilian government that runs the military in a more responsible manner.

[ww9000]

twhitti, there is no such thing as "Islamic fascism." People who use that phrase don't have a clue about Islam or a clue about fascism.

[danmikel]

We stupid Americans allow Bush and his gang to start a war for purely personal gain. Remember the smoking gun that Iraq was trying to purchase yellowcake uranium from the country of Niger. It was later determine that the documents was falsified a fake.
Ask yourself What happen the day after it was discovered that that those documents were fakes. How come there was no follow up investagation to find out who made them and why? The answer is simple Bush was caught with his pants down. In order to cover it up he on the very next day decided that we %u201CThe U.S.%u201D will go at it along with our store bought allies with a 72 hour demand that Iraq allow the U.N. Inspectors back in or else, knowing full well that it did not matter that if Saddam had said yes in which he did, he was going to attack because that was his intent from the first day he took office in 2001.
Many families both Americans Iraqs and others have lost loves ones to this un-just war.
Saddam was no angel but nor are we %u201CAmerica%u201D but Iraq was one of the more stable middle east arab country before Bush Rove & Co. now look at it.
We will never see peace in the Middle East until the world deal with the real problem
and it appears that no one wants to do that because of what ??????

p.s.
I could bring more peace to the Middle East in a month than all the leaders could since 1947.

It's remarkable that there are some confused individuals out there that attempt to blame the "left" for Bush's failures in Iraq.

Fact 1: The Republicans controlled the Senate.
Fact 2: The Republicans controlled the House.
Fact 3: Bush doesn't listen to anyone (except maybe his daddy, Cheney, Rove, Bush's "god" and that failure Rumsfeld.

Bush hasn't listened to the "left" since he became President.

Pure and simple - Bush's failures in Iraq are his own and the Republican party for supporting that idiot.

It's time the Republicans out there grew up and took responsibility instead of always looking to pin the blame onto the Democrats (who are no angels themselves).

The Democrats supported Bush in the early days and they should not forget that they are partially responsible as well.

Let's hope they can do what that Republicans couldn't - succeed.

Suck it up, deal with it and get on with it.

[twhitti1]

Dear WW9000; WWII was NOT fought on the cheap, it was fought to win. Vietnam and Iraq were/are not, at least not yet. But if we do get serious about fighting the Islamic Fascism I bet you'd be the first to join up to fight, right?

[rharrin1]

Some people may disagree with me but here goes.
You cannot invade a country without disarming it as you go.
Our heroes in the oval office did not want that because it would have many more injuries and killed and take longer. They were afraid of dissent in america.
Had they been disarmed the job would be guarding the borders.

Bottom line is if bush had not fabricated the reports on iraq we would not be there.

[Denise777]

Shame on CBS for distorting the words said by Gen. Mike Hagee. This is blatent deception and the author of the articlen David Martin, should be ousted from the world of journalism.

I would personally buy him a ticket to England. the BBC love lying liberals.

[ww9000]

There was nothing "insightful" about the comment by freeses6, or in the followup by twhitti1. The Iraq war hasn't been fought "on the cheap," and it hasn't been "compassionate." It has cost $300 billion so far and has killed half a million Iraqis and many thousands of Americans.

The United States has destroyed Iraq not just physically, but spiritually, morally, socially and politically. In doing so, this country has abandoned its own principles, and the senior leadership of the U.S. military has displayed outright cowardice.

The reality is this: The United States military has been defeated by a rag-tag insurgency operating in a destroyed country of 25 million people. No one denied the military the tools necessary to do the job. This country's leadership failed.

Now it is time for truth and accountability, if anyone still believes in it.