Comments on: Democrats: Bring Troops Home Next Year

White House Issues Blunt Veto Threat To Legislation Calling For Fall 2008 Deadline

[radiob-2009]

The Philipine American war was a conventional war with a few guerillas fighting after official hostilities had ceased.However you are correct on Malasia: Briggs Plan. Its central tenet was that the best way to defeat an insurgency such as the government was facing is to cut the insurgents off from their supporters amongst the population. The Briggs Plan was multi-faceted; however one aspect of it has become particularly well known: this was the forced relocation of some 500,000 rural Malayans including 400,000 Chinese into guarded camps called "New Villages". These villages were newly constructed in most cases, and were surrounded by barbed wire, police posts, and floodlit areas, the purpose of which was both to keep the inhabitants in and the guerrillas out. People resented this at first but some soon became content with the better living standards in the villages. They were given money and ownership of the land they lived on. Removing a population which might be sympathetic to guerrillas was a counter-insurgency technique which the British had used before, notably against the Boer Commandos in the Second Boer. Something our commanders could learn from.

[opfor311]

Opfor,,, You said the majic words in your post - " hold areas and expand them." -- That's something we cannot do without the Iraqi's -- And they are years away from that capability.
Posted by j-whitman

The Iraqi's have made tremendous strides, but remember that our Contential Army took more than 4 years to become an efficient force. It doesn't take long (3 to 6 months) to train lower enlisted soldiers, but it takes years to train NCO's and Officers.

[randalds]

Bush says he's going to veto it. Fine. Resubmit it and make him veto it again. Keep sending it back to his office over and over and over again until the funding starts to run out. At that point the American people will point the finger of blame where it belongs, at the White House. This is not and can not be spun as a case of the democrats refusing to fund the troops and leaving them in Iraq without what they need to be safe. It's a case of the democrats saying yes we will fund the troops, but not indefinatly, so get your sh*it together and get our troops out. That's what the vast majority of the American people want and if Bushy thinks he can play "chicken" with a congress that Americans support and while more and more troops die in Iraq and win, he's sadly mistaken. The ball for if the troops do or do not get funded is in his court, not in the congress.

[opfor311]

j-whitman

Actually, there has been considerable progress with Iraqi's turning on the insurgants. In Areas of Anbar, the local Sheiks have been cooperating with us in removing the Al-Quida in Iraq from their towns. In Baghdad, there are many informer that are assisting us.

If you would talk to the troops who have been there (Like my Son and some of the people I work with), read the stories that are past page four, and check other sources like the early bird, you'd see that things are not as bleak as the press would have us believe.

[radiob-2009]

No matter what side of the aisle you are on you should be outraged at our government funding the terrorist that attacked us. Congress has not raised an eyebrown over it, current or former congress. There are at least 4 major newspapers that have covered this long before the New Yorker article came out. AS far as the article goes it is nothing but grandstanding for the 08 elections. Congress can not place conditions on how a war is waged and they do not have the support from the American public to completely cut off funding. They are whistling in the dark.

[david1737]

blainem3...

Read the National Itel. Esimate Oct. 2006. You couldn't be more wrong.

[CBSTV]

Congress made a tremendous error in judgment to allow the Bush Administration to attack Iraq in the first place. After all we have seen and all we now understand, it is foolhardy and immoral to let this war continue for one more day.

[ressigmann]

to MCVet
If the fascist scum you are talking about is Hugo Chavez rock on, otherwise go to walmart and buy a clue. As for not leaving our borders I love it right here in the good old US of A. With reguard to opinions in South America those are being whipped up into a fury by a real fascist dictator not just your imagined one. And as for the one's in Europe let's not forget that our forefathers left precisely because they did not agree with many of the opinions of how things were run there.
P.S. I guess that you missed the press releases about the 500 or so sarin and mustard gas filled artillery shells found to date in Iraq. Sure far short of what we thought. But consider one thing even the most ardent Bush hater admits that Iraq used to have WMD. The problem is no one knows where they went, but that they used to be there is a fact that even that Hans Blix character could not disagree with.

[blainem3]

The Democrats are more stupid then I thought,with them voteing on stopping funding and bringing the Troops home,of course the Insurgents will continue to fight,they know that once again our Country does not have the foritude to continue the fight. If we give up we will have more bombings here in our country,right now we keep th Insurgents busy in their own world. Read the book America At War,it tells all about the people of the U.S. giving up after we loose a few troops,not like W.W.II we fought until we won.

[mcvet]

President Bush is hardly a Supreme Fascist Leader, if he was you could probably expect to be arrested sometime in the next two or three hours. I would rather have President Bush at the helm with 9/11 as the only serious terrorist attack on his watch. As opposed to Clinton with what 6 or 8 (Kobar Towers, World Trade Center Bombing, USS Cole, Consulate bombings, ect) and lets not forget the 9/11 terrorists obtained visas and entered the U.S. on Clintons watch.
Posted by ressigmann at 08:31 PM : Mar 08, 2007

Do me and yourself a favor Sparky. WATCH what's going on in South America. LOOK at the WORLD WIDE hatred that Bush has brough then tell me about how SAFE you feel. The day is coming and it isn't to far off when you clowns won't be able to leave the boarders of this nation. Maybe YOU don't want to hold him accountable for the LIES he told to the entire world, the way he bullied our oldest and best friends, so he could attack a nation that DID NOT have any WMD's or any Connection to 9/11. Ther was NO justification for what he did and the ENTIRE world is going to hold us accountable. Don't think so? WATCH what happens when this FASCIST SCUM travels in SOUTH America. WATCH and LISTEN to the PURE HATRED and tell me how safe you feel. Sieg Heil.

[j-whitman]

Opfor,,, It's also why this same plan hasn't worked before, when we had a larger coalition.

[j-whitman]

Opfor,,, You said the majic words in your post - " hold areas and expand them." -- That's something we cannot do without the Iraqi's -- And they are years away from that capability.

[ressigmann]

to j-whitman
President Bush is hardly a Supreme Fascist Leader, if he was you could probably expect to be arrested sometime in the next two or three hours. I would rather have President Bush at the helm with 9/11 as the only serious terrorist attack on his watch. As opposed to Clinton with what 6 or 8 (Kobar Towers, World Trade Center Bombing, USS Cole, Consulate bombings, ect) and lets not forget the 9/11 terrorists obtained visas and entered the U.S. on Clintons watch.

[j-whitman]

Opfor,,,, It's been over 4 years & thier fear's haven't deminished

[opfor311]

This is not a convential war, this is a guerilla war, the areas are quite now because the insurgents, militas and terrorist have moved to another location. We prewarned that we were going into areas and they are now clean. No suprise there.Name one guerilla war that has ever been won.Any win in Iraq will be bittersweet.Win is used loosely very loosely.

Let's see...We won one in the Phillipines in 1908, The Brits won one in Malaysia, and one against the Boers in South Africa...need I go on?

While the rats have fled their sinking ship in Baghdad, it is classic anti-insurgent strategy to use the ink spot technique to hold areas and expand them.

This is not a classic insugency since the bulk of the insurgents are not supported by the people. They are attempting to win by fear, not by popular support. As the peoples fear decreases, they will turn on the insugents.

[j-whitman]

Ressignman,,, It's in your definition of fascis & your comments on who we listent too.

[j-whitman]

See ya later, dinner time

[ressigmann]

to j-whitman
didn't catch the point of your post

[j-whitman]

Ressisgmann,,, Fascism is also blind alliegence to a Supreme Leader

[j-whitman]

Ressigmann,,, Actually we listen to Bush, Cheney, Gates, & our generals.