Comments on: General Grilled By Congress

Gen. John Abizaid Says Timetable For Exiting Iraq Would Increase Ethnic Violence

[tank611]

QUOTE:

'it comes back to the (2) major issues. Set a timetable and redeploy or leave it open ended and hope for the best'

Hope for the best? I guess you didn't know we have a plan for winning the war. The plan involves training Iraqi forces to take over. The plan involves winning the 'hearts and minds' of the Iraqis by building schools and medical clinics. The plan involves winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis by giving Iraqi children free shoes.

11 million Iraqis voted in the most recent election. That's 85% of eligible voters. The United States has won the hearts and minds of 85% of Iraqis.

And the freely elected government of Iraq has asked us to stay:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6166255,00.html

[gunnerv1]

I have a plan to get us out. 1. Remove ALL Media reporters, and I mean ALL of them. 2. Pull a General Sherman. (Ashes do make a good fertilzer)This plan is also know as the "Kill'em all and let (Their) God sort'em out" Plan.

[mdc76082]

Here's strike one for the Democrats = cut & run.

Strike two will be the border issue.

Strike three will be________. You know what, it won't matter by this time.

In 2008 we'll have a Conservatives in both houses and a Conservative President. Thank God it's only 2 years away!

Conservative and Proud I Served my Country!

[bellal-2009]

Well put, jalexson. The only decent thing I've read on this site in days. These people live in La la land.

[jalexson]

Pardon my shouting: BEAM THEM OUT SCOTTY!!

That may sound unrealistic, but then so is the attitude many ignorant Americans, such as journalists and Democrats, have about the situation in Iraq. They live in a Hollywood induced fantasy world in which crimes are solved in an hour and everyone starts living happily ever after when the tyrant is overthrown.

What is happening in Iraq is normal after the fall of a tyrant.

Many of the groups in the Middle East don't like each other. We cannot expect to get members of different groups in Iraq to immediately start liking each other.

Withdrawing troops from a combat zone while fighting is going on isn't easy to do safely. In the case of Iraq, the groups that want to take over in Iraq will go all out to attack our retreating troops so they can claim credit for forcing us out.

There is no easy way out of Iraq. Americans need to be patient and accept the fact that social problems cannot always be solved as rapidly as we would like. The only American general I can think of who could retreat successfully was George Washington. So unless we can get Scotty to beam the troops out, we should accept the facts of the situation and stop looking for magical solutions.

[gayathiest]

Iraq needs to split into factions. The Brittish "invented" Iraq. These people have hated each other for 400 years longer than the US has existed.
Bush II only wanted to go there because his VP, the former CEO of Haliburton, told him to do it. This is a failed play for control of depleting oil fields. The blood of our sons and daughters is the price we pay for reelecting these power mongers.

[houser123]

Is this a mess we are in or what? We can debate this until we are blue in the face and it comes back to the (2) major issues. Set a timetable and redeploy or leave it open ended and hope for the best. Either choice is not good. We should have never been in Iraq in the first place , but to say since we are there now, we need to stay, only validates us going in the first place. We do need a phased approach, wheither that is 6 month or a year with a gradual pull down along the a way, a timeline is the better approach. What matters now is that we show the Iraqi people and their elected officials that they need to get their act together. We cannot solve their political differences and to think otherwise is foolhearty. Also, to say that if we leave before a stable government takes overt, who is to say that even if we do stabilze and leave in place a stable regime, a coup will not follow once we leave. Coups are formed irregardless of a stable government.

[one_american]

bluestardad:

Everything is easy from that cushy arm-chair of yours, isn't it?

Why don't you fly over and show the troops how it's done, Einstein.

[agnim]

"if you don't have a plan get OUT and let the Iragis sort it out."

liberal4

Well said.
I'll add; plan or no plan, get our people OUT!
Let them come home and enjoy the rest of the football season.

If this general and his family want to continue in the thick of battles between maniac muslims, then let them and the administration 'stay their course'.

The rest of Americans should come the hell home!

[bluestardad]

This General is one of Rummys YES men. Get the Stooge out of there. Iraq will take care of its self. If he had any credibility he would have done something years ago.

[liberal4]

neither Rep or Dems have a plan so if you don't have a plan get OUT and let the Iragis sort it out.

[manner6]

There are still imbeciles out there talking about WINNING THE WAR!
Those old *** neocons pictured World War II France with grateful citizens lining the streets to thank our troops. This is the Middle East where factions have been fighting each other for 500 years. Wake up.
Why do you think Bush I didn't go after Saddam? Could it have been his years at the CIA taught him something?

[greed1sin]

Iraq can be disintegrated into 3 countries, Sunni Arab, Shiite Arab, and Kurdish. United Nation can help to maintain the peace talk. The oil development right can be owned by a company formed from these 3 countries. The right can be divided into lots of stock shares.

Sunni and Shiite Arab needs to be separated. The Shiite in Baghdad region needs to be moved to south Shiite area. Saddam Hussein needs to be tried and sentenced by International Court in Netherland.

The power of Shias and Sunnis in Middle East needs to be balanced to prevent war. Both Syria and Iran belong to Shiite and should be out of power balance in Iraq.

Greed for Iraq's oil will hinder any peace action in Iraq. Cheney and Texas oil businessmen will not give up their profits. USA still needs to spend money and lives for their greed.

[liberal4]

neither Rep or Dems have a plan so if you don't have a plan get OUT and let the Iragis sort it out.

[delta5243]

this is both good and bad for myself.....we are scheduled to re-deploy in April....however, what have we now created once we leave, whatever it is I can assure you it's going to be much, much worse then when we first went in there (for the second time)

-Delta

[wingman03]

1000 years from now those dimwits in the middle east will still be fighting, just as they were 1000 years ago. We tried to help them, we overthrew a brutal dictator and showed them the way to freedom. They are more interested in petty turf wars and Allah's fairy tales. We didn't fail, they failed themselves.

[gshewbert]

Folks, as a veteran of war and someone intimately involved in current operations we need to consider this....if--if we leave early..without a truly empowered government in place..it will be a simple matter of time before a coup occurs and we find ourselves with billions invested...and gone in a puff of smoke, with a potentially dangerous and hostile government bent on the destruction of our way of life in favor of theirs...I agree...we need to have Iraq on its own feet and as soon as possible...but putting a set marker on the calendar come hell or highwater...could represent the most serious of consequences for our country and the world as we know it.

[jeffk1623]

To all you right wing cry babies complaining about America's voting of the Democrats into power and Sen Levin demanding timetables for withdrawal. Do not forget that it was your fault for voting the corrupt and lying Bush administration into power for the past six years that got us stuck in Iraq in the first place.

America finally woke up and realized the MAJOR mistake made in following your judgement and corrected it, just as Sen Levin is attempting to do with Bush's MAJOR mistake.

[webdepot]

Angryliberal said -
now Carl Levin knows more about the Iraq war than our top general? THis is insane...."

Most recent RSS feed from Reuters:
McCain doubts General's assessment that there are enough troops in Iraq..

You remember McCain, don't you... the erstwhile thorn in the conservative's side who is now flip-flopping his stance on things because he wants the neo-con support for his presidencial bid...
Well, he suddenly knows more than the generals too..!!

[neitherone]

On a more serious note, while I don't think it's right for Levine to outright demand a troop withdrawal from Iraq, I like the fact that someone prods our generals to start actively considering that possibility.