Comments on: U.S. Death Toll In Iraq Passes 3,000

Texas Specialist Killed By Small Arms Fire Last Week; Caps Deadliest Month Of 2006

[grumpas]

I just love people like missamerica4! Out there in "loony tune land" with Georgie! Like the old saying goes 'ignorance is bliss'! "We did what we went to do. Depose Saddamn and see that he was not armed." If I remember distinctly we didn't go over there to depose Saddam. That only came after Georgie was caught it one of his many lie's! He said there were WMD's Saddam was going to lob at us at any moment! There weren't any so Georgie had to come up with another lie to cover his sorry ***! Big deal we deposed Saddam! By the time it's all over I imagine everyone will wish they had Saddam back! The country has been a mess since and getting worse by the day! Georgie really deserves the same neck tie party Saddam got for what he has done to Iraq! It's going to cost this country trillions by the time we get through cleaning up his friggin messes! He has started two wars that we are losing due to his incompetence! You really should be proud missamerica4!!!

[heetseeker]

missAmerica4

This board would be a less interesting place without your posts!

Re: 5 years into the war. I was referring to calendar years. We are now in our fifth calendar year of the war.

Re: the "winnability" of the war. Well Gen John Abizaid seems to think it cannot be won militarily and has testified to the Senate to that effect. In the recent issue of Newsweek Lt. Gen Ray Odierno also seems to suggest that the war is not winnable militarly. These are not my views, these are sourced references from those on the ground.

I think you under-play the impact of sectarianism in Iraq. The roots of this are deep and were stoked by Saddams's 30 year oppression of the Shia's. Long term scores are being settled. Deep seated fears are being vented. It also has an international dimension to it. The Saudi's recently made clear that they would support the Sunni's, whilst the Iranians are already actively supporting the Shia's. I therefore find your comparison to domestic political tensions in US quite hard to follow?

As for dealing with Syria and Iran. Was it not the Iraq Study Group that suggested that we broaden the discussion and speak to neighbours? If we decide not to speak to Syria & Iran then fine. Let us do so on principle and stop "doing deals" with some of the other tyrants we are cosying up to.

[missamerica4]

part2

4 "5 years into the war"
nope,not even 4 years.
We did what we went to do. Depose Saddamn and see that he was not armed.
We offered to help in rebuilding and offered protection for a short time. They can take it or leave it. It is their call. They now have the same opportunity that we did in 1776.
We better start working on keeping this country together instead of keeping Iraq together.

[missamerica4]

heet:

"5 years into the war "

It is not 4 years yet.
We went into Iraq March 2003.

1. No militarily solution- "Iraq is not winnable militarily."

Well the ones that have been quoted in the news.
There are as many who say the opposite.
The truth as usual is somewhere in the middle.
The truth is none of us know what the situation is, we only know what the media chooses to tell us.
I just don't believe that if we really want to that we counld not take Iraq. In fact we could level it if we wanted. If "winning" was the goal...no problem.
The challenge is how do you teach people who have never lived in a democracy...Democracy ?
They have no concept.
We can't even teach democracy here.

2 It is sectarian, violent and fuelled by historical tensions "

Change sectarian to political...and you have the U.S.
Look at the rant's on these boards. Mean, vicious, several inciting folks to violence. There is as much hate on this board, in this country as there is in Iraq , it is just that not everybody here has an AK47.

3. Syria & Iran

I agree with NOT dealing with either one.
Both are rogue states ,isn't that what all the libs are on about? Dealing with tyrants.

part 1

[heetseeker]

Personally, I think it is a gross intrusion on the privacy of grief. The only justification to include the details of this soldier would be if the family themselves approached the media and insisted that his details be revealed. Who knows, perhaps they did.

On the wider point of the media's role in the war. To my knowledge the media did not send US troops to die in Iraq, did not commit acts of bestiality in Abu Grahib, is not planting IEDs in Baghdad & elsewhere, is not blowing up mosques, is not kidnapping foreign contractors, is not responsible for sectarian killings and is not blowing up oil pipelines in Kirkuk etc

These are the facts of our 4 year adventure in Iraq. One may or may not be happy with the way in which these facts are being reported and the way others are being under-reported. However, they are still the facts and the media is fully justified in reporting them.

If anything, the media is culpable for its pre-war hesitancy and lack of courage. Instead of doing its job and subjecting pre-war intelligence to sustained examination and critique, it allowed itself to be cowed into submission by an administration that labelled "unpatriotic" any who dared question it.

[antoniof123]

I think that it is time the media start to do its job. Most people complain that they are doing something wrong. That is not true they tell it you may not like it but you need to know. If only the fools in this administration would just listen and learn the same mistakes of the past are being made again. Time to stop this foolish ventrue.

[MonsterSound]

I would suspect that the family, although distraught, would be proud to see their son's picture displayed to let America see who he was. A real soldier, a person, and not just a number. I also suspect CBS got permission to display his photo.

[heetseeker]

"A Destiny We Do Not Control"

I wonder if the strategist planning the "new way forward" realise that we no longer call the shots in Iraq. Rather, we are one of a number of factions operating within a fragmented stucture. Surely, the so-called "new way forward" is just another delusion or at worst a deception.

Here are four reasons why:
1. No militarily solution - although we have the most sophisticated war machine and finest troops in the world, nearly 5 years into the war we have yet to tame a determined enemy deploying "dumb" munitions. Our own generals have put it like this: "Iraq is not winnable militarily."

2. The will of the Iraqi's - at the moment the Iraqi's are playing out their own "vision" of the future. It is sectarian, violent and fuelled by historical tensions of which we know little and can do absolutely nothing about.

3. Syria & Iran - there will be no peace in Iraq (of any description) without Syria and Iran being part of that solution. At the moment the administration refuses to speak to either nation and in response both have ensured that Iraq remains ungovernable. Syria and Iran have as much, if not more influence in Iraq as we do.

4. We are seen as part of the problem - with intervention comes expectation. 5 years into the war, beyond a government that cannot seem to govern and troops whose loyalty is questionable, little has been achieved by the US led invasion. Our troops are now a cause of violence and tension. Our days in Iraq are numbered.

[missamerica4]

ncolsens

I agree and no they have no respect for the soldier or the family. It is all part of the fodder for media and there is no "taste". If it sells...it good as far as they go.

I find it in extremely poor taste that CBS would put the photo of an American soldier up on its website to advertise that there are now 3000 dead in Iraq. It is this kind of journalism that makes me sick. Do they not have any respect for the families of this poor boy? Get a grip CBS and show some respect!!!

[condumism]

Does Bush Co. have a plan for Iraq yet? Does anybody have a clue why the US is in Iraq, and remains? The right winged media is as much an accomplice as the Bush Whie House by misrepresenting this Fake War on Terror. Shame on those that support the US Military Industrial Complex. Time for leadership that ends our role as International police via our overbudgeted military. My condolencses to families that have suffered casualties caused by neocons failure to lead US.