NEW YORK, July 17, 2007
What Happens If U.S. Leaves Iraq?
The Skinny: Military Experts Disagree With Bush Prediction That Al Qaeda Will Seize Control
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Play CBS Video Video Expert On Al Qaeda, Russia Harry Smith speaks with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, about al Qaeda's recent expansion in Pakistan and the changing relationship between the United States and Russia.
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U.S. troops patrol a market in Baghdad. Military experts are studying the impact of a potenial withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. (AP)
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Interactive Iraq: 4 Years Later The conflict wears on as the nation struggles to rebuild.
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Interactive Mideast Conflict Events, key players and a history of the world's most unstable region.
What would happen if U.S. combat forces left Iraq? President Bush argues that al Qaeda and Iran would take over and that terrorists would then use the country as a launching pad for attacks on the United States.
But the Washington Post reports most military experts disagree with that scenario.
According to recent "war games" exercises conducted for the U.S. military, the most likely outcome of a U.S. withdrawal is that the central government would fall apart and Iraq would effectively split into three separate nations.
But what is "perhaps most striking about the military's simulations" for Iraq after a U.S. pullout is that they do not focus on "the establishment of an al-Qaeda sanctuary in Iraq."
Civil war and increased violence are widely anticipated, however, with some military officers contending that whether Iraq splits apart or outside actors take over, "ever greater carnage is inevitable."
The Post cautions, though, that all the scenarios should be taken with a grain of salt given the accuracy of past U.S. predictions about Iraq.
Bush's Mideast Peace Push
President Bush's call for a regional conference on the future of a Palestinian state tops the front pages of The New York Times and Washington Post Tuesday morning.
The Times said Mr. Bush's announcement was an attempt to "shore up" the government of President Mahmoud Abbas and was a signal that he will use his remaining months in office "to make a major push for peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
The Times called the planned summit – the first of its kind during Mr. Bush's presidency – a "pivotal shift" for the administration and a sign of how it is "desperately seeking some kind of foreign policy victory in the volatile Middle East that would draw attention away from the war in Iraq."
The Post said the idea for the meeting only came together in recent days, "and administration officials were scrambling to figure out details yesterday" – like where and when the conference would be held, and who would attend. It's clear, however, that it would be restricted to groups that "recognize Israel's right to exist," thereby excluding Iran and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that currently controls the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, in the top item in its page-one news box, suggests the meeting's chances of success are limited. The Journal questions whether Abbas, "now politically and militarily weakened and confined to the West Bank," is up to the challenge. Further, the Journal said, "U.S. embrace isn’t good for a Palestinian leader's career."
Maybe You Should Just Stay Home
The month of June may have been the worst month ever for flight delays, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Canceled flights more than doubled from a year ago, according to preliminary FAA data, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers waiting for hours, and sometimes days.
Why? The Journal attributes it to a perfect storm of, well, stormy weather, airline cutbacks and labor strife.
Add it all together and it was a travel nightmare for air passengers, with more than 30 percent of all U.S. flights for the 40 largest airlines arriving late, with an average delay of 62 minutes.
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See all 26 CommentsSadly, while this strategy has been of limited benefit to the Western world, this same strategy has worked well for our enemies. They have engaged us in Iraq, pinning us down so that they can act freely in their own homeland.
While instantly dumping the mission in Iraq would be precipitous and foolish, the time has nearly come for a gradual draw-down in Iraq. We are overdue for a "rebuilding year" in the military. We are overdue for a fresh approach to festering problems in Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, and the Southeast Asia. And we are overdue for a fresh influx of troops from our allies, deployed in pursuit of shared aims.
That is why I believe God is saying to fascist nazi terrorislam, "Get out or get run over!" God is not his enemy, but if they continue to send jihades over there, God will not alter his battle plan just because fascist nazi terrorislam is stupid.
Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?r
ef=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
The only one who can change this pattern of events is God, and he won't. Islam will continue to grow and envelop the entire Middle East. They will continue in there violence until they have conquered everything. Then, there will be a great drought, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers will dry up. The Islamic armies will then travel up these river beds, and attack Israel from the north, both on the ground and in the air, with intent to conquer Jerusalem, and make it the Islamic capital of the world. It will not work, because God will fight for the Jews, and those who occupy Israel, and the Islamic nation will be struck with confusion, killing themselves. There are already stories of Israeli soldiers discovering the bodies of their enemies, and no one had attacked them. They shot each other. When the Lord gets in the battle, there is no way to win. He KNOWS your motivations, thoughts, intentions, plans, directions, when, and where you will be. He will meet you there, and defeat you.
This battle is NOT the battle for the United States to fight. It is God's, and God's alone. Let go and let God. It'll save a whole lot of lives, and a whole lot of trouble.
the resumption of hostilities was only a matter of time since iraq broke the ceasefire agreement.....
blame saddam for iraq%u2026%u2026. Even clintoon and the dems wanted the resumption of hostilities back in 1998
US Vice-President Al Gore has told Iraqi opposition politicians that the United States remains committed to the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein. BBC 6/2000
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1854092/posts
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
Moreover, no international law can prevent the United States from taking actions to protect its vital interests, when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and survival. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq. Indeed, should we decide to proceed, that action can be justified within the framework of international law rather than outside it. In fact, though a new UN resolution may be helpful in building international consensus, the existing resolutions from 1991 are sufficient from a legal standpoint. - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/gore/gore092302sp.html
For proof consider Vietnam. Many learned folks felt that the domino theory would take place. Today, Vietnam is one of our most valued trading partners. Our Presidents have traded visits. Even John McCain has visited Vietnam and talked to the people who imprisoned him.
The administration says our FY deficit should be around $300B. Each month, we spend $12B in Iraq - this means about $144B annually. The deficit would be cut by nearly 1/2.
And/Or
We could make a very good start at Universal Health insurance for our uninsured citizens.
And/or
We could fix social security and medicare.
And/or
We could give our military enlisted/lower ranking officers a good living wage.
And/or
We could fix our roads
And/or
We could make our government run more efficiently.
And/or
We could begin to repair international relations. If we had another 9/11 in 2007, many countries would say we had it coming. Not like 9/12/2001, when every country in the world (except the PLO where we now are giving millions), including Cuba wanted to help us.
The list is endless.
But, what do we do instead. We spend $144B (plus) on a country where the citizens feel it is ok to kill American soldiers, demonstrate againist us and burn the American flag, steal aid dollars from us, do not alert our guys where the IEDs are, etc.
Is that sane?
Folks - there is a real war on terror and we have to fight it. But, we have been fighting it in the wrong way. We have to find a much better way and I do not mean turn the other cheek.
There's only one true scenario that's going to play out - it's going to turn into the biggest killing ground this country has seen in years. Whether the place explodes into civil war, or al Qaeda moves in and takes over, or the Shiite's and Sunni's go into all out mode, it's going to be nothing but mayhem.
All at the feet of George Bush and his republican enablers.
And Dhimmitude For All
Another arena requiring testimony is dhimmitude in Western institutions. This is %u201Cepitomized,%u201D writes Mark Durie, %u201Cin the slavish attitude adopted by Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,%u201D in a 2002 statement to the Organization of the Islamic Conference Symposium on Human Rights in Islam in Geneva. Like a dhimmi, she affirmed the greatness and moral superiority of Islam, implying inferiority of non-Muslim infidels, and denied any possible voice of protest against Islamic abuses of human rights.
Not surprisingly, Islamism is growing at the UN, too. On August 5, 1990, explains David Littman, the 19 members of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI). This document very specifically subjugates all human rights to those accorded by Islam. [1] The CDHRI totally contradicts the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Yet the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in December 1997 published it, establishing its authority as a quotable UN source. For example, the 26-member Sub-Commission on Human Rights referred to it in the preamble of a resolution adopted on August 21, 1998. [2] That Islamic human rights is gaining ascendancy and credence at the UN should be of concern to all Human Rights activists and organizations.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17637
DHIMMI: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Conditional protection. The protection of the Dhimmi is withdrawn if the Dhimmi rebels against Islamic law, gives allegiance to non-Muslim power (such as Israel), refuses to pay the poll-tax, entices a Muslim from his faith, or harms a Muslim or his property. If the protection is lifted, jihad resumes. For example, Islamists in Egypt who pillage and kill the Copts do so because they no longer pay their poll-tax and therefore are no longer protected.
http://www.dhimmi.com/dhimmi_overview.htm
http://www.dhimmi.com/
http://www.dhimmi.com/victimsgallery.htm
SIGN THE PETITIONS!!!
help end fascist nazi terrorislam apartheid
http://new.petitiononline.com/CDHR2005/petition.html
http://new.petitiononline.com/CDHREU/petition.html
http://www.dhimmi.com/petition.htm
http://www.petitiononline.com/dhimmi/petition.html
http://www.dhimmi.com/action_campus.htm
http://www.dhimmi.com/action_community.htm
DHIMMI: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
DEFINITION: The status of People of the Book (Jews and Christians) under Islamic rule.
7th-21st century. The notion of Dhimmitude, originating in the 7th century, still applies today to non-Muslims under Islamic rule%u2014whether Jews or Christians, whether in Saudi Arabia or in Sudan. Dhimmitude began in 628 CE when Mohammed and his forces conquered the Jewish oasis at Khaybar. They massacred many of the Jews and forced the rest to accept a pact ("Dhimma") which rendered them inferior to their Muslim conquerors. Over the centuries, the ideology of Dhimmitude expanded into a formal system of religious apartheid.
Institutionalized apartheid. In Shari%u2019a law, there are official discriminations against the Dhimmi, such as the poll-tax or jizya.
No legal rights. Jews may not testify in court against a Muslim and have no legal right to dispute or challenge anything done to them by Muslims. There is no such thing as a Muslim raping a Jewish woman; there is no such thing as a Muslim murdering a Jew (at most, it can be manslaughter). In contrast, a Jew who strikes a Muslim is killed.
Humiliation and vulnerability. Jews and Christians had to walk around with badges or veils identifying them as Jews or Christians. The yellow star that Jews had wear in Nazi Germany did not originate in Europe. It was borrowed from the Muslim world where it was part of the apartheid system of Dhimmitude.
Your observation is correct, however, I think we all know that the U.S. will not be leaving Iraq for years, if not decades. The oil there is too profitably lucrative for oil companies to ignore. That is why Bush is pushing the Iraqi Parliament to hurriedly pass a law allowing private companies to control Iraqi oil. And Iran is next on the list. It is all about the oil and money. Both trails tragically lead to the same endpoint: destroyed countries.
Thats the whole point! You don't manage the world. The world manages itself.
We screwed up here, no doubt. But,we do not want to compound the felony. The U.S. has to work with Europe and the states in the region to work out solutions for the Shia, the Kurds and the Sunnis.
This will involve much territorial reorganization and military coordination with the nations of Europe, and the Middle East. We don't really have any other choice.
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