I am talking about Iraq.

The more I learn about the history of our wars, and why we go to war (9/11, pearl harbor, gulf of tonkin), details about this current war, etc. The harder it becomes to support war.

The SOF agreement was just the icing on the cake. They want us gone--yet we want to stay.


What members support this war--and why?


EDIT: http://www.liveleak.com/...=6ef_1227287977

I believe America went to war because evil men took innocent American lives.

I also believe you do not start something you can't finish and frankly the war is not finished.

I also feel; however, if the Iraq people don't want us there and they feel they can get the job done themselves then it is time to come home.

I have said this many times on here. I am not against the war. I am against the way the war was prosecuted.

Since Korea, the US has tried to fight friendly wars. They lead to Viet Nam's and Iraq's.

We should have used extreme prejudice to exterminate the enemy. We left entirely too many people alive, and too many mosques standing.

If you are going to go to war it should be to destroy the enemy, not try to make friends and pass out food.

Read Bob Woodward's latest, The War Within. Essentially, Bush just wanted to WIN in Iraq, so he pushed his personal views against the recommendations of most of his staff and all the generals who had to run the thing.

But he failed to realize that body counts and capturing the enemy doesn't amount to winning in Iraq. Winning in Iraq can only be done politically, not militarily.

Let's hope Obama can formalize a plan. Iraq is no threat to us, Afghanistan is. Continuing to dump billions into a country with a $5 billion surplus of oil money is ridiculous. Eventually, the US will have to cut their losses, but Bush and his cowboy mentality have prevented that.

My feeling are that if the Iraqi people want us gone, then we should leave. However, as long as we are still wanted over there, then we should always work towards victory. Lets face it, we're there, and we can't go back in time and have a "do over". The responsible thing to do is to stay and help Iraq transform into a self sustaining, stable country as long as we can.

I also think that we need to drastically reduce our presence around the globe, and by drastically, I mean drastically. We can bomb anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, right here from US soil. We could beef up our navy and maintain a world wide presence from international waters. We should close most of our bases on foreign soil and bring the troops home. And most importantly, we need to get the fuck out of the UN, and end the defense treaties that we have with foreign nations.

These defense pacts do nothing but guarantee that the US could be dragged into a war which we may not want or need.

"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations ? entangling alliances with none." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have as little political connection as possible... Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalships, interest, humor, or caprice?... It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." ~ George Washington

BTW: I am currently reading Ron Pauls Book "A Foreign Policy of Freedom", and yes, I am drinking from the Ron Paul kool aid jug.

If we would have just let it alone, we wouldn't have to worry about the Taliban or Iran taking it over.