Perhaps the most poorly kept secret in Washington this week was confirmed by President Bush Wednesday night: that he intends to send more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq in order to calm the insurgency in Baghdad and in Anbar Province (“Bush to send more troops to Iraq, admits mistakes”). According to the President, the additional troops will allow for not only clearing insurgents from some of the most violent areas, but for maintaining control of cleared areas permanently. Bush also offered that “where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with” himself. He said that while the current situation is “unacceptable” to himself and to the American people, failure to bring order to Iraq would be a disaster not only to Iraqis, but to the interests of the United States. The President’s address was immediately followed by a rebuttal from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate’s second-ranked Democrat, who said that Bush’s proposal for a troop surge, aside from being an ill-conceived strategy, is not what the American people support.
Read the President’s full address here.
Do you believe a troop surge of this level will effectively facilitate a quicker end to the Iraq War? Do you feel that Iraq’s political and economic deficiencies will be adequately addressed by Bush’s new plan? Will the Democratic leadership in Congress try to stand in the way of sending more troops, or work with the President as best they can?
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Comments: 21
I listened to your speech to the nation, tonight, and realized you may have a problem getting the number of troops you are gonna need to get rid of all the bad boys in the Middle East…I am glad you finally have admitted there have been mistakes, and the way things are now is not acceptable to you or the American public. By the American Public I am assuming you are talking about all the conservatives and the Right wing Christian community that voted for you and still supports you...….so I just want to say, "don't get discouraged…and don't worry about where you are going to come up with the number of new troops you feel you need"…."Send one of those "America Wants You" draft notices to all those registered folks who voted for you and stand behind you and your decisions regarding this war and not leaving…I am sure they would like to help you in any way they can....they believe in what you are doing…so You just stand tall and lead them like a true commander in chief you are." "Go get um cowboy"!
The bottom line is we never had enough troops there, and we never will. No matter what Bush does from here on out, Iraq is a disaster. Too bad his egghead consultants didn't convince him of that before we attacked. Bush is hopefully the end of the Neo-Con's who believe we are an all powerful nation who can police the world as we see fit.
I hope Bush goes on trial for war crimes, because he lied to the American people before and during this stupid war, and he is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of brave US soldiers, and thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children. Anyone notice how anyone around Bush who advised him against the war, or against sending more troops...no longer has a job! He is the worst commander in chief we have had in recent times, and that's pretty bad considering the other lousy ones we had! The really bad thing is that our country is more at risk from terrorist attack now that we have millions of new Islamic enemies thanks to Bush.
I hope all Americans, and all of congress stands up to the idiot in the Whitehouse, and tells him we are through supporting his idiot plans. Any American who does not oppose this war should be considered to be non-Patriotic! I thank God for the safe return of my son from Iraq, and feel deeply sorrowful for the other fathers, and mothers, and wives, and children who have suffered the loss of their loves ones over there in a needless, and fruitless battle. To sent 20,000 more of our priceless loved ones over there with no reason is a sin! Not to mention the 400 billion already spent, and the $250,000 per minute!!!..Yes..per minute...that the war is costing US taxpayers, and for what? National security?...bring our troops home, and protect us, and our borders here! By the way, our loved sons and daughters will be footing the bill for this war since we borrowed the money from China for it!
Just think what $400 billion pumped directly into our economy could do for the average American!
If five years ago, the administration had started a troop build up ( to achieve the 300,000 troops experts said would be needed to stabalize Iraq after it was invaded ) and waited to invade until those number were achieved , Saddam and the rest of the Middle East probably would have been very anxious to cooperate by now.
But they didn't and now we're in a bad way. Will the percentage of the 20,000 American troops that "surge" into Iraq that will die in an attempt to stabalize the region justify sending them there ?
Wasting money is a way of life these days in this country, but throwing human lives into the equation should not be a way of life or we are in deeper trouble than we think we are.
Set ego aside and call for deplomacy between all parties involved. At this point, the results of failed deplomacy would be no worse than a failed military approach. Let the families of those who have died or been seriously wounded fighting in Iraq see a concrete reason for their sacrifices, not just idealistic rhetoric.
I also didn't hear anything about how our military was no longer going to be limited by the Iraqi government from being able to do its job. Please let us not forget how, when searching recently for a kidnapped Marine in Bagdhad, our troops were limited in their efforts by the Iraqi government. Whatever became of that Marine? I lost track of that in the news. I am very concerned about how much of the Iraqi government is controlled by the militias there -- and, whether we like it or not, our troops are always going to be limited by local authority.
I don't believe we understand their culture, history or even their thought processes. We view the world differently. Because of that, it's difficult for us to understand and mediate their differences. I didn't hear anything about how these deep-rooted issues were going to be addressed by the Iraqi government.
Because of all of this, I sincerely hope that our Congress takes a very hard look at whether we send more of our men and women into harm's way. It's their job to make sure we don't make a senseless mistake. It's our job as people with hearts and minds to really think about what decision we want them to make. Don't just rely on standard media like local news, national newspapers or cable news. You have access to the internet -- read international news; get viewpoints other than American. All media has a bias, it can't be helped. But, if you try to read a variety -- even those views that are opposed to your own -- you might come away with enough kernals of truth to maybe see more sides to issues than one. And, once you find your truth -- make your voice heard.
It is time for the American people to stop this insanity. Impeach Bush. Get him out of power NOW. Stop this war. Bring our sons and daughters home. Let the Iraqis handle their own.
I pray for the latest troops being sent over there.
That's my historical perspective. People keep saying Iraq is an entirely different situation, and that you can't compare it to Vietnam. I say Iraq is EXACTLY like Vietnam in the following: in Vietnam as in Iraq, the United States has gone into the situation and posted early victories. US technology and firepower has gone uncontested since World War II, save all the bluster and backstabbing of the cold war. What we failed to learn in Vietnam has come back to bite us hard. In Iraq, we just rolled in and took over. Iraq amounts to the mother of all sandboxes for the US military. Then we proceeded to set ourselves up as targets and didn't follow through with promised support for reforms and economic seed money and reconstruction. We also failed to present American style democracy in a way that was palatable to the Iraqis. We have lost the "hearts and minds" part of the Iraq war, and after our early gains, we have also lost the military part too, because of the refusal of the US leadership to go all the way and kick ass until the "enemy" is totally defeated and surrenders, or in other words, to start WW3. In fact, the only victory we can count on is that the multinats like Cheney's Halliburton have sucked a nice pile of economic life-blood out of the region, and stand to score a sweet deal on Iraqi oil. Do you think our gas prices will go down?
No, twenty thousand isn't remotely close to enough troops. It's a world-class mess over there. We would all have to volunteer to set things in order in Iraq. Historically, Iraq's identity was decided by the British, and largely shaped by forcible takeover and mass murder. What do you expect these people to do, re-configure to the American ideal of democratic revolution, rule of law, and self-determination? Ethnic strife was controlled by Saddam Hussein's murderous hand. Without it, Iraqi ethnic groups continue to commit outrages upon each other that we are powerless to stop. History will record who provided more effective leadership, the US or Saddam. We love our democracy, but it was not shoved down our throats by an imperial power. If it had been, the outcome of the American revolution may have taken different turns.
In short, no, no, and no, and a thousand more times no! The only logical course of action is immediate, complete, unilateral withdrawal of US military forces from the region. Let's stop believing lies, and start restoring lives.
If you don't think that Iran is a threat to us, please think again. Have you not heard about the Holocaust Denial Conference held there in December 2006? I am a Christian, but strongly support everyone's freedom of religion, and it is an atrocity to deny the deaths of 6 million people, which not only included persecuted Jewish citizens, but others including Christians. Israel is under constant threat, especially from Iran, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatening to wipe Israel off the face of Earth, in addition to his views on America. He is quoted as not only threatening Israel, but has also called for the bombing of The White House. I don't care who is President, we as Americans can not allow this to happen. Keep in mind though, that early in his first term, our President called Iran, Iraq & North Korea the Axis of Evil, which have all come to pass. With great power and freedom also comes great responsibility.
Also, keep in mind if you think that this war is all about oil, it's not. That might be a reason, but Saddam was an evil dictator, not only convicted and executed (by his own people) for his killing of 148 of his own people, but it is a know fact that he also killed nearly 200,000 of his own Kurdish citizens with chemical and biological weapons. I would not have believed it but I saw the footage of the carnage with my own eyes. And when you hear that the US gave him some of those weapons, please keep the facts in mind. Those chemical and biological weapons were requested by Saddam before we knew the evil of which he was capable. That request came into the UN from Iraq, as they were needed for "medical research", which they were approved on that basis. The US was duped here, and we are not the only country who gave him those materials. France & Germany, among others, played a huge role here.
The biased media never tells us the good we are doing in Iraq, and how the Iraqis thank our brave men and women for rebuilding hospitals, schools, businesses and homes, and how we do our best to protect them from violence due to the insurgency. Please do some research and learn what the media and others do not want you to hear. The war on terror is real, and by not stabilizing Iraq, it will grow to unbelievable death and destruction that the world has never before known. Please check out that website for "Obsession: The Movie". I have nothing to gain from telling you about that movie, as I am just a concerned American who heard of that movie through Glenn Beck, on his CNN program. If that movie does not scare you, I don't know what will. All I want you to know is what you are not being told.
Thank you for your time.
Beyond the clear "stay the course, but with more misery and death" military character of the so-called "plan," the primary failing of the speech was in not addressing how Iraq is going to succeed politically. Essentially, the entire enterprise hinges on the success of one man--Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the man described by Bush's National Security Advisor Hadley as "either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions or [having] capabilities... not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into actions" just a couple of months ago.
Bush: "We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East....And on Friday, Secretary Rice will leave for the region, to build support for Iraq and continue the urgent diplomacy required to help bring peace to the Middle East." Of course, Rice and Bush have already ruled out talking to key players, and haven't yet even persuaded Saudi Arabia to prevent Saudi jihadist fighters from crossing into Iraq to kill Shia and Americans.
Let's just hope that turning up the dial on violence does not include attacks on Iran.
Cindy? You do realize that Ahmadinejad has no real power in Iran, don't you? He's a figurehead. All decisions are made by a council of Islamic Clerics. There is also an enormous difference between fighting terrorists and throwing your weight around because you can.
Mr. Bush picked a war with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks when he should have stayed and finished the job in Afghanistan. Now both countries are broken. The world is full of bad people like Saddam. And like Saddam they are generally people the United States has armed and supported at one point or another. It's not the duty of the United States to be the world's policeman.
What bothers me more than anything else about Iraq is that Bush planned to invade it even before 9/11. The very first meeting he had after assuming the presidency was to review his war plans for Iraq.
That says a lot given what he said later and given how very hard he now tries to this day to link Saddam and 9/11. He did it again today in a speech in Georgia.
A small, but significant, part of the American electorate believes that Bush is doing or should be doing the same. Among the 28% of Americans who support the Snorter-in-Chief's war plans, are those who base their support on Bush's actions to usher in the "end times".
If messianic rantings are dangerous in Iran, you can't be very comfortable with the penetration of our Armed Forces by millenialist kooks.
ANG, and soon went AWOL. He was AWOL for over 30 days, which is officially desertion. So officially Bush is a deserter, and in time of war punishable by the
firing squad. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are Chicken Hawks who never served
in the military to defend their country. They have no compulsion about sending
kids that can get no education outside the military to do their fighting for them.
Bushs puppet in Iraq, Chalibi was directed to write into Iraqs new constitution
that Iraq's oil was to be "PRIVATIZED" It was nationalized by Sadam. This was a blow to the Empire of US capitalists. At that point the US capitalists decided that
Sadam had to go. He at one time was our guy, started his career at 16 as an
informant for the CIA. When he came to power as Iraq's Ruler, the US could not
have been more happy. The predecessor to Exon had control of the oil wells as
did BP. We supported Iraq with arms to keep him in power and assisted him in
his war on Iran. The US furnished the gas to kill the Kurds.
The US government did not give a damn how many kurds or shihies Sadam killed
or caused to disappear any more that they gave a damn how many people in Chili
Pinochet killed. We actually installed many of these dictators and tyrants like Batista in Cuba. We hate it that Venezuela has democratically elected Chavez and
has nationalized the countries oil. Chavez has not done everything well as far as
his people are concerned but they are much better off that they were under the
previous leader When Castro took over we despized him and labeled him a
communist. Although the cold war is over we still allow no imports or exports to
Cuba. Canada is more liberal minded towards the Castro regime.
You will not find this information in the mainstream media like CBS, NBC, ABC or
expecially Fox. You can find some of it on PBS, not as much as you used to, but in
the media that is still dominated by FREE SPEECH.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/994zsofb.asp
Now Bush is sending 21,000 troops after initially indicating that he would send 35,000. This is the height cynicism. The administration knows such a small increase will make no difference. The purpose of this transparently political maneuver is to buy time and dump the mess that the neocons have made on the next administration - or find a way to blame the "ungrateful" Iraqis and then run. Disgusting.