( – promoted by buhdydharma )
“To surge or not to surge! That is the question! Whether it is nobler to send more Americans off to face possible death, or to say I was wrong.”
Heh! Like I’m going to say I was wrong about something – G.W. Bush, Presnit USA
Back, oh a few months ago, the Bush/Petraeus/Cheney/Liberman/McCain Surge™ was going swimmingly! We were told that it was going so VERY WELL that before the year 2008 was over, we would be reducing the number of American soldiers in the Iraqi theater down to less than the number of troops that were there pre-Bush/Petraeus/Cheney/Liberman/McCain Surge™.
Well. Not so much.
If you would be so kind as to read on below.
Here is the news today regarding the troop level of American soldiers in the Iraqi theater, via CNN:
About 8,000 of the 30,000 “surge” troops sent to Iraq in 2007 will not go home as planned this summer, the Pentagon said Monday.
Now, there’s a fucking surprise! All the happy talk from our less-than-favorite Republic administration is once again, WAIT FOR IT
a bunch of lies!
More from the CNN article:
Support troops — including helicopter crews, supply units, military police and headquarters staff — will still be needed when the additional combat units return home, said Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In particular, U.S. troops are still needed to guard Iraqi prisons, he said.
“The transfer of responsibility for detention operations has not progressed as rapidly as we would like to the Iraqis, so there’s a need to have that force sustained, as well,” Ham said.
President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 additional troops to Iraq in January 2007 to pacify Baghdad and its surrounding provinces. When the last of the five Army combat brigades and two Marine battalions ordered in as part of that campaign leave Iraq by July, 140,000 troops will remain — about 8,000 more than the 132,000 U.S. troops stationed there before the surge, Ham told reporters at the Pentagon.
“This will be very much conditions-based, but that’s our projection as of today,” he said.
My emphasis on the two distinct comments from Lt. Gen. Carter Ham.
It would seem, from what we are being told today that A) The Iraqi government still isn’t stepping up, which was the whole point of the Bush/Petraeus/Cheney/Liberman/McCain Surge™ to begin with, and B) Our commanders on the ground are making decisions for the decider that he can live with. No, really. Just ask him. No problem.
More information from Lt. Gen. Hammy:
He said top U.S. commanders are debating whether to make further withdrawals after July. The U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, is scheduled to issue another report on the progress of the war in April, and Ham said it would be “premature” to discuss further withdrawals now.
My emphasis above, once again.
The dog and pony Petraeus show has gotten so ridiculous that we now have a Ham running said show. Bada-bing!
Let us surmise at this point.
John McCain has the plan going forward. 100 years in Iraq. Bomb, bomb, bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran, and Geritol for All!
We Democrats need to make sure of a few things between now and November, 2008. We need to make sure that we come together like never before, locally, nationally and in any way that can help us elect Democrats to any office, including Dog Catcher.
These Republics are never going to get out of Empire mode until WE force them to do so.
Let’s rub their little snooty noses in their failure and take our country back. Together.
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OUR current administration?
We also need to make sure that the Democrats we elect will have the backbone to end the war and occupation. We elected a Democratic Congress a year ago with a mandate to end the war.
Today, the Senate is debating Russ Feingold’s bill to start withdrawing troops — only because 44 Republicans joined 26 Dems in voting to bring it up. (The GOP want to talk about the war, for reasons that are hard to explain.)
Half of the Democrats voted against even debating this bill. More detail and the list here.
An excellent time with no worries to leave Iraq will never exist. It would be really nice if for a change the press out in la la land would just leave the bull icing off the shit cake though! For the love of God press corp, let’s not put anymore icing on this thing kay?
He was in the army reserves, had done his active duty time but now is being called up to go to the “sandbox”. So, it would seem that, far from ending, bush’s iraq folly is still escalating.
Bush has also said that the soldiers that were due to come home or have leave this summer will not be coming home.
As long as that hydrocarbon law has not been signed, do you really think they would consider withdrawal? No, they’ll stay there and continue to stir up strife among Iraqis until they get them (the Iraqi government) to say “uncle.” Even if that happens (and I think it’s doubtful), don’t forget the billion dollar U.S. Embassy — they certainly would not want to leave it there unoccupied.
We have shattered this country and its people. We not only should withdraw, but we should offer experts to help the Iraqis rebuild their infrastructure and their country period.