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‘As Iraqis Stand Up, We Will Stand Down,’ Bush Tells Nation
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2005 – On the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq to a transitional Iraqi government, President Bush tonight promised that U.S. forces would remain in Iraq until the job is complete, “but not one day longer.”
“The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists,” he said. “And that is why we are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.”
American Forces Press Service, June 28, 2005
They still are not standing up nearly three years later. The New York Times today reports that Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions in Sadr City, “defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias.”
More after the fold
Also in orange: http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing.
Capt. Logan Veath, a company commander in the 25th Infantry Division, pleaded with the Iraqi major who was leading his troops away from the Sadr City fight, urging him to return to the front.
“If you turn around and go back up the street those soldiers will follow you,” Captain Veath said. “If you tuck tail and cowardly run away they will follow up that way, too.”
NY Times, Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American’s Plea
American soldiers are more then fed up:
Tuesday’s desertions in Sadr City, although involving a particularly hesitant Iraqi unit, left many of the Americans soldiers wondering about the tenacity of their Iraqi allies.
“It bugs the hell out of me,” said Sgt. George Lewis, Captain Veath’s platoon sergeant in Company B, Third Platoon, First Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment. “We don’t see any progress being made at all. We hear these guys in firefights. We know if we are not up there helping these guys out we are making very little progress.”
NY Times, Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American’s Plea
How many more must die for Bush and Cheney’s lies and dreams of empire?
At least 4037 fatal American military casualties.
Roadside Bomb Takes American Death Toll in Iraq To 4,000, March 2008
The reason is that the frequently reported number of the wounded in action (29,320 as of March 1) does not include everyone who’s been hurt.The complete number of nonfatal casualties in Iraq is 60,645. Most assume the wounded number includes all, but it does not. It leaves out another 8,273 injured and 23,052 who became ill and required medical air transport from the war zone. The Department of Defense releases two reports: one with the weekly numbers of those wounded and killed, and then another monthly report with the complete numbers. After five years, it is time for respected news organizations to use the complete number.
John Edwards, letter to editor in NY Times
The financial cost:
At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein, restore order and install a new government.
Five years in, the Pentagon tags the cost of the Iraq war at roughly $600 billion and counting. Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and critic of the war, pegs the long-term cost at more than $4 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office and other analysts say that $1 trillion to $2 trillion is more realistic, depending on troop levels and on how long the American occupation continues.
John Edwards in February:
“People don’t understand why we’re spending $500 billion and counting in Iraq when at the same time we’ve got 40-plus million Americans with no health care coverage, 37 million-plus living in poverty. It doesn’t make sense to them.”
John McCain will continue this occupation indefinitely:
Bolster Troops on the Ground
A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq. John McCain agrees with retired Army General Jack Keane that there are simply not enough American forces in Iraq. More troops are necessary to clear and hold insurgent strongholds; to provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies; to halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm Sunni and Shia militias; to dismantle al Qaeda; to train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units.
Accomplishing each of these goals will require more troops and is a crucial prerequisite for needed economic and political development in the country. America’s ultimate strategy is to give Iraqis the capabilities to govern and secure their own country.
Or, as said by George Bush in 2005: “Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” They’re still are not standing up. They are turning tail and running away.
How many more deaths, wounded, and money must we pour into the Iraq occupation and Bush’s failed dreams of empire?
The Iraq occupation is the defining issue between the two Democrats candidates and John McCain.
John Edwards:
“There is great concern, anxiety and angst out there among most Americans about their economic security. They are worried about a lot of things. They are concerned about the cost of a health care system that is broken and needs to be fixed. They are worried about how to pay to send their kids to college. The mortgage and foreclosure crisis is now becoming central to the economic insecurity an awful lot of Americans are feeling. All of these things are made much worse due to the war in Iraq. The American public sees a direct connection between the spending in Iraq and the economic anxiety caused by the price of oil and gasoline. They want to see this war brought to an end.”
Elizabeth Edwards:
“If the economy is your number one issue when you’re voting, the war is, too.”
Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU:
“For [SEIU] this is about the war in Iraq and the war on the middle class. As we see jobs hemorrhage, as we see wages frozen, and as we see people losing their health care, we see first hand the impact of wasting $10 billion a month on spending in Iraq when we should be investing in our kids, investing in health care and investing in the infrastructure of our country.”
Both Clinton and Obama offer a major change from Bush/McCain on the Iraq occupation. Neither Obama nor Clinton move out of Iraq fast enough for me, but they at least will be moving in the right direction: home.
This issue is far more important than bowling, drinking shots and beer, and all the other bs that the MSM and many in the “progressive blogosphere” seem to be fixated on.
It is time for us to tell Obama and Clinton: talk to Americans about issues, talk about about the occupation and its costs to us. Keep talking. Draw the contrasts with McCain. It is time for the occupation of Iraq to end. The lives of many depend on it.
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ending the occupation.
the over one million Iraqi dead (from following your links) and millions of refugees.
The empire is popping its rivets from the strain. So much for Vietnamization.
Strike on May Day for an end to the war!
Iraq Moratorium
Women in Black
There have been too many “Friedman Units” with no progress.
You’ve quoted Senator and Ms. Edwards enough to display your first choice–same as mine. The consolation is that it’s past time to have a non White male president. I have no doubt that we win in November. Once it’s one on one, McCain will be in the Republican corner–with a secure 30%.
a conversation with a military “lifer”. He is an NCO but he had enough to say about todays “fag” Army. Now that may appear as a disparaging comment yet truth is truth no matter how un-PC it is.