Comments Posted By B.Poster
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Israel should not be pressured to sacrifice its security interests by the US or its allies because the US and its coalition allies made errors in their foreign policy. Israel had nothing to do with the Iraq war. It would be unethical to pressure them to give up the Golan Heights or anything else to save the interests of the US, Britian, or any other member of the coaliton who invaded Iraq.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 12.11.2006 @ 20:41
A DECLARATION OF (SEMI-AUTONOMOUS) INDEPENDENCE (SORT OF)
Rick
Great post!! You expressed my thoughts far more articulately than I seem to be able to, however, I might quibble with you on who the worst president is. There seems to be no question that Jimmy Carter was bad. The history of his administration has been written. The history of the George W. Bush administration has not been written yet. There is still time to turn this around, however, if his administration were to end today, I think he would be the worst president in the history of the Republic. In any event, I'm not optimistic that George W. Bush has the mettle to turn this around. I do not believe history will be kind to George W. Bush.
With regards to Iraq I expect us to withdraw most of our troops soon. There will probably be a small contingent of special forces troops numbering 10,000 or fewer stationed in Kurdistan or possibly Kuwait. These troops will be backed up by air support and they will be prepared to intervene in Iraq, as necessary, to prevent the formation of terrorist bases or to provide a check on Iranian power.
Unfortunately a complete withdrawl is probably unrealistic. At least, they will not be involved in the day to day fighting of the Iraqi civil war.
For what its worth, I think the invasion of Iraq was the correct strategy. I also think the attempt to bring western style democracy was the correct strategy. I think the mission was doable. Unfortunately it has been horribly executed. As such, we will never know, if we could have established western style democracy in Iraq. For better or worse, we will be withdrawing in masse very soon.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 9.11.2006 @ 09:57
Rightwingprof
You mention trying to win hearts and minds with a kinder gentler approach. You are quite right that this PC nonsense will not work with fighting a war. Until the PC nonsense is jettisoned it really won't matter how many troops we commit to Iraq or how large the military is. Political correctness and war fighting don't mix. I don't think we will be able to win the GWOT until we jettison the PC nonsense.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 8.11.2006 @ 16:22
Rightwingprof
You may be on to something. Since Hussein was removed, so many mistakes have been made that it is hard to keep track of them all. Mistakes are understandable and forgiveable. What is not understandable is the failure to acknowledge mistakes and to change strategies.
Plunge
Bush told an outright lie.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 8.11.2006 @ 16:15
Rick
Your analysis is spot on. I had much the same thoghts as you did. Actually Rumsfeld should have been sacked about two years ago. The terrorists we fight in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere pose an existential threat to the United States.
I have thought for quite some time that Bush was more worried about his personal standing than he is in winning the GWOT. If he is not the worst president in the history of the Repbublic, I can't think of anyone whose performance has been worse than Bush's. This man is completely out of touch and lacks a fundamental understanding of the stakes in the GWOT.
In any event, if I understand correctly appointees, such as Robert Gates, will have to be confirmed by the elected Representatives. I hope they hold the president accountable so that we can finally have competent leadership.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 8.11.2006 @ 15:50
MORE RANK PARTISANSHIP FROM THE TIMES
In keeping with the theme of my previous post, here are some suggestions on how we can fight a smarter war. 1.) Assist Israel to become completely militarily self sufficient. Israel is by far and away our most valuable ally. A militarily self suffiecent Israel will be a strong buffer between the Western world and terrorists. 2.) Encourage South Korea, Japan, and Tawian to develop nuclear weapons and to substantially increase the capabilities of their militaries. Those three countries would be able to act as a check on Russia and China. Also, it gives the US the benefit of removing most, if not all, of it troops from Japan and South Korea. My understanding is most of the citizens of South Korea and Japan don't want US troops in their countries any way. This suggestion gives us stronger allies and allows us to withdraw our troops from these areas. This is a win-win all the way around. In any event, set a date certain with these governments as to when American troops will be completely out of their countries. This would give them strong incentive to implement the above policy suggestions. The date certain for US withdrawl should NOT be made public. 3.) I think we have a large number of troops stationed in Europe, specifically in Germany. My understanding is the Western European countries do not have very large militaries. We should set a date certain with our allies where we have troops as to when our troops will be completely withdrawn. We should assist them in developing their military capabilies prior to our withdrawl. Again the date certain for our troop withdrawl should not be made public. A militarily strong Western Europe will help to serve as a check on Russia. 4.) We need to secure our borders. 5.) The mosques need to be closely monitored and a moratorium should be placed on immigration from Muslim countries. In this note racial profiling is a good idea. We know who is most likely to be a terrorist. 6.) We should develop more of our own oil and gas resources. As we lessen our oil and gas imports, this will give us more leverage in any negotiations with middle eastern countries and Venezuela. Right now we have very little leverage. 6.) Somehow we are going to need to improve our human intellegence. 7.) We are going to need a frank assessment of who we are, who our enemies are, which enemies are the most dangerous, and where we are in the GWOT. By far and away our most dangerous enemy is Russia. As to where we are in the GWOT, to date the biggest winners have been Russia, Iran, and China, probably in that order. In other words, our three most dangerous enemies have been the chief benefactors of our current policies. The biggest loser in the GWOT has been Israel In other words, our most valuable ally has suffered the most. 8.) Finally, we need to recognize that the Islamic extremist/Communist alliance that is arrayed against us poses an existential threat to the USA and it should be treated as such.
There is still time to turn this around and win the GWOT. The first step to winning will be a frank assessment of our current situation. Once we have honestly assessed the situation, we will be in a better postion to develop successful policies.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 4.11.2006 @ 17:01
Rick
As always, good post. You nailed it!! You write: "But we are almost certainly going to be forced to fight smarter." I agree whole heartedly. Right now the militaries of Russia and China are every bit equal to the military of the US and, in some ways, they are militarily superior to the US. This is especially so with regards to Russia. These countries have achieved military parity with the US while spending only a fraction of the amount of money on their militaries that the US spends.
Btw, as a Conservative, my over riding theme is "government stay out!!" The Republicans have expanded the size and intrusiveness of the government at an astounding rate. Thuis is unacceptable. If there is a silver lining here, as the debt comes due down the road, government services will have to be cut. We will finally have a less intrusive government. At some point, Government services will have to be cut. This has to happen whether Democrats or Republicans are in office. The long term damage from this spending spree is to late to correct.
The Government agencies I would eliminate first would be the EPA and the Department of Education. The elimination of these useless organizations would save the taxpayers alot of money.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 4.11.2006 @ 15:44
IRONY SO THICK YOU CAN BATHE IN IT
It seems sanctions were unlikely to be in place for ever. As I recall, the Iraq Survey Group had concluded that Iraq was close to a de facto end to the sanctions, however, this does nothing to vindicate the Bush Administration. For the current state of affairs, the Republicans and the Bush bear all of the blame. If Iraq and Afghanistan had been executed competently we would not be in the situation we are currently in.
Immediately after the attacks of 911 the country should have been placed on a war footing. If not then, it should have been placed on a war footing prior to the Iraq war. The optimal solution would be to send more troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and to allow the troops currently in those areas to fight more aggresively, however, this is not going to happen. For such a policy to be implemented, the American people and the Government would need to be on board. Right now they are not. As such, we see major changes very soon.
By the middle of 2007 the US will be mostly out of Iraq. By this time there will be no troops officially in Shia or Sunni areas. The operation will change to one primarily using special ops who will be backed up by air support. There will be 10,000 or fewer of them and they will be stationed in Kurdish areas or perhaps in Kuwait. The only time they will intervene in Iraqi affairs will be to try and prevent the formation of terrorists bases. Hopefully this strategy will work becuase it is the one we will be using.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 3.11.2006 @ 15:08
Rest in peace Michael Monsoor. My thoughts and prayers are with the fellow soldiers, family, and friends of him. May God bless all of you and grant you mercy and protection.
Rick, thank you for bringing this story to our attention.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 15.10.2006 @ 17:09
IRAQ: THE WITHDRAWAL CLOCK IS OFFICIALLY TICKING
"Our troops are facing the brig if they actually fight against muslims in Iraq." This seems to be spot on. The Aemrican leadership lacks the will to allow the military to fight decisively.
Comment Posted By B.Poster On 15.10.2006 @ 14:24
