Presidential question

Start pulling our troops out and finish withdrawing them no later than December 31, 2007.

 

I say December 31, 2006.

 

I say finish the job, and post a permanent U.S. military presence.

 

I agree with Bro. Curtis, with one condition, that the present Iraqi government understand that substantial progress be made towards governing, the economy, and the military, and in short order. The dates mentioned above seem reasonable. I also agree with the permanent base.

 

Cease all day-to-day security options within 3 months, turning these completely over to Iraqi forces. Plan to withdraw by the end of the year.

More than this though, be frank with the American public about the situation.

 

Ditto.

 

Put in enough to troops to restore civil order, secure the borders and quell the insurgents. When that is accomplished, turn operations over to trained, armed & funded Iraqis - at that point, bring most the troops home. Work with the UN to monitor the Iraqi government and military until a stable state is achieved.

 

Daisy,

That is President Bush's plan...I am glad to see that you are finally on board with a plan to win the peace with the president.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Pack up and leave immediately!

 

Who?

Mike Sr.

 

"If the President of the United States were to take you aside and ask you, what do you thank we should do in Iraq? What would be your answer?"

Move operation iraqi freedom to mexico.

 

Absolutely...no timetable.

 

Who?

Mike Sr. </font>[/QUOTE]The troops in Iraq!

 

"Mr. President, you did a disservice to the United States by lying to get us into this mess. Now that you have us in it, we can't just pack up and leave. Go to the nation, tell them exactly what you know about it, and then tell them what military officers (not your croneys) say will be required to bring it to a conclusion.

Then do that.

Meantime, you have a couple of years left in office. Try to avoid messing anything else up.

 

Except he never has put in enough troops. He's on the verge of pulling out now.

I've always been opposed to this war, but we can't just wreck the country and leave. Well, we can, but we ought not to.

 

But what IS the job?

Saddam is gone, the people have their democracy and WMDs were not there.

 

I say do not have a permanent U.S. military presence. We don't need to spend diplomatic capital on that, and we don't want to give al-Qaeda another rallying cry.

 

Except he never has put in enough troops. He's on the verge of pulling out now.

I've always been opposed to this war, but we can't just wreck the country and leave. Well, we can, but we ought not to. </font>[/QUOTE]General Daisy,

How many troops would be enough? The only way Bush will pull out now is as a direct result of Iraqi security forces taking more control of their own security, which they are doing more and more of with some success. I, personally, think the Iraqis will be in much better shape by the end of this year and we will be able to start pulling some troops out of Iraq and start focusing more on Iran. If this isn't the case, then so be it.

Joseph Botwinick

 

But what IS the job?

Saddam is gone, the people have their democracy and WMDs were not there. </font>[/QUOTE]The job now is to secure the nation and establish an Iraqi army which can continue to secure the peace for Iraq. We are making great strides towards this end, and things are looking good. There will continue to be problems there for a long time...but, in the end, I believe Iraq will be a great friend in the Middle East.

Joseph Botwinick