Philosophies of the current war in Iraq

[Illini]

Let's hear them, boys. Here's mine, and correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no hardcore conservative, but I lean to the right, and I try to use common sense in my assessments and opinions. My feeling is that whether or not you agree with the invasion of Iraq and the regime change, isn't the situation now a totally different animal? I mean, we are not fighting Iraq anymore, we are fighting Al Queda. Like Kerry said, he wished that we had never gone over there, but now that we are there, we have to win. Had he won the presidency, he would not have pulled the troops out, and would have remained committed to the cause. Isn't what we are doing over there a good thing right now? If we were to pull out, what kind of message would that send to Al Queda? That we will let them have control and we will back down from them? All I hear from some people is "big mistake, get the hell out." I would like to hear some more philosophies from some of you guys. Thanks all.

 

[RobFunk]

Thats funny you bring this up. I was just thinking of this last night. I have to agree, it would be odd to pull the troops out.


We are doing a good thing, but is it really worth losing a bunch of kids and people in early adulthood just so some Muslims can have democracy?!

I have to admit it was pretty gay when people were posting pictures of happy Muslims in here. Post some pictures of the dead soldiers parents, kids and wives, I bet they are'nt smiling. thats what tells the real story for us Americans.

 

[CAPNCRUNCH]

Illini: You are sensible and smart! How do we EVER win a 'war on terror!'?????????????? Enlighten me , please!

 

[Illini]

Illini: You are sensible and smart! How do we EVER win a 'war on terror!'?????????????? Enlighten me , please!

I don't think you can ever totally win a war on terror. Look at what happened last week. These are just bad people. But you can stand up to them and not back down, trying to appease them or give in to them.

 

[edub69]

I think you are somewhat correct, but I don't think that Al Qaeda pays attention to whatever message we send to them one way or another. They don't mind if we continue to invade countries and wreak havoc in the middle east because they are at best loosely associated with any particular country. So if the only reason we are staying there is to send some kind of message to Al Qaeda, that's as good as no reason. We're not fighting a pitched battle here. My continued suggestion has been to withdraw our troops to the borders and stop any inflow of terrorists (which is much exaggerated I have no doubt) and let the Iraqis hash things out as far as the direction of their government and let them rebuild their own country. We got rid of Saddam, and I don't think there's much more we can do. The fledgling government needs to have legitimacy, and it won't have that until people get the impression that we aren't pulling the strings. Not seeing our troops rolling through town in armored convoys every day would be a good start. Also, any suicide bombings that occur when we aren't around can be seen more clearly by the Iraqis to be directed at them and not at us. There's a difference between Iraqis being killed as "collateral damage" if you will, and being the direct targets of suicide bombings.

 

[CAPNCRUNCH]

I don't think you can ever totally win a war on terror. Look at what happened last week. These are just bad people. But you can stand up to them and not back down, trying to appease them or give in to them.

So how does the war on terror ever end? How many good kids gotta killed before we say enough with this stupid war? I say one more is one too many!

 

[koidog]

Thats funny you bring this up. I was just thinking of this last night. I have to agree, it would be odd to pull the troops out.


We are doing a good thing, but is it really worth losing a bunch of kids and people in early adulthood just so some Muslims can have democracy?!

I have to admit it was pretty gay when people were posting pictures of happy Muslims in here. Post some pictures of the dead soldiers parents, kids and wives, I bet they are'nt smiling. thats what tells the real story for us Americans.

Don't know if they are smiling but they are proud. A 22 year old from my area was buried Yesterday, the Parents were proud and accepted his medals.

They are going to work to raise money in his name, to buy lights for flags in the state so that they can fly at night. Because that's what their son "would have wanted"

Michael Moore might try to portray these mothers as hating Bush... and a few might..but they are the MINORITY.

 

[CAPNCRUNCH]

Don't know if they are smiling but they are proud. A 22 year old from my area was buried Yesterday, the Parents were proud and accepted his medals.

They are going to work to raise money in his name, to buy lights for flags in the state so that they can fly at night. Because that's what their son "would have wanted"

Michael Moore might try to portray these mothers as hating Bush... and a few might..but they are the MINORITY.

Too sad! Another kid dies because W is too proud to say we made a mistake!:sad3: How many others will die before this senseless loss of good kids is stopped? One more is too much!

 

[RobFunk]

Michael Moore might try to portray these mothers as hating Bush... and a few might..but they are the MINORITY

IT's hard to say who the minority is anymore. The troops seemed disgusted to have to be there everytime we hear from them, I dont think the Majority of them believe in what they're doing there. It's hard to find anyone that supports the war anymore. You know its bad when an auditorium packed with soldiers doesnt clap or cheer when the presdient walks in.. .And most of us in here wouldnt have either.


And CC is right 1 more kid dying over nothing in that god forsaken country is 1 more too much.

 

[koidog]

IT's hard to say who the minority is anymore. The troops seemed disgusted to have to be there everytime we hear from them, I dont think the Majority of them believe in what they're doing there. It's hard to find anyone that supports the war anymore. You know its bad when an auditorium packed with soldiers doesnt clap or cheer when the presdient walks in.. .And most of us in here wouldnt have either.


And CC is right 1 more kid dying over nothing in that god forsaken country is 1 more too much.

Troops seem disgusted? I haven't heard that. Certainly not the Majority. If so why'd they OVERWHELMINGLY vote for W?

 

[redpimp]

Let's hear them, boys. Here's mine, and correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no hardcore conservative, but I lean to the right, and I try to use common sense in my assessments and opinions. My feeling is that whether or not you agree with the invasion of Iraq and the regime change, isn't the situation now a totally different animal? I mean, we are not fighting Iraq anymore, we are fighting Al Queda. Like Kerry said, he wished that we had never gone over there, but now that we are there, we have to win. Had he won the presidency, he would not have pulled the troops out, and would have remained committed to the cause. Isn't what we are doing over there a good thing right now? If we were to pull out, what kind of message would that send to Al Queda? That we will let them have control and we will back down from them? All I hear from some people is "big mistake, get the hell out." I would like to hear some more philosophies from some of you guys. Thanks all.

Most important thing would be to first look at our current situation and figure out exactly where things stand and where they will probably ultimately end.

You cant come out with a blanket statement like "we are fighting al qaeda" and assume that executing the rest of the war in this manner would be the right way to go. Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were never friends and infact OBL often criticized Saddam and considered him an enemy and an infidel..(Bush wouldnt want you to know but Saddam actually didnt like Islamic fundamentalists and there is a long list of important religious figures he murdered)
You have to consider, where exactly the truth lies. suppose the US pulled their troops out now, is there some one who actually thinks that the fringe elements left would even be able to dent the current Iraqi government? That is just ridiculous to think that. Not to mention, we are and always remain foreigners in that country, that is a great handicap for any one seeking to gain inside information on the inner workings of some of these fringe groups.
Life of the Iraqis is as good as it will be for a while with or without our presence.


Look at the second scenario. If we stay longer in Iraq, does that actually help the situation a single bit? Well lets first look at events that transpired after we invaded Iraq. first and most importantly we suceeded in helping out OBL greatly by confirming the very same things he used to preach about and was often dismissed as a mad radical. We turned him from some fringe element into somewhat of a prophet within the minds of young Muslims all over the world. (And i am not interested in debating this particular issue because security experts, military officials, politicians and strategists the world over have seen and confirmed this to a man) Case and point, the recent bombings in London, carried out my young muslim men with European citizenship. (that pretty much debunks that crap about how terrorists are flocking to Iraq as though they would be that stupid)
Our presence in Iraq has actually suceeded in uniting terrorists, pushing some over the edge and i cant see how one can argue that our continued presence will do anything else but encourage even more to join their cause only this time round the battle field will be our streets and train stations!

 

[Illini]

Of course Saddam murdered some radical Islamic fundamentalists. Of course he did. Saddam tortured and murdered anyone who had a cousin or uncle who knew someone who knew someone who heard of someone that could potentially, in Saddam's mind, pose a threat to his complete and cruel dictatorship. A lot of times, he would torture a woman or her child, until she confessed complete bullshit about her husband plotting something, and then would kill the husband.

I can see your way of thinking and how you've come to your conclusions, and I can respect that. I totally disagree, but I can respect your viewpoint. My viewpoint is that backing out now would be going against our word that we will stand by the Iraqis until they are ready to take care of themselves. Backing out now would be saying that it is just too difficult for us to live up to what we have promised. I don't agree that anything we are doing now is going to ignite more terrorists. Terrorists will become terrorists whether we try to be nice to them or not. It would be a grave mistake in my mind to just say, "aw, screw it." And the more I talk to people in the military and their families, as well as interviews that I see on tv, I believe that an overwhelming majority of the military feels exactly as I do.

 

[mjaytee]

The last thing Bush, defense contractors and me for that matter since I will soon be starting a Homeland Security gig want is for Al Qaeda to go away. If "Al Qaeda" goes away how can I justify the $50k/year (actually a $5k "signing bonus" $45k/year) I am about to make working part-time as a subcontractor for Homeland Security. So please keep the myth alive so I can keep this gig longer than the 1 year contract I signed today.

Under the contract I can reveal I work indirectly for Homeland Security but not the specifics of the job. All I can say is that it is not sexy, so I guess no spy novels by me. But it is easy, at most 20 hrs/week via telecommuting. I'm not even in the same state of my boss.

I know, who gives a flying F! I just find it ironic that as one who believes the "war on terror" is a farce inside job I will now profit from it, like I am some type of Bush buddy. I have all the people who disagree with me to thank. If it was not for their loyalty to Bush and buying into the fearmongering I would have never had this opportunity. Oh yeah and the Muslims, the greatest patsies ever.

I had at first thought I would stop posting but I did not sign away my 1st admendment rights and I will do my job with excellence. So I see no need to stop speaking out. Nothing wrong with a little profiteering, is there?