Military What was done is being undone...Iraq

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by mancha, Jun 12, 2014.

  1. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Green Berets specialize in training up locals to fight their own fights. They are very good at it. Delta and SEALs specialize in other matters. I doubt that they are there other than protecting the embassy and other US personnel. They are very good at that.

    Who are you quoting here? The facts and logic is laughable. First of all Obama didn't "tip his hand" during the campaign, he openly ran on ending the useless war in Iraq and focusing on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And he didn't "withdraw immediately" either. The Iraqis asked us to leave because Iraqi public opinion was overwhelmingly for the Americans to leave, which neatly meshed with American public opinion.

    Leaving 10,000 troops in Iraq is an asinine idea and so is the notion that it is "more than enough for these dopes". Also asinine is the notion that counter-insurgency is a questionable tactic. What else is this ISIS assault if not an insurgency. This isn't a field army, it is bands of guerrilla insurgents. Pretty experienced ones too.

    The idea that we need Iraq for a "base" is completely stupid and ignorant of our base situation. We have plenty of bases that are far more secure all over the region. You will find them in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Diego Garcia, and Afghanistan along with a powerful fleet in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. We have overflight rights and military training alliances with another five or six including Egypt and Uzbekistan. Iraq has nothing whatsoever that we need. Including their oil. Not only have we greatly reduced our consumption of Middle eastern oil, we have better sources of it in Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. We didn't pay for a base with "blood and coin" we payed for a colossal strategic error by the Bush administration. We don't need to keep paying! It is foolish to do so.

    Even worse is the notion that it is important for us to "build a clone of what we want out of an Arab country". What failed Bushian logic! What utter ignorance of international geopolitics! Did he pay any attention at all to the snowballing clusterfugg that was the Iraq war?

    Whoever wrote this tripe is the one with no vision. Just another "everything Obama does is wrong" diatribe based in illogic and misplaced facts.
     
  2. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    Question: with today's demographics in the USA, if we saw 75% plus voter turnout with popular vote ruling, do you think a republican would ever stand a chance? For example only 1 state had a 75% turnout and the popular vote in that state went for Obama over Romney by over 200,000 votes and all 10 electoral in that state went to Obama. Just think if there was a 85 or 90 percent turnout. I think Republicans know this too, which is why governors are making it harder for minorities to vote, eliminating weekend voting, enacting voter ID laws when it's a proven fact that voter fraud is so minimal it's ridiculous.
     
  3. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    How is TV a left wing playground?

    But yeah I thought it was about time someone admitted liberals were right about Iraq. Kudos to Glenn Beck... The voice of reason?? Damn that's a scary thought.
     
  4. mancha

    mancha Alabama morghulis

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    Well, the last election Obama had 51% to Romney's 47% of the popular vote. Roughly 58% of eligible voters cast a ballot. I would think that unless the 17% added turnout was from a specific group then it would be about the same. So there is a chance.

    However, as the Tea Party continues to take over the Republicans the spread could change and a third party could emerge.
     
  5. LSUpride123

    LSUpride123 PureBlood

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    The only third party that would be formed is a moderate party. You wouldn't have two lefts or two rights.
     
  6. mancha

    mancha Alabama morghulis

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    I am saying that as the Tea Party gains in influence in the GOP, moderate Republicans will grow the Libertarian Party to a meaningful size.
     
  7. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    It has happened before. Ross Perot's party was to the right of the Republicans. The Greens are to the left of the Democrats.
     
  8. LSUpride123

    LSUpride123 PureBlood

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    Yea and where are they now? You honestly going to tell me we will have another Major left or right party? Sure, some dudes will win some races, but nothing major. Just not logical.
     
  9. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Not logical? Then share what logic you use. I've said it before, the electoral college and the winner-take-all primary system are designed to keep third parties from emerging. Major parties cannot happen overnight, they start with small parties. The Libertarians are already pretty big and they are a second conservative party. The Tea Party is already sounding like a contender for yet another conservative party. A moderate party never seems to emerge even though most of the population considers themselves moderate. More likely one of the majors makes a deliberate move towards the center. Bill Clinton took the democratic party towards the middle against the pull of the Teddy Kennedy left. Obama has never really embraced the middle leaning progressives nor the left leaning liberals, kind of a status quo guy. But a populist like Hillary might get the Democrats moving towards the middle again, especially if a vacuum exists by the moderate republicans going further right in the TEA or the GOP. I just don't see the GOP moving to the middle by abandoning the Tea Party.
     
  10. LSUpride123

    LSUpride123 PureBlood

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    You are describing a move to the middle, which makes my point.
     

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