Comments
Please wait...
Comments are closed.
Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.
Editors' Picks
is a proud member of the
media network
media network
All contents © Index Newspapers LLC
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Trainers
Advisers
Mercenaries (ie Contractors)
Still some number much greater than zero.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0911/092…
I'm so jaded about this shit. Did he really have to spend billions of dollars and countless (meaning I don't know the count) human lives just so that the timing of this act could help cement his reelection?
I'm voting third-party from now on.
Which is strange, because if all this IS part of shrub's master plan, then certainly the outcome they foresee must be part of that same plan as well; meaning that blame for turning these countries over to Islamic fundamentalist militants must also have been part of that plan.
what a bunch of cynics. he said he'd end Iraq responsibly and focus on Afghanistan when he was a candidate. looks like he's doing what he said.
Actually, I don't know if he's doing what he'd say because what he says and what he does are two different things. We'll see. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one like I've been doing since 2009, which has seen many reneges since.
You do realize you're going against roughly 2,300 years of precedent, yes? Not saying you're wrong, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
And seriously, some of you are as bad as the Wingnuts: "Oooh, Obama doesn't keep his campaign promises! Wha - ? he just kept one? Oooh, Obama doesn't keep his campaign promises fast enough! Hu - ? He kept it on-schedule? Oooh, Obama doesn't..."
but this is what Obama SAID he'd do, and what he CAN do. he can control foreign policy. and foreign policy is going pretty well. any withdrawal more precipitous than this would have handed FOX et al a "cut and run" shaped bludgeon to use until 11/12. and yes, i'm aware that more people died because the withdrawal wasn't faster.
he can't control the jackholes in congress on domestic policies or legislation. he was always going to be a cautious POTUS - it's his nature, and smart politics, given the outrageous shit he's had thrown at him. he's been weak on prosecuting the malefactors of great wealth, even rhetorically, and it's still turned wall street against him.
back to @9: i think i missed a big story: which innocent 16 year old American boys got incinerated by Obama?
Like I said, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Seems actually like a more balanced position than any of the party tribalism (and marginalization of dissenting opinions) I usually see on this fauxgressive blog.
I know we're going to see people rationalizing and defending this, but whatever.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/awlakis-son-…
Don't vote people, Proteus likes to speak when he thinks I'm saying it even though it's not even discussed here.
Too bad that only applies during peacetime.
I really don't like using mercenaries to guard DoD or State officials. That should be a Marine detail.
As far as credit for the withdrawal, it pretty much goes to the Iraqis. Obama wanted to stay longer, but with immunities that the Iraqis would not agree to, so we're leaving on the date set long ago.
Those are the people you SHOULD be voting for, if you ever want real change. People who are ... well ... common. That's the type of person who built the country, that's the type of person who should be running things. So do it, vote for real people, even if their images are distorted by media coverage. Be brave, and bring in a brave new country (really it's the brave old country but new to a lot of us).
First, the troop withdrawal is required by an agreement which George W. Bush negotiated and entered into with Iraq and which was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament prior to Obama’s inauguration. Let’s listen to the White House itself today: “’This deal was cut by the Bush administration, the agreement was always that at end of the year we would leave. . . .’ an administration official said.” As I said, it’s a good thing that this agreement is being adhered to, and one can reasonably argue that Obama’s campaign advocacy for the war’s end influenced the making of that agreement, but the Year End 2011 withdrawal date was agreed to by the Bush administration and codified by them in a binding agreement.
Second, the Obama administration has been working for months to persuade, pressure and cajole Iraq to allow U.S. troops to remain in that country beyond the deadline. The reason they’re being withdrawn isn’t because Obama insisted on this, but because he tried — but failed — to get out of this obligation.
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/21/about_th…
So, Obama didn't want to keep his promise. Oh, wait...I mean Bush's promise. He was forced to. And there will still be plenty of troops there.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/…
Fortunately, he still has plenty of conservative Democrats to voice their praise while licking the great man's boots, despite the fact that he's doing absolutely nothing special here.