Gen Petraeus' testimony to Congress on the state of play in Iraq had a lot riding on it. As they so often do, c
artoonists Cox and Forkum go straight to the heart of the issue:
Couple that with the point made by Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker that any
withdrawal plan could spark Iraqi 'street fight'.
Announcing a plan for rapid troop withdrawals in Iraq would signal Iraqis to start "building the walls, stocking ammunition and getting ready for a big nasty street fight" rather than working toward reconciliation, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Tuesday.
5 comments:
Here is the situation. Either the fight against Islamic collectivism gets fought and won in the Middle-East (including in Iraq) OR it gets fought in the cities of the West.
If the war for civilisation ends up in the USA and Europe, Australia, Japan and NZ (even in Russia and China), then it is likely to be lost. So it's wrap up your duaghters, cut out their privates, get them ready for what's a-coming. All the rest of you should get prepared as well (throw away your Gilettes for a start).
Abdul the Butcher
I supported the Iraq venture for the following reasons:
1. Saddam defied the UN Resolution on WMD. Every intelligence agency on the planet was convinced Iraq had these weapons, as did Hans Blix and Saddam's own Generals. It is easy after the event to say this was a lie - the WMD may very well have been shipped over the Syrian border.
2. Saddam was deposed, tried by his own people, and executed in accordance with International Law against genocide [eg Milosevic - died too soon - and Charles Taylor].
3. The US invasion gave political freedom to the Iraqis for the first time, with elections and a parliament. This was Bush's admirable project to begin to bring democracy to the Middle East.
4. It is no reflection on American foreign policy that this gift was virtually rejected by the Iraqis, who reverted to sectarian violence with their new-found freedom.
5. The Sunni hate the Shia. The Arabs hate the Persians. They all hate the Jews. And everybody in the region blames the Americans!
6. Possible future US troop withdrawls should not be decided by left wingers and Democrats. This was the whole problem with the American effort in Sth Vietnam - the armed forces were not permitted by the politicians to actually fight the enemy and WIN.
7. Just as well for NZ that the gallant US Marines were not so hindered in their Pacific Campaign in WWII, otherwise we would all be having this discussion in Japanese!
Iraq was a dictatorship, Iran is a terrible theocracy that no western person, left or right inclined, would not be appalled by. It would be nice to just roll in there, kill all the bad guys, established civilised society and let those people experience what we're enjoying right now. It would be the moral thing to do, and in the long term it would benefit us as well in a way that would surely justify our sacrifices.
BUT, it ain't gonna work. The area is too split, too violent, people are simply too afraid, and they will flock to whoever gives them the most protection. Violence was the problem in the first place, violence and death is what has made islamofascism such a force in the middle east and this war has just fanned the flames.
Democracy is not the source of civilisation, it is the result of it. It is the result of an educated population that aren't so afraid as to use that education to further the schemes of whatever dictator offers them most security for their talents.
A dictator cannot exist unless a population is afraid, an I guarantee they're more afraid now than they were before this charade to bring them freedom began.
What the hell kind of name is "Petraeus"?
Sounds like a guy from Planet of the Apes.
Anonymous
You wouldn't have the courage to say that to his face I'd wager...
LGM
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