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Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
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- 8:58:04, Jun 18th 2013 - cabraden1 - I salute you Colonel Overland. Your were my c.o. at Rockville Naval Air ... [Read More]
- 7:10:46, Jun 13th 2013 - chipperlee - Seems to be a well written article, except maybe Silica Sand is used in ... [Read More]
- 12:02:15, Jun 9th 2013 - getthefacts - The problem here lies in the fact that girls were repeatedly told "if y ... [Read More]
- 10:45:32, Jun 7th 2013 - Jo mom for 6yrs - Mr. Ehler hit the nail on the head. I agree with the religious con ... [Read More]
- 2:47:58, Jun 7th 2013 - hello - Hello, it's time you wake up. There isn't a community nearby that doesn't offe ... [Read More]
- 9:06:21, Jun 6th 2013 - hello - Hello, it's time you wake up. There isn't a community nearby that doesn't offe ... [Read More]
- 2:05:29, Jun 6th 2013 - Kim Wentworth - The number one rule in a debate: 1) if the person from the opposite si ... [Read More]
- 12:42:18, Jun 4th 2013 - EW - For someone that is always spouting religious rhetoric, you try to come off as a ... [Read More]
- 11:32:18, May 31st 2013 - JO PLAYER - This is unfair to us girls. Morrie Miller is not getting canceled but J ... [Read More]
- 8:25:34, May 29th 2013 - RP - Why is Mr. Ehler involving himself with non-school activities? Is he going after ... [Read More]
"Stay-the-course" is no longer official line on Iraq
Fri, Oct 27th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Comments
A few short weeks before Americans go to the polls, the administration is making a significant policy change on Iraq: the president will no longer use the words stay-the-course.
For several months, the President has used stay-the-course to show his administration's resolve against those doomsayers and cowards that would have us cut 'n run in Iraq.
"America will never cut 'n run," the president was oft to say in response to criticism that our efforts in Iraq were going nowhere. He won't say that anymore.
He will now say that we have a flexible plan that will allow us to adjust our tactics.
He will also say that we have now given the Iraqi government a timetable to end sectarian conflict and stabilize their nation. This includes getting the private militias to end their ethnic cleansing and put down their arms.
General George Casey Jr., the American Military Commander in Iraq, said that if this occurs, in 12 to 18 months, the Iraqi security forces will be the dominant force in the country. He later qualified this by saying that this won't happen unless there is political progress.
That said, it is almost as if the administration's new motto on Iraq has become wishful-thinking.
So, our wishful-thinking on Iraq is that the ethnic groups will stop killing themselves, that the government can provide their own security, and that the US forces can begin to leave the country.
The reality in Iraq is that we are looking for an exit strategy where we can get our troops out without the country collapsing on itself, period. There is no winning to be done, no introducing democracy to be completed. Iraq is lost; it is a quagmire and we don't know how to get out.
Donald Rumsfield, Dick Cheney and George Bush are still in charge, nothing has changed.
We just won't say stay-the-course anymore. Be warned that the words civil war, quagmire, torture and secret prisons are next.
As of this writing, 96 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq during the month of October.
For several months, the President has used stay-the-course to show his administration's resolve against those doomsayers and cowards that would have us cut 'n run in Iraq.
"America will never cut 'n run," the president was oft to say in response to criticism that our efforts in Iraq were going nowhere. He won't say that anymore.
He will now say that we have a flexible plan that will allow us to adjust our tactics.
He will also say that we have now given the Iraqi government a timetable to end sectarian conflict and stabilize their nation. This includes getting the private militias to end their ethnic cleansing and put down their arms.
General George Casey Jr., the American Military Commander in Iraq, said that if this occurs, in 12 to 18 months, the Iraqi security forces will be the dominant force in the country. He later qualified this by saying that this won't happen unless there is political progress.
That said, it is almost as if the administration's new motto on Iraq has become wishful-thinking.
So, our wishful-thinking on Iraq is that the ethnic groups will stop killing themselves, that the government can provide their own security, and that the US forces can begin to leave the country.
The reality in Iraq is that we are looking for an exit strategy where we can get our troops out without the country collapsing on itself, period. There is no winning to be done, no introducing democracy to be completed. Iraq is lost; it is a quagmire and we don't know how to get out.
Donald Rumsfield, Dick Cheney and George Bush are still in charge, nothing has changed.
We just won't say stay-the-course anymore. Be warned that the words civil war, quagmire, torture and secret prisons are next.
As of this writing, 96 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq during the month of October.