Should We Pull Out Of Iraq?

[Joshua 0]

You are wrong in saying that we are not as well off as we were ten years ago for many reasons.  Bill Clinton, I feel, was one of our worst presidents regardless of what occurred in his personal life.  The only reason why the economy actually went up during Clinton's term was because of the tax cuts initiated under Reagan and Bush Senior. What few realize is that it takes time for these cuts to take effect, so it was not because of Clinton that the economy had been going up during his term.  The economy only went down near the beginning of Bush Junior's term as a result of Clinton's poor handling, not his own.

 

Something else that few people know is that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and offered to Bill Clinton!  All he had to do was accept him and put him on trial or anything, but instead he refused to take him and eventually Bin Laden was released from prison in Iran.  And low and behold, who was behind 9/11?  Bin Laden!

 

You also said that our nation is losing popularity due to our "evil troops."  I simply find that to be a poor statement simply because the soldiers are not evil, they are people like you and me simply following orders.  What they do, or are required to do may be evil in your opinion, but saying that the people who voluntarily risk their lives to help protect our nation and our freedoms is wrong.

161462[/snapback]

So it's all Clinton's fault and Bush's numerous tax cuts for the wealthy and opening US borders for non US workers to compete for jobs has had no negative effects upon the American economy?

 

Also, if you're going to quote me I'd appreciate you quoting things I've actually said. I never used the phrase "evil troops" and said merely that other nations have a bad image of our country due to civilian casualties where our troops were involved.

 

You seem to think I have something against US troops for some reason. I support the troops, I don't support the war, so bring them home! If you're going to quote me please use the quote tags and then reply to what I've said so people can actually see what it was I really said.

[canpolitics 0]

You have made several valid points. You also pointed out the very important fact that if they US were to pull out of Iraq now, that would only lead to chaos and more turmoil in the country. In fact, it would not be at all impossible that they get another radical dictator should the US pull out.

 

I do not agree with the statement that Bush altered intelligence to say that Saddam had WMD's. Saddam did in fact have them. If this is not true then how could he have used chemical weapons and other WMD's against the Kurds in northern Iraq. Did they simply disappear? Of course not, he had used them and was in possesion of them.

 

Here is one of the many links about the slaughter of the Kurds by Saddam Hussein.

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

160980[/snapback]

Well lets see Saddam gassed the Kurds in '88, Desert Storm was the '90's, since then there have been numerous inspectors that have found no evidence of WMD's. Yes Saddam HAD chemical weapons. Yes he proved he was capable of USING chemical weapons, however zero credible evidence suggests he still had them. Bush deliberatly misled the public and the US government so he could justify finishing his daddy's war.

 

Would you be in support of the war if it were sanctioned by the UN? One of the reasons why it was voted down by nations particularly France, Germany and Russia, is because these nations benefitted from Iraq in more ways than one. There is evidence of this and that they were getting money from some sort of program established in Iraq (not sure if it was oil-related or not) that could be ruined should sanctions be brought upon Iraq and the decision made to enter Iraq with UN troops.

Yes I for one would have supported the war on Iraq had the UN sanctioned it, after all it would have ment that the UN examined the evidence and agreed that such a war was justified. You claim that France, Germany and Russia votted against the sanctioning of the war because of personal gains, well actually they would have been able to get alot more of Iraq if they had of invaded with the US. Ever heard of War Profiteers? There was never ANY doubt as to the final outcome of such a war, so the risks were minimal, and the gains were great. Yes Russia and I think Germany possibly had some shady arms deals going on, yes All four countries had quite a bit of oil trade going on, but guess what so did the US. So, Russia, France, Germany, and Canada all made a stand against US on what basis, I have debunked your personal gains theory.

 

 

15 years old? You're not too young. I'm only 17 and I believe that we went over there to give the Iraqies their freedom. Now that we have done that, it's time we move out of there and let them deal with terrorism themselves.

 

My mom thinks we should just drop a bomb on them and end it the easy way. Too bad there are too many other countries just waiting for us to strike.

Ah, but if they pull out now it will just revert to chaos and another dictator like Saddam will arise. Once said freedom is delivered the government must be stabalized first.

 

well what most of you failed to realize though that is all about oil, its practically the life blood of the world, and since we are to deep into this conflict, it will be impossible for anyone to pull out, and also if they did the terrorists will have won, i been their myself its a sad place to be at, the middle east is a safe haven for terrorists cuz their are no rules there, and since the london bombings europe is becoming the place where the terrorists can plan everthing out and then fly our of the country as citizens, these people are smarter then they look cuz the fact that they minuplate people who have no hope for the future don't care about themselves and or anyone else.

 

it was reported in the news that someone decided children where not important when he blew himself up, just to get a us soldier he didn't care what happen to anyone else.

 

and the way things are going now i do believe that armageddon has begun, the world has change to the point no one can trust no one and that death is spreading like wild fires across the world.

 

i would be surprised if i do live out my old age on earth, but i wouldn't be so cruel as to bring a child to hell cuz of all what happen beening happen for the last 4 years.

 

even if they do capture or kill osama bin laden someone else will take his place, odds are he already has a successor, cuz the man is like in his 60' and we a;; die eventually.

Ok, I know that "it's all about the oil" line is popular with the anti-Iraq War crowed, I am shocked to see someone on the other side saying it, but regardless, do you really believe it? Sure the oil was a factor, I would even say it was a big factor, but to say it was all about the oil, well that's just silly. There are lives at stake here, and as much as I dislike Bush, I don't think he is that cold and unfeeling. As for your statement that Armageddon is upon us, well the world has survived bigger wars than this, and bigger wars are yet to come. I have faith that humanity will survive.

 

You are wrong in saying that we are not as well off as we were ten years ago for many reasons. Bill Clinton, I feel, was one of our worst presidents regardless of what occurred in his personal life. The only reason why the economy actually went up during Clinton's term was because of the tax cuts initiated under Reagan and Bush Senior. What few realize is that it takes time for these cuts to take effect, so it was not because of Clinton that the economy had been going up during his term. The economy only went down near the beginning of Bush Junior's term as a result of Clinton's poor handling, not his own.

What makes you think that Bill Clinton was the worst president?

 

Something else that few people know is that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and offered to Bill Clinton! All he had to do was accept him and put him on trial or anything, but instead he refused to take him and eventually Bin Laden was released from prison in Iran. And low and behold, who was behind 9/11? Bin Laden!

That is an interesting factoid, irrelevent, but interesting. I could also point out that Al Qaida was trained by the CIA to overthrow the Russians back during the coldwar. You could hardly claim that was Clinton's fault.

 

You also said that our nation is losing popularity due to our "evil troops." I simply find that to be a poor statement simply because the soldiers are not evil, they are people like you and me simply following orders. What they do, or are required to do may be evil in your opinion, but saying that the people who voluntarily risk their lives to help protect our nation and our freedoms is wrong.

I did see one statement saing the troops were evil, but I don't think many people believe that, and I am pretty sure it was not attributed to the author you quoted.

[Dragonfly 0]

Iraq is a tricky stuff to discuss, agreement and disagreement will raise forever. However I wanted to put few words of thought here, giving out my own opinion. We cannot keep saying and shouting about Americans shouldn't have come to Iraq, they'd come and the question is, is it ripe for Americans to leave Iraq or not! Once they have liberated (in many ways whatver US interest might be, Saddam was a cruel dictator), Iraq should be given enough time to set up her own forces who can defend her country from militants and extremists who will never be able to run the country better than the present American controlled or supported goverment (call it whichever way you want). Many lives have been lost and if Americans just leave the country suddenly, those militants will surely make the country another Afghanistan (Taliban-ruled Afghanistan). Therefore, America should stay in Iraq till infrastructures as well as defence forces are set up properly. America (US) is also responsible for putting together the infrastructure of Iraq, they should leave right now. Once they leave the country, war will break and other countries who are willing to help the re-building of Iraq cannot also do the same.

[Joshua 0]

Iraq is a tricky stuff to discuss, agreement and disagreement will raise forever. However I wanted to put few words of thought here, giving out my own opinion. We cannot keep saying and shouting about Americans shouldn't have come to Iraq, they'd come and the question is, is it ripe for Americans to leave Iraq or not!

 

Once they have liberated (in many ways whatver US interest might be, Saddam was a cruel dictator), Iraq should be given enough time to set up her own forces who can defend her country from militants and extremists who will never be able to run the country better than the present American controlled or supported goverment (call it whichever way you want).

 

Many lives have been lost and if Americans just leave the country suddenly, those militants will surely make the country another Afghanistan (Taliban-ruled Afghanistan).

 

Therefore, America should stay in Iraq till infrastructures as well as defence forces are set up properly. America (US) is also responsible for putting together the infrastructure of Iraq, they should leave right now. Once they leave the country, war will break and other countries who are willing to help the re-building of Iraq cannot also do the same.

161485[/snapback]

The US should try getting the UN more involved in supporting the new Iraqi government so that it can pull out its beleaguered forces as quickly as possible.

 

Not only is the human and resource toll on our nation making America less popular with its own citizens but the prolonged presence of our forces in a country the international community deems us to have wrongly entered in the first place is making us less popular abroad as well.

[ArcaneSpirit 0]

When this war first began, and even now, I am completely against the United States butting their noses into other countries business. Are government is spending more time, money, and lives on other countries problems while not doing anything to correct problems going on here on our own soil. As far as pulling out of Iraq now, I would have to say we shouldn't. It our governments interference that has cause all the problems the Iraqi people now face and we should stay and help correct the problems we caused. It would be completely imoral to break down their government, rebuild it, then leave before their new government is able to establish control. If the US is going to put it's nose in everyones business, they should have the decency to stick with it until the current situation is over. I would prefer that the US stick to our own problems here at home rather than what other countries are doing. If they want freedom, they can fight for it themselves, just like every other country has including the US.

[underworldskateboards 0]

I think we should definatly get out of there! think about this people are over there dying just so iraq can be rebuilt better then they will have hi-tech stuff and it will make it easy to make bombs and stuff. They should have bombed and left it not bombed and picked up the garbage. That's like breaking someones plate so they have to clean it up and laughing but then deciding to pick it up. It makes the US look weak and that is bad because then you get country's trying to take advantage of us because they think we are pathetic. I don't see any other country's bomb places and then clean it up. And we need to get out. My cousin was wounded over there. He is fine now but he could be dead.

[ashton 0]

I think we should. Mainly because I'm a military brat and I know alot of people who have gone to Iraq. Some have come back hurt and my best friend's brother was killed. I don't care about all of the so called reasons behind why we should stay because if you were in many of my and my friends shoes you would feel the same to! I honestly believe Bush had his mind set on going to Iraq when he first got into office. He didn't have solid evidence of the so -called "weapons of mass destruction". We should just pull out. We have Saddam, Bin Laden is no where to be found.And the US economy is like non-existence. We are in debt up in everyone's asses. Michigan is like one of the worst-off states. and I live there. At fifteen I can not find a job. Before the war, my brother at fourteen had two jobs!Yup, that's what I believe.We need to get out of there.

[wild20 0]

The main thing here people, is that we saved lives and that is what counts. I would rather be afraid to walk the streets than to die at the hands of a cold blooded dictator. What you don't realize is that the lives we saved, of children, women, and men, are now the building blocks of Iraq, not second class people doing the dirty work of of someone who's to lazy to tie his own shoes, but would rather see hundreds of thousands of people die with the wave of his hand. How would you feel in that situation, sure it would be sacry, but it would be better than dead! So in direct answer to the question, no, we should not pull out until Iraq is secure.

[AbstracT 0]

yes...our presence isn;t helping them at all..it never was and it never will..the iraqi's never asked for us to come ther ein the first place...if they wanted us there they wouldn'y be trying to kill our people over there...we need to leave and leave that country alone and let them deal with they problems because we have problems of our own over here in the U.S that they're tryin to ignore and use the war to distract us...and for some people its working

[Joer 0]

I have to start saying that I am not American. I can say that I have always admired America, however. I have studied its history and its culture. As an English Language teacher I am an active promoter of the American traditions, values and way of life. And IMHO, what America has become from about the moment they exploded the first atomic bomb to the present, is everytime further, and further away from what Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln and many like them dreamed it was its fate.America was originally conceived as the Light of the World, the Land of Liberty. And, although it has become more evident from the 1990's its course has drifted away from it since 1945.I think the two wars America has started in the XXI century are the biggest mistake in its history. Not only for the evidently manipulated way they have been justified, which has led to a dramatic decrease in American reputation, and thus its leadership around the world. But also, and most importantly because they have impacted on the core root of its being America: Its own LIBERTY.Its reputation has decreased to the point that everything America may do in the future will be stained by the way the oil factor was hidden behind a smoke curtain that no one believes anymore. Stained by the fact that many more innocent people were slaughtered than those who were "saved" from a dictator who had been empowered and promoted by America with the same arguments, not long before. Stained by the fact that those weapons were built and exported from America in the name of freedom.But the worse is happening in American territory and, even worse, to American people. No longer can they feel safe walking the streets of their magnificent cities. No longer can they feel free to do many things out of the everyday stricter control of their movements. No longer can they feel safe to wander the world nor open their gates to the world as it originally had to be. America is now in a process of slooow isolation. Under restraints that only themselves are imposing due to a low intensity fear that increases irremediably. To the point that they are not even free to pull out of Iraq if they wanted. And not because Iraq is in turnmoil, but because if they did, they would become more vulnerable.No! America should not pull out of Iraq. America should back out and free its people and the rest of the world, before it gets too late.I pray for America. I pray so their leaders are enlightened to stop this war. I pray to God that their people open their eyes and not let themselves be manipulated. America has the light. It has the power. It only needs the will to recover the path.God Bless AmericaJoeMexico

[goldinero 0]

As I recall, the justification for the war in Iraq had to do with the US determination that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). In the US point of view, we had "probable cause" for this war. Of course, the US found no evidence of WMDs. So a new justification for the war had to be created. Hence the link between Iraq and terrorism, even though the evidence indicates that Iraq had nothing to do with terrorist threats to the US.

 

My personal opinion is that the war is a sham. It was instigated so that Americans would have an enemy to hate to justify spending a %#^&-load of money for absolutely no benefit to the the US or anyone else. But it has done its job. Notice that nobody seems to be asking why we're in Iraq but the so-called Al Qaida terrorist leader, Osama Bin Laden, cannot be found. How convenient is that! The war in Iraq is simply a political ploy to distract people from what is really important in life. But then, that's what most of politics is anyway.

 

Goldinero

[nstay 0]

16 yr old here.From my view, even if everyone wants bush to pull out he wouldn't unless he's really pressured by some kind of reasonsbecause personaly i feel that it has something to do qith gaining a military base, he's giving excuses like there terrorist here and thr to invade and "protect" the civilians there.post your views about this.

[Erdemir 0]

Yes, you should pull out. If the USA continuous to stay in Iraq, will lose more men. The petrols of Iraq maybe attractive, but come on, the USA can handle the petrols even has ever not enter Iraq.But the plans of the USA is not only to capture petrols, and he also wants to be neighbour to Iran, Syria. Why? Because the Israel needs help from the USA in the Middle East. For the peace in the middle east, the USA should leave the Iraq. But I know that will not.

[bluedragon 0]

I think the current forces should be replaced by some neighbor countries forces.. that ways they would act as the peacekeeping troops. .. from what i've seen and heard ( i might be wrong ) the current forces are causing more and more damage ( direct / indirect )

[Erdemir 0]

I think the current forces should be replaced by some neighbor countries forces..

As a citizen of Turkey the neighbor country of Iraq, I wouldn't my country to take place of the USA in Iraq. If this will happen, I wish the USA stay in Iraq more.