posted April 20, 2011 12:02 AM            

....
50's movie-- Big Daddy-- from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.... He shouts, sweats, and chews a cigar through much of the movie. Anyway I'm having a mental image of that character right now...

Now that the Iraq end is in our sights, certain factions are getting nervous- sending out the message:

that "gee it would be a shame to leave Iraq."

We never leave an occupied country~~!!

We still have troops all over the world

Germany
Korea
Japan

and on and on

We cannot afford our military presence. Correct?

quote:

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As the deadline for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq draws nearer (the end of this year), neocons are starting to get a little nervous. Earlier this month, Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankly said that it would be a “tragedy” to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq and the pro-Iraq war Washington Post editorial page wrote that the U.S. should try to find a way to “get around” the Status of Forces Agreement President Bush signed in 2008 mandating a U.S. with drawl by the end of 2011.

But then, Defense Secretary Robert Gates subsequently said on his farewell trip to Iraq that the U.S. is willing to stay there a bit longer if the Iraqis so desire. Gates’s dog whistle brought some neons out of the woodwork, who are now warning about the consequences of a U.S. withdrawal and calling for tens of thousands of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq indefinitely:

FRED & KIM KEEGAN: Nothing requires us to keep massive numbers of American troops in Iraq. Twenty thousand soldiers would be enough for the next several years.That number is smaller than the American military presence in Korea, Japan, and Germany. Nor would those forces be engaged in combat. The 50,000-odd U.S. troops in Iraq today are occupied primarily with peacekeeping, training, supporting the Iraqi Security Forces, and counter terrorism. These are missions Americans would continue to undertake in 2012 and beyond.

MAX BOOT: We don’t need to keep 50,000 troops there, but a continuing presence of 20,000 military personnel, as argued by military analysts Frederick and Kimberly Keegan, would seem to be the minimum necessary to ensure Iraq’s continued progress.

And the neocons seem to have some support in Congress. House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck Macon (R-CA) said he hopes the Iraqis ask for U.S. troops to stay. Watch it

One important factor the likes of Boot and the Pagans appear to be leaving out is what the Iraqis think. In fact, Kim and Fred Keegan even said as much, “The ball is not in Milk’s court,” they said, “It is in Obama’s court.” But ultimately it is up to Iraq as to whether American troops have any continued presence after 2011. Is there any evidence they will allow 20,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq indefinitely? Unlikely — Gates announced last November that the U.S would stay past 2011 and even since then, from what Gates said this month, the Iraqis have remained mute.

Moreover, as the Washington Post noted today, Iraqi domestic politics will probably stand in the way of any U.S. troop extension:

Since Gates’s visit, [Prime Minister Nouri al-] Maliki has faced renewed pressure from Iranian-backed Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr not to negotiate an extension. Sadr has threatened that his Mahdi Army, which contributed heavily to the bloodiest days of the Iraq war, could be reenergized if U.S. troops don’t leave as planned.

And while it’s unclear what Iraqi officials are saying in private, in public, they seem to understand the unpopularity among Iraqis of U.S. troops staying past the withdrawal deadline. “I think the agreement for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq ends at the end of 2011,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Radio Free Europe recently, who added, “And there are no plans to extend that agreement or to postpone the withdrawal.”

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link

posted April 20, 2011 12:14 AM            

Weeel I don't know what to say Node

posted April 20, 2011 09:29 AM            

"...a continuing presence of 20,000 military personnel, as argued by military analysts Frederick and Kimberly Keegan, would seem to be the minimum necessary to ensure Iraq’s continued progress."

Now contrast that to:

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities."
-- George Washington, farewell address

"peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none"
-- Thomas Jefferson, inaugural address

We've come a longer way than Virginia Slims. :P

"My point was simple: we should follow the Constitution and stay out of foreign wars.

posted April 20, 2011 12:10 PM            

the Donald agenda is increased exposure for his failing reality TV show. Yet they all lap it up. Because he is good for ratings...yuk-

We need to talk about the elephant. Our credit rating [predictably] has now been downgraded. This will be used as another tool.