Letters to the Editor
number1laing
Published Letters: 99 Editor's Choice: 9
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ironocrat
[Read the article: Brand Petraeus, by the numbers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"My original post was made because so many liberals seem to think that we should just leave because we've done our best and the Iraqis haven't achieved. Well we haven't done our best, and the suggestion that Iraqis are incapable of effective governing or living peaceably delivers a chirp on my racism alarm."
This is a fundamental misreading of what I have heard from the liberal sites the past, oh, year or three.
There's a chasm a mile wide between saying, "there is nothing we can do to get Iraq back into shape, and we are making things worse by being there, so lets go home" and "we gave Iraqis this awesome democracy and they screwed it up so lets go home".
You are confusing one for the other, and while its true many powerful Democrats have said the latter, I wager its because they still believe Americans think they can do no wrong and if anything bad happens its because someone else messed up. These people saying that disgusting garbage know the real truth.
We've been there almost 5 years. We have turned the country into a nightmarish failed state. Hundreds of thousands, possibly a million, are dead. Thousands flee the country every day. Every professional, every person of talent, is long gone or dead. The infrastructure is in tatters. There is functionally no government. Throwing 30,000 soldiers into the meat grinder hasn't done a whole hell of a lot. There aren't any more to throw in and there is no backup of 500,000 draftees to get this right if it can be done right.
Our leaders are totally clueless about the country and the Great General Of Iraq has revealed himself to be yet another Bush prop. Who else will signal the way to get a GOOD plan, in your words? Who will do it? Because having 100,000+ soldiers in there ain't working.
We brought this on the country and it is the great shame of this nation, or it should be. But at this point there's nothing we can do. The reason you don't have any good ideas is because nobody has any good ideas. It's over. Time to go. We destroyed the nation and it's silly to assume the same people who destroyed it can put together a plan to put it together.
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ironocrat
[Read the article: Brand Petraeus, by the numbers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Like I said, prominent Democrats have said it, but I think it was said for political calculation reasons. However, I think most liberals, most people in fact, realize the reality. We have screwed up badly and it is our fault but we can do no good there. Everytime I read the "Iraqis have messed up" argument in left-wing or even centrist circles I see it get pounced on and ripped to shreds. It's really not a popular opinion.
"Your capacity for callous disregard is stronger than mine, I suppose. If bailing out to the tune of hundreds of thousands more dead and millions displaced is the "right" answer, then I'd prefer to be wrong."
Hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced will happen if we stay or go. In fact, it has already happened and is continuing to happen. On our watch. With over a hundred thousand soldiers and an equal number of mercs there.
So, pray tell, what makes you think that our military staying there will keep this from happening? I mean, it literally does not make sense. Under our watch many people have died and been displaced. But if we leave, many people will die and be displaced. Huh?
This is what you are saying: if we wish hard enough and stay there and come up with a "plan" then we can fix things. Well, who is going to come up with this "plan"? Who is going to execute it? The same crooks who got us into this mess and who destroyed Iraq? Those crooks are still in charge! The same idiots who don't know the difference between a Shiite and a Sunni are going to come up with a "plan" to make them dance under a rainbow? Those idiots are still in charge!
Here's the thing: Juan Cole isn't going to be in charge of Iraq policy anytime soon. The same bloodthirsty morons (the worst type of moron) who got us into Iraq are still in power, as a matter of fact. Bush isn't going to defer to the UN or to the smart people who were right about the war. Bush isn't going to force Cheney to step down because of his mistakes. People are advocating withdrawal because they know this. People are advocating withdrawal because the people in power have no plan, and with every passing day our presence is making the situation worse.
We may "owe" the Iraqis something (actually I agree we do), but all we are giving them now is more death and destruction. Maybe in the future, a wise President and Congress can help them properly, can go through the UN or whatever. But as of now, our military staying there ain't doing jack so we have to leave.
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Brit Hume
[Read the article: Brit Hume and the Bush administration take propaganda to a new level]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]On Sunday I was flipping through the channels and accidentally inputted the one for Fox News. I decided to watch for a few minutes. They had one poor schlub against Brit Hume, Kristol, and some other people (who didn't talk), I guess to provide balance. Within 15 seconds Brit Hume said, "this war is about al-Qaeda in Iraq*, they were there before the war, they are there now, we are fighting them".
This is the guy that is supposed to be a tough, serious, True Journalist on Fox? Pathetic.
*The words "al-Qaeda in Iraq" were not said the way they were supposed to, as al-Qaeda in Iraq is a different organization as we all know. They were said in a way to emphasize al-Qaeda (the organization that did attack us on 9/11) is in Iraq. Kristol did the same thing a few minutes later.