Since our objectives in going to Iraq were never concisely stated, this is a hard one to answer.
At any rate, my position then, and now, is that we could have accomplished a goal of containing Islamic terrorism by simply by a total, isolating embargo of IRAQ. We had, and have now, the resources to accomplish this. Surround the country with air and ground sensor support to prevent the movement of any body/thing into and out of Iraq. The same holds true for Afghanistan. Hold the isolation in place until the people of these countries decide it is probably in their best interest to stop killing each other, and anybody else in disagreement with them.
Of course, the hysterical cries of being inhumane would capture the nanny staters (media, politicians, etc.) However, the above is one method of partially achieving containment without imposing/forcing a behavior code upon a reluctant people.
You are kidding, right?? This misguided war has cost too much money, and too many lives. It accomplished nothing except to make more terrorists than there were in the first place, damaged our credibility on the world scene, and greatly degraded our ability to make war by exhausting our resources. America is far LESS SAFE than before the war started.
CDRCOS stole my comment. Nevertheless, it was a stupid war, and a stupid waste of lives and treasure to try and help a stupid group of people who do not now, and did not then, want our help. It was all about oil and politics. My problem is that I'm too subtle sometimes, I need to learn how to say what I really mean.
we tried advisors in Vietnam and it did not work what makes the goverment think it will work in Iraq? Till they have a stable goverment they will need our help.
Nope. It WILL be accomplished when George W. Bush along with his entire former cabinet is in jail for lying to the American people and misappropriating America's human and financial resources. This was a war that was started on W's personal whim and one that has personally financially benefitted him. But instead we have the Legion honoring that waste of space in the hall of fame. Like Vietnam, it should have never been started in the first place, and just like Korea the whatever progress we have made by removing Saddam will be completely erased within the next few years when a new "Saddam" takes over. It was a complete waste of money and lives. When the hell did we become the world police?! Let those countries take care of themselves, we have enough problems and needs to be met in our own country. America first. Now let's get out of Afghanistan,another idiotic, pointless war waged for the pure financial gain of the military-industrial complex, the sooner we're out of there the better.
Excellent points! I do have to disagree with you on one point, though... You seem to suggest their reasoning was just misguided.
All that talk about freeing the people, bringing democracy, getting rid of Saddam, regime change, WMD, Al Qaeda, terrorism - NONE of that really mattered to them.
Not ANY of them.
They used those things to prod and manipulate and harangue and cajole and bully and frighten us into believing in those lies so they could start the $$$ rolling in.
There are 3 types of Republicans:
1. GREEDY MONEY GRUBBING POWER HUNGRY POLITICIANS
2. Middle Class people who have bought into the lie that "SOMEDAY YOU TOO MIGHT BE RICH" (the only thing holding you down is taxes, the poor, gay marriage, abortion, and foreigners)
3. Religious fanatics
We let that first group frighten us all with their lies.
Never for a minute did they actually think they were doing "good" or "right".
That's the PROOF Cheney said they had. INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF of Weapons of Mass Destruction. He warned of MUSHROOM CLOUDS. We were told about yellow cake, centrifuges tubes, drone aircraft, biological & chemical weapons. Rumsfeld said they were located "Just North, South, East and West of Tikrit." Every mention of starting a war with Iraq talked about WMD. Al Qaeda in Iraq. Over & over we heard the lies.
There were no WMD, and they did NOT have INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF. They claim they can't give us that proof. It would "compromise our information gathering."
SO? IT WAS BAD INFORMATION!
Face it, we were LIED to. Our brothers & sisters, sons & daughters & friends DIED because of Bush & Cheney's GREED.
BTW - how many 10's of Billions is Haliburton still not being able to account for?
From the word go, I do not recall any specific objective(s) to accomplish. The whole thing has been a great big tap dance by the administration(s). So many people think we have "accomplished" the mission (whatever that means) in Iraq now that the "combat" troops are out of there, but...What about the 50,000 troops still there? Oh yea, they are "advisors" in Iraq. This whole second invasion has been played-out almost 180 degrees from Vietnam. In Vietnam, we FIRST sent in "advisors" then fought a war, then withdrew our people, and...If I am not mistaken, when we pulled out of Vietnam, we PULLED-OUT, nobody was left there. In Irag, FIRST we fight a war, then most troops are pulled-out, only to be redirected elsewhere, and "advisors" are left holding the bag. If anybody thinks our advisor/trainer troops left in Iraq will not have casulties/mortalities, then they with such thinking are in La La Land! As long as our troops are there they will continue to be targets.
The war on terror was just a weak attempt to get a faltering economy back on track. It worked in the forties it would surely work again......Right. Wrong, this time it put us further in the hole and there is no clear cut answer as to how we are going to dig ourselves out. The politicians sold our country out to China to fund this mess and as far as I can tell we have gained absolutely nothing. Just my two cents.
There were NO objectives!! That being said, as an organization we need to stop the political bashing. No one person is responsible for this war. Both parties had to vote for the funding AND the authorization to wage this "conflict". We should be spending our time and efforts to make sure that the men and women on their way home, and those of the future, are not brushed aside and forgotten. As warriors and former warriors, we shouldn't give a rotund royal rodents rump (fat king rats' a$$) about objectives. We support the warrior, not the war. Don't waste your breath about who got what. Most politicians might get what they want, but what they NEED is for someone to push their teeth down their throats! Since they have forgotten they are only representives and not royality, maybe we should shake the trees and see how many bad apples fall out so we can get rid of them. Sorry. Just my ten cents worth.
Comments
Did we save Iraq?
Since our objectives in going to Iraq were never concisely stated, this is a hard one to answer.
At any rate, my position then, and now, is that we could have accomplished a goal of containing Islamic terrorism by simply by a total, isolating embargo of IRAQ. We had, and have now, the resources to accomplish this. Surround the country with air and ground sensor support to prevent the movement of any body/thing into and out of Iraq. The same holds true for Afghanistan. Hold the isolation in place until the people of these countries decide it is probably in their best interest to stop killing each other, and anybody else in disagreement with them.
Of course, the hysterical cries of being inhumane would capture the nanny staters (media, politicians, etc.) However, the above is one method of partially achieving containment without imposing/forcing a behavior code upon a reluctant people.
containment
Gee. Let's practice with our southern border. Oops. Doesn't work there.
Isolation
For some reason, three quotes seem to come to mind:
Peace through superior firepower, victory through total annililation:
When in doubt, empty the magazine. And:
Kill them all and let God sort it out.
You must be kidding...
Of course we accomplished what we intended to do - the weapons of mass destruction are gone!
reply to you must be kidding
You are kidding, right?? This misguided war has cost too much money, and too many lives. It accomplished nothing except to make more terrorists than there were in the first place, damaged our credibility on the world scene, and greatly degraded our ability to make war by exhausting our resources. America is far LESS SAFE than before the war started.
Iraq War
CDRCOS stole my comment. Nevertheless, it was a stupid war, and a stupid waste of lives and treasure to try and help a stupid group of people who do not now, and did not then, want our help. It was all about oil and politics. My problem is that I'm too subtle sometimes, I need to learn how to say what I really mean.
Ron Kriel, CAPT USN (Ret.)
Sounds like another Vietnam
we tried advisors in Vietnam and it did not work what makes the goverment think it will work in Iraq? Till they have a stable goverment they will need our help.
Mission in Iraq Accomplished?
Nope. It WILL be accomplished when George W. Bush along with his entire former cabinet is in jail for lying to the American people and misappropriating America's human and financial resources. This was a war that was started on W's personal whim and one that has personally financially benefitted him. But instead we have the Legion honoring that waste of space in the hall of fame. Like Vietnam, it should have never been started in the first place, and just like Korea the whatever progress we have made by removing Saddam will be completely erased within the next few years when a new "Saddam" takes over. It was a complete waste of money and lives. When the hell did we become the world police?! Let those countries take care of themselves, we have enough problems and needs to be met in our own country. America first. Now let's get out of Afghanistan,another idiotic, pointless war waged for the pure financial gain of the military-industrial complex, the sooner we're out of there the better.
Hear Hear!
Excellent points! I do have to disagree with you on one point, though... You seem to suggest their reasoning was just misguided.
All that talk about freeing the people, bringing democracy, getting rid of Saddam, regime change, WMD, Al Qaeda, terrorism - NONE of that really mattered to them.
Not ANY of them.
They used those things to prod and manipulate and harangue and cajole and bully and frighten us into believing in those lies so they could start the $$$ rolling in.
There are 3 types of Republicans:
1. GREEDY MONEY GRUBBING POWER HUNGRY POLITICIANS
2. Middle Class people who have bought into the lie that "SOMEDAY YOU TOO MIGHT BE RICH" (the only thing holding you down is taxes, the poor, gay marriage, abortion, and foreigners)
3. Religious fanatics
We let that first group frighten us all with their lies.
Never for a minute did they actually think they were doing "good" or "right".
The meaning of the word "INCONTROVERTIBLE"
INCONTROVERTIBLE
ɪnkɒntrəˈvɜrtəbəl
adjective
Not open to question or dispute; indisputable
That's the PROOF Cheney said they had. INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF of Weapons of Mass Destruction. He warned of MUSHROOM CLOUDS. We were told about yellow cake, centrifuges tubes, drone aircraft, biological & chemical weapons. Rumsfeld said they were located "Just North, South, East and West of Tikrit." Every mention of starting a war with Iraq talked about WMD. Al Qaeda in Iraq. Over & over we heard the lies.
There were no WMD, and they did NOT have INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF. They claim they can't give us that proof. It would "compromise our information gathering."
SO? IT WAS BAD INFORMATION!
Face it, we were LIED to. Our brothers & sisters, sons & daughters & friends DIED because of Bush & Cheney's GREED.
BTW - how many 10's of Billions is Haliburton still not being able to account for?
Did we accomplish what we set out to do?
From the word go, I do not recall any specific objective(s) to accomplish. The whole thing has been a great big tap dance by the administration(s). So many people think we have "accomplished" the mission (whatever that means) in Iraq now that the "combat" troops are out of there, but...What about the 50,000 troops still there? Oh yea, they are "advisors" in Iraq. This whole second invasion has been played-out almost 180 degrees from Vietnam. In Vietnam, we FIRST sent in "advisors" then fought a war, then withdrew our people, and...If I am not mistaken, when we pulled out of Vietnam, we PULLED-OUT, nobody was left there. In Irag, FIRST we fight a war, then most troops are pulled-out, only to be redirected elsewhere, and "advisors" are left holding the bag. If anybody thinks our advisor/trainer troops left in Iraq will not have casulties/mortalities, then they with such thinking are in La La Land! As long as our troops are there they will continue to be targets.
Economic Turnaround???
The war on terror was just a weak attempt to get a faltering economy back on track. It worked in the forties it would surely work again......Right. Wrong, this time it put us further in the hole and there is no clear cut answer as to how we are going to dig ourselves out. The politicians sold our country out to China to fund this mess and as far as I can tell we have gained absolutely nothing. Just my two cents.
Iraq
According to Bush Mission Accomplished!
Did we accomplish what we set out to do?
What do mean "WE" ?
Bush got what "HE" wanted!
He killed the dude that tryed to kill his daddy,
Mission accomplished.
Objectives???
There were NO objectives!! That being said, as an organization we need to stop the political bashing. No one person is responsible for this war. Both parties had to vote for the funding AND the authorization to wage this "conflict". We should be spending our time and efforts to make sure that the men and women on their way home, and those of the future, are not brushed aside and forgotten. As warriors and former warriors, we shouldn't give a rotund royal rodents rump (fat king rats' a$$) about objectives. We support the warrior, not the war. Don't waste your breath about who got what. Most politicians might get what they want, but what they NEED is for someone to push their teeth down their throats! Since they have forgotten they are only representives and not royality, maybe we should shake the trees and see how many bad apples fall out so we can get rid of them. Sorry. Just my ten cents worth.