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Originally Posted by lookout123
OK, I didn't hear him say he was going to leave troops there forever regardless of peace/war status.
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Then you didn't hear him answer a question relevant to the reality of the situation. He's asked about Bush's refusal to contemplate leaving Iraq, and he says that if everything turns out hunky dory we could stay there forever?
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I thought it was a pretty general statement making a very good point that we need to quit all the talk about what date can we circle on the calendar for a pull-out and instead focus on what it will take to get us to a situation where our troops aren't being shot at on a daily basis. Maybe that is a complete pull-out, maybe it isn't but I think his point was valid.
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What it took for Germany and Japan was the defeat of their military. Already done in Iraq. That model won't work. What it took in Korea was an entire half of the country (geographically) supporting us. We're trying to turn our massive embassy and the Green Zone into South Korea.
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Now what? What is the best way to extract ourselves from the mess and leave some possibility for stability after we're gone?
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Step 1: Acknowledge extraction as a goal. No government with the appearance of being our puppet can provide stability, and one in the shadow of a 104 acre fortress in the middle of Baghdad will have to work hard to not give that appearance, even assuming we withdraw most of the troops.