Getting Iraq Wrong »
Posted By deathray 1 year, 2 months ago in NewsThe unfolding catastrophe in Iraq has condemned the political judgment of a president. But it has also condemned the judgment of many others, myself included, who as commentators supported the invasion.
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deathray
Hm...summarizing a life...Investment banker, sailor, unintentional gourmet cook. Ex US Naval officer, also Foreign Service. Split my time between NYC and Miami Beach ...
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deathray1 year, 2 months ago
"The only way any of us can improve our grasp of reality is to confront the world every day and learn, mostly from our mistakes, what works and what doesn't. Yet even lengthy experience can fail us in life and in politics. Experience can imprison decision-makers in worn-out solutions while blinding them to the untried remedy that does the trick."
Are our lawmakers brave enough to think out of the box and make choices that, while initially unpopular, could be the best solutions? I'm interested in hearig some opinions.
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rimbaud1 year, 2 months ago
Have the USA operate Iraq's oil industry, in trust for the Iraqi people, and invest the oil income for the benefit of all Iraqis.
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alakazam1 year, 2 months ago
Don't take this personally rimbaud, but have you been paying any attention at all to how badly Americas' financial affairs are being managed?
How could the Iraqi people benefit from the current money management principles being applied by the U.S. Government?
We can't even rebuild New Orleans and our no bid contractor services are stealing us blind across the board in Iraq.
How can you possibly imagine that the money from Iraqi oil would not be wastefully squandered or stolen in the exact same manner.
The oil belongs to Iraq, they are a sovereign nation and the oil is their property. If they wanted the U.S. managing their oil for them they would have signed the contracts to make it happen by now.
I know there is a great deal more to the issue, but I personally consider the oil contract to be one of the biggest reasons we are still there.
Someone wants to get richer off Iraqi oil and just won't take no for an answer.
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Searchbeam1 year, 2 months ago
Our country does not have a good track record of being trustworthy in the world. We just don't have the DNA of an honest broker. We tend to cheat, lie and weasel our way out of situations where honesty would make it a very simple matter.
To trust their oil fields to us, the Iraqis must have something to hang their faith on. What would that be?
Shotgun Dickie? Dumbya? Or the pre-emptive war and subsequent occupation based on lies, deceits, and total disregard for the time-honored Geneva Convention?
If you were an Iraqi, would you?
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Shirtless1 year, 2 months ago
Many people say that George Bush's "real reason" for getting involved in Iraq was for oil. If I belived that, and thought he was doing an effective job at it, I would support him. The Iraqi people owe us big. We toppled Saddam and did the job they should have done for themselves, sacrificing our national treasure and blood so that the illiterates can run around, play with purple finger paint, and pretend that they are forming a democracy. Fifty years of free oil would be a good start on the reparations they owe us.
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Goppy1 year, 2 months ago
Heres whut I dont get bout libbies.
You have so much dejection & despair bout Iraq. But you is so peaceful in your opposition. Wheres your passion? Wheres your determination to change?
When America voted for Bill Clinton - why that drove us Christian Conservatives into major attack mode!! We spent $150 Million dollors to overturn that election - by impeachment!
We dint care whut it did to the country & we dint care if we weakened our country by completely distractin the Presdient of the United States.
We started with a bogus scandal called White Water & just let it lead wherever it led us. Cause in the end, we wuz gonna git that Clinton.
And why? Cause he wuz a liberal - and he wanted national health care. And it dint help that he wuz married to that Hillery with her high fallutin edgamacation.
Now its obvious even to me that GW is a inept presdient. Hes lied. Hes mismanaged. Hes perverted the goverment.
And yet, libbies is basically peaceful bout it all.
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lvrofwolves1 year, 2 months ago
I have no problems with lawmakers making choices that may initially seem unpopular. What I do have problems with are when those choices become very obvious that they are not working, that there are 'outs' and that they can problem solve, and have plan Bs Cs and Ds, and can implement those plans if needed.
I will always have problems with them if I have no faith that they will make choices and decisions in American citizens best interests. Lies will always equal no faith. We should be able to trust that our leaders are working for America, and not their own self interests. I feel much more confidence in someone who can recognize a mistake they've made and try and fix it, then one who is stubborn, lying and is working it for their own interests.
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DanmLiberals1 year, 2 months ago
Hindsight is a biatch and it's so nice that we can sit here and say "it's not working". No shiat. But how many people thought it would work before this? It wasn't just cons., but most of the country believed in it along with the coalition we used to have.
Bush thought he could get rid of Saddam and the people would thank him and America. Most Americans wanted the praise to feel like we helped free a whole nation. But in the end, the Iraqi's different beliefs in politics and religion made them to turn on each other.
So in the end, I would fault all of us for supporting this war in the beginning. But you have to put a lot of blame on the Iraqi's who would rather kill each other than live with someone who has a different opinion.
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