1. CriticalFacts

   02/07/2007 at 11:35 am

   I think it depends on what “phased redeployment” means. Clearly, whether we are moving forward or backward in Iraq these days, alot of folks are being killed or seriosly injured. Something needs to change.

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2. Miss Ladybug

   02/07/2007 at 12:35 pm

   “The way forward”, to me, means less restrictive rules of engagement, an end to “catch and release”, an end to “no go zones”, an end to “untouchables” that are causing problems but for some reason our troops aren’t allowed to pursue, more focus on the quality of Iraqi soldiers/police instead of quantity, and an end to this hypocritical posturing by politicians. We can have that “phased redeployment” when Iraq is well on its way to being stable, self-sustaining, self-governing and self-defending. I don’t truly care if that process takes several more years to do right. Heck, how long did it take for us to re-stable and re-build Germany and Japan after WWII? And we still have bases in both countries. However, I realize that the political environment currently pervading our nation won’t allow for a process of years. I pray that we can make noticeable, measureable progress in the coming months, so the anti-war, “cut & run” crowd with STFU (I know – that is wishful thinking, regardless of how things go).

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3. sue

   02/07/2007 at 3:24 pm

   I don’t know, I might have this wrong but one of the most productive things that I could imagine in Iraq right now that would change EVERYTHING, at least from my perspective is if the Iraqi’s actually had a banking system. We are 4 years into this and the Army is still having problems because they have to be let go to take their pay back home!! What is up with that??? Can’t we get some finance experts over there and do something to help these people get a system of banking going, to join the modern world?? If the Army can only work two weeks, then has to be let off for two weeks to give their money to their families, how can any one be effectively trained? But that is just my observation. I have heard the Generals, on down to the grunts chatting about this and it is still a puzzle to me how it is not being changed. How much time is being wasted, how much productive work could be done if this were changed??

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4. sealpatriot

   02/07/2007 at 3:35 pm

   I wonder if having a banking system would help their GDP? Given that banks help savings and investments grow, but it could be different for everyone and not necessarily the same as America’s.

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5. sealpatriot

   02/07/2007 at 4:03 pm

   I kind of am on the side of Cpl. M when he said that there are more than enough troops to get the job done on the ground. However I also feel obligated to answer the request of Liuetenant Generals, and Mr. Petreaus is one man who knows what he needs to get an important job done. Even though Petreaus did ask for more troops, I am fully sure that he wants the troops home and that he wants the job to be finished for good. I would also like to see higher rates of weapons confiscation of the Insurgents and Terrorists just to be on the safe side, but I know being on the safe side can be hard to achieve in a hostile environment like Anbar, Ramady, or Baghdad since there is no safe side in warzones. I also hope that the media doesn’t get their sticky pawes on any more military plans. We know how disasterous that can be. Remember when they went ahead and showed the weak points on military armor, and the terrorists were all over those weak points the very next day? That was awful, and that day was the bloodiest day in the entire war for both civilians and troops. I just hope that doesn’t happen again, but I am not sure if the news did that because they wanted us to fail or anything or if they just made an honest mistake!

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6. sue

   02/07/2007 at 8:59 pm

   Of course we all want more weapons caches found, but you aren’t hearing about what they find anyway!! The media simply doesn’t report it!! CJ used to do the IED roll up I think it was called. Hasn’t for a while. CJ, I know you’re busy, I was just mentioning, wasn’t expecting one!! And I am a little less forgiving than you and a LOT more cynical. I believe that the media knew exactly what they were doing when they published that report. What they are after is the sensational scoop that will embarrass the President. Only what happens is the Soldiers pay in blood. That blood is on the hands of the media as sure as I’m sitting here. And then after they do a report like that and bad things happen they once again point to that as a failure of the Bush administration. I am not in any way shape or form saying the administration is with out fault or blame. But lets make sure that all the guilty parties have to step forward and claim the spankin they deserve.

   There are many things I think all have to happen at once in order for this surge to work correctly. I think that at this moment, we are closer to having the stars aligned than ever before. Lets all just say a huge collective prayer for our Soldier and Marines and take a deep breath.

   And Ryan, I agree that our form of banking probably wouldn’t work for the Iraqis. But, with help from some of the biggest and brightest financial minds sitting down with them, I am quite sure that they can devise a plan to make a workable system that the Iraqis can reform and take into the future. What ever form it takes. It is extremely important to the success of Iraq.

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7. Miriam

   02/07/2007 at 9:15 pm

   Having a banking system is one thing, convincing people to use it is another. This is especially true if they either have never used one before (causing fear of the unknown) or have reason to distrust their banks (fear caused by previous bad experience). It still all boils down to the troops having to take their pay home because they don’t trust any one else with their money…not an easy habit to change.

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8. sue

   02/08/2007 at 1:21 am

   I agree Miriam that it isn’t going to be easy convincing them of that. But do you really see any other way around that situation? I mean, how do you solve this problem other than at least trying to implement the change?? I am in awe of the fact that they can actually have a Stock Market with out a banking system!! How does that work exactly??

   And again, it involves the “teaching” of a whole new system from the ground up. The Democrats, ie the MSM don’t have the time or the patience for such things. And because they simply do not understand the need for this stuff they can stand there with their cries of “get out now.”

   Our own democracy did not grow and flourish over night. It’s been 231 years and we are still experiencing growing pains, but the morons among us simply don’t get it. Our own Constitution is not the Tablet that Moses brought down from the mount. It is a living breathing thing and changes and grows and it was designed that way by men who truly understood that need and saw way into the future to allow us to do so. Hence Amendments to the Constitution.

   Yet our elected officials it seems are not willing to allow the Iraqis the same chances, or the time to try to implement them.

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9. PJ

   02/10/2007 at 2:54 pm

   Just came across this post today. It’s difficult to remember when the thought that we’re supposed to wage a war without casualties oozed to the surface, but I suspect it was during the Clinton administration, when we ran from Somalian terrorists who we greatly outnumbered and outgunned. Pardon me, but I am the son of a World War II vet who believed in what we fight for and was appalled by the way we ran from Viet Nam. This has to stop. Or we have to stop engaging enemies of our country. We cannot fight any kind of war while tieing our troops and their commanders hands behind their backs. As I heard Rush Limbaugh say often, the purpose of war is to break things nd kill people. Regardless of what you think of Rush, truer words were never spoken. It’s way past time for us to break things and kill people in Iraq.

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10. Tiffany

    07/27/2007 at 12:44 am

    How does a soldier that has done his full time, done Iraq, came home and started a family get out of a redeployment? It is truly ridiculous….he has done his fight and he survived….there has got to be a way out of it hasn’t there?

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