Skelton: ‘Walls will not bring peace to Baghdad.’
Skelton: ‘Walls will not bring peace to Baghdad.’
House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO): “Building walls between sectarian neighborhoods, without consulting them or the elected government of Iraq, may temporarily increase security, but will not help unite the people of Iraq. Iraqis must be in the lead in fighting their civil war, especially when it comes to actions that could drive wedges between the very groups that must come together.”
Full statement:
SKELTON: WALLS WILL NOT BRING PEACE TO BAGHDAD
Political Settlement Needed to Bring Security and Stability to Iraq
Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the following statement today concerning the Iraqi Government’s opposition to the U.S. military’s efforts to improve security by constructing a wall between Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad:
“The hard work of our troops deserves our respect and thanks. Through their sacrifices, they have worked for four years to bring peace in Iraq. But ending the insurgency in Iraq will depend on a political settlement among the Iraqis to resolve the differences between the various ethnic and religious groups. Building walls between sectarian neighborhoods, without consulting them or the elected government of Iraq, may temporarily increase security, but will not help unite the people of Iraq. Iraqis must be in the lead in fighting their civil war, especially when it comes to actions that could drive wedges between the very groups that must come together.”
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walls today, tunnels tomorrow
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 pmWhy not, it is working swimmingly in Israel.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:46 pmLets give the Sunni side to the Russians, and the Shia side can be split up between France, the U.S., and Great Britain.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:47 pmwalls today, tunnels tomorrow
Comment by Raven
And mortars on Sunday. Won’t these walls also serve to contain blasts to mostly Sunni areas, while minimising damage to surrounding Shia areas? A truly winning strategy.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:48 pmBarfly,
These walls are all of 8-12 feet tall. If they want to blow each other up, they can toss a bomb over, then use the wall for protection against the shrapnel their own bomb creates. No more need for “suiciders”
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:51 pm#3 De Dee De,
Yeah, to pass through the U.S. sector you must go through ‘check-point Allah’.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:51 pmFunny, that the patron saint of the Republican Party demanded: “Mr Gorbachev, tear this wall down!”, and now the patron sinner is demanding that walls be built.
Every time I think that Chimpy’s credibility can’t be reduced any further, he surprises me.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:55 pmThis one will have to be in the top 3 of the hit parade of stupid ideas.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pmHouse Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO): “Building walls between sectarian neighborhoods, without consulting them or the elected government of Iraq
but wait, I thought it was about freedom, about democracy.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pmguess it’s hard to have those when you still have our military force there, against the Iraqi people’s will
that’s right, give up before the job is done. Ya bunch of wussus.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm40 years from now:
Iraqi Theocratic President: “President George Bush Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr., tear down this wall!”
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:59 pmThat’s right, post something stupid everytime you come here. Ya big old pu$$y.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:59 pmThat’s right, keep trying to do the wrong job, the wrong way, and blaming those trying to change the course of our foreign policy. You bunch of banana mush for brains.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:02 pmHow did that Robert Frost poem go? ‘Good walls make dead neighbors’ or something like that?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:03 pmThe Great Wall of Bush…
It just never ends with the idiotic Bush crime family… Walls, wars of imperial aggression, destroying our Bill of Rights with the unPatriotic Act, after Cheney and Rumsfeld just couldn’t quite stop the hijacked jets from being used as weapons on nine-eleven: the poor dears were all tuckered out from those top-secret practice drills on nine-nine and nine-ten…
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:03 pm#10 Redneck, Redstate
that’s right, give up before the job is done. Ya bunch of wussus.
Is that a Latin word?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:03 pmSome say, cutting your losses is defeatist.
Some say, knowing that it’s time to leave is surrendering.
Others know that it’s time to leave and cut our losses!!!!!!!!!
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:06 pm“wussus. ”
Yessir, that’s redneck ah-right.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:07 pmRedneck, Redstate perfectly represents the republican party. He’s ignorant, uninformed, and full of hate.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:08 pmSo, first he wants a fence to keep the Mexicans out of US, now he wants a wall in Iraq. As the Guinness commercial says, “BRILLIANT!”
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:09 pmSo, first he wants a fence to keep the Mexicans out of US, now he wants a wall in Iraq. As the Guinness commercial says, “BRILLIANT!” Yeah, right.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:09 pmDo you believe that leaving Iraq will bring democracy, Freedom, and Peace?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:09 pmRedneck:
There once was a wussus named pussus
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:11 pmwho could’t get out of his puffus
he sat down to type but forgot to wype
so he splattered his screen with his duffus…
Roger_Rhetoric sez:
Do you believe our continued occupation of a sovereign country will somehow accomplish these aims?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:12 pmBush could care less what anyone thinks military or not he rules Iraq and as the Dictator he will do what he wishes. No matter at the lost of thousand of soldiers lives as the families still support the Liar-in-Chief.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:17 pmIraq people now know Bush is in charge and not Maliki. The Iraq aka Berlin Wall will stay per the orders of the new Dictator George W. Bush. All the the govenment and Americans can say what they want Bush will continue to do as he pleases. With all the corruption done by Bush the American people set back and do nothing. Now when the bill comes in and the American people see how much money has been stolen and the lives that didn’t have to be lost in our military the same people will look like what they are fools. America has should the world just how weak we are by allowing this criminal Bush destroy America while Americans watch.
Do you believe that leaving Iraq will bring democracy, Freedom, and Peace?
Comment by Roger_Roger Debate_Dodger — April 23, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
Let’s see, the majority of Iraqi citizens would like our military presence to cease.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:19 pmThe Iraqi government would like to see less of a military presence, with a timetable for withdrawal.
Yet, our president says we will stay as long as he wants, which contradicts the country’s supposed freedom.
Not sure whether leaving will bring “democracy, Freedom, and Peace” but I’m pretty sure that staying won’t.
Then again, I never thought that bombing the crap out of a country and then occupying it would bring those three things either! Did you?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:21 pm#
Do you believe that leaving Iraq will bring democracy, Freedom, and Peace?
Comment by Roger_Roger — April 23, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
No – Because like you, those people are ignorant at birth, just like you are taught to hate, so are they. The best anyone can hope for is those people tolerate each other.
You see when you mix “Religion” with “politics”, you can never have Democracy, Freedom, or Peace. Just look at the USA the more religion becomes involved, the more freedoms we lose.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:34 pmIraq, as many middle eastern countries, has no separation between church and state; therefore, they cannot separate their religious zealotry from their politics. This is precisely what occurs when this separation is not clear & distinct and what the reichwing christo-fascists in this country are attempting to create for us. Once this line of demarcation blurs or disappears, then a country’s laws go down the tubes since the definition of one’s “enemy” (aka one who believes differently than you do) condones radical behavior in order to eliminate those who do not follow in lockstep formation with the prevailing moraes.
Clearly, this is diametrically opposed to “democracy” and if our leaders had one iota of education in what democracy really means, they would no longer be attempting to foist it on a people who have absolutely no interest in this form of governing.
It’s Vietnam “redux” – we had no clue about the culture of the vietnamese either – we just decided, in our own infinite wisdom, that this is somehow what these people “needed”. Since we can’t even govern ourselves properly, balance a damned budget, and with our hacked elections clearly have NO democracy in existence in this country at this moment, we have brass cajones attempting to show others how a democracy is run. We’ve become the laughingstock of the world with Bush & Co. at our helm.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:49 pm#24 Yes, I believe we are the Iraqi peoples only chance. We broke it, we fix it. If we leave, they stand no chance of democracy, freedom, or peace. This is a very difficult situation, but I have yet to hear a better plan then continuing our presence. At this point, it should 100% be about helping the Iraqi people gain the Democracy, Freedom, and Peace they very much deserve. Anyone who is against America helping these people gain these 3 goals as soon as possible is wrong in my eyes. It would be immoral and completely unacceptable to turn our backs on these folks.
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:52 pmIf we leave, they stand no chance of democracy, freedom, or peace.
Comment by Roger_Roger #30
I’m BORED Rogue…
…EXACTLY what kind of freedom, democracy and PEACE…
…do we have HERE in DUHmerica…
…under this criminal Bushite junta?
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:22 pmRedneckInbred what is “the job”? establish “freedom” in iraq? so your ok if they choose to exercise that freedom by forming an islamic theocracy and electing pro-hezzbollah/pro- iran government officials, right? thats something worth sending american soldiers to die for, right? for Iraqis right to be like Iran?
April 24th, 2007 at 2:31 am