‘Staying here is like committing suicide.’
By on Jun 5th, 2007 at 9:47 am
‘Staying here is like committing suicide.’
Iraq’s college graduates are “eager to leave the country. In interviews with more than 30 students from seven universities, all but four said they hoped to flee immediately after receiving their degrees. Many said they did not expect Iraq to stabilize for at least a decade.”
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Quick, General Patreaus, we've found your suicide bombers... /sarcasm off
June 5th, 2007 at 9:50 amWell shucks... 10 years?
We're only 40 years ahead of schedule here. Good news for the WH!
June 5th, 2007 at 10:00 amWith Iraq continuing to lose its best and brightest in this fashion, it is assured that the country will remain a third-world hellhole, which is good news for the imperialist occupiers (us).
The last thing the Chimpy administration wants is competent Iraqis in Iraq.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:00 amWhy do Iraqi college students hate our troops?
Oh, wait... never mind.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:03 amI sense a revolution in the making. The Iranian Revolution was a combination of the Student Left and the Religious Right.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:03 amFor the record, if we announce we will be there for some limited time, that is not Imperial. I guess "EMPRIE!" must be today's talking point. How long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?
June 5th, 2007 at 10:06 amThus begins the Brain Drain
The Iraqis who hold the most capability of actually helping Iraq out of this quagmire are the ones that are fleeing the country because they realize that the civil war needs to run its course before there can be any attempt to rebuild.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:06 amdavid:
I thought it already was a "Civil War"?
June 5th, 2007 at 10:06 amChimpy is setting things up so the US will be stuck in Iraq for the next 30 years, regardless of who gets elected in 2008.
Its all about the oil. 30 years is how long it will take to steal all of Iraq's oil.
Big Oil is ordering Chimpy to stay in Iraq and protect their interests with US troops. Talk about corporate welfare!
Iraq is going to be a mess for a long time, Chimpy has seen to that.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:08 amHow long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?
Comment by Jake — June 5, 2007 @ 10:06 am
The US is STILL in Japan, f***wit
June 5th, 2007 at 10:08 amJake
"How long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?"
This is an uniformed comparison. The Japanese gave an unconditional surrender and flat out asked us to help them rebuild. They were totally destroyed by the war.
Iraqi's, by way of every poll taken, overwhelmingly don't want us there. Plus there's a civil war going on that our troops are in the middle of. There was no such civil war in Japan that our troops had to remain in fear of.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:10 amJake, every once in a while you should, you know, look something up: Scholars debate about what exactly constitutes an empire (from the Latin "imperium", denoting military command within the ancient Roman government). Generally, they may define an empire as a state that extends dominion over and populations distinct culturally and ethnically from the culture/ethnicity at the center of power. Other definitions may emphasize economic or political factors. The term generally implies military hegemonic power.
From Wikipedia
June 5th, 2007 at 10:13 amJake sez:
Interesting...lookiing back through the comments that preceded yours, Shakey, there's only one that refers to the American occupation of Iraq as "imperial". Mine.
Sounds an awful lot like a response, Shakey...did you forget that I was on The List â„¢, dolt?
Also, "for the record", an announcement that we will occupy for a limited time does not make it any less imperial, even if we actually hold true to our word (which would be a first for this administration). It's the motives behind the occupation, not the time involved, that determines whether an occupation can be termed thusly.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:18 amJake, do you even know what's happening in the world at large or do you just say what you wish was happening?
June 5th, 2007 at 10:18 amLet's have some more false premise strawmen, we just can't get enough of them.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:19 amOn a side note, strawmen make excellent horse feed.
How long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?
Comment by FakeJake — June 5, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Still want us to believe you're a Korean War Veteran, with a question like that?
You really are a dum bass! (props to VVGFU)
Back on topic,
June 5th, 2007 at 10:20 amwell, what would Iraqi college students know about the plight of their country?
I mean, they're probably just a bunch of pot smoking, tree huggin liberals.
Right Jake?
At least their brain drain won't be on the side of some road after a suicide bomb blast.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:20 amWho can blame them for wanting to leave? Maybe one day it will be safe enough to go back, and they can help re-build their country.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am“How long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?â€
MacArthur handed over power to the newly-formed Japanese government in 1949.
Four years.
And Japan attacked the US. Iraq did not.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:29 amI guess Japan is part of the American Empire then. Thanks for the information, idiots.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:30 amJake sez:
My earlier post explained why that line of reasoning is wrong, Shakey. You don't have to respond to my posts, but you really ought to at least read them...you could save yourself a lot of embarrassment (assuming you're still capable of feeling shame).
June 5th, 2007 at 10:34 amgeoman77:
We weren't willing to wait for Iraq to attack.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:35 amJakeass,
Go do yourself a Cheney.
Not only are you slightly retarded, you're a prick, too.
Now, go do what the VP told Leahy to do & everyone will be happy.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:37 amI hope they give Libby the max sentence.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:40 amthe hearing is going on now, Walton doesn't seem to be leaning towards leniency but who knows.
Uh, yeah, the coming Iraqi attack. First they were going to use their aluminum tubes to make a bomb out of their yellowcake, then they were going to load them onto a pilotless drone that could reach our shores...
It's bad enough that you climbed up on a stool, pulled up your dress and started shrieking, "Eek, a mouse," Jake, but it's really embarassing to watch you continue to piddle down your leg even after learning that there isn't any mouse.
Get off the stool, tough guy, and try to buck up.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:41 amI guess Japan is part of the American Empire then. Thanks for the information, idiots.
Comment by Jake
Okinawa. You are welcome.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:43 amYes, the Iraq invasion by a lieing U.S. Government is one of the biggest crimes of all time.
But . . . who is it that has benefitted from 9-11 from the very start and continues to to this day ?
Hmmmm, that's pretty hard to figure out, wonder how that happened.
So hard to believe that it just continues.
How 'bout the funding ?
If it is cut off . . cold turkey . . do you think that in itself will put our men and women in greater danger before they are re-deployed ?
Will it cause more death and destruction ?
As it is now, the death and destruction will continue as far as the eye can see. As Dennis has said, the money's in the pipeline to fund a withdrawl right now.
What are the alternatives ?
It's pretty clear that the repubs aren't going to back the impeachment of chimpy and his uncle dick. And it really doesn't look like there's going to be a revolution to stop this invasion.
Sooo . . . what do we do. Surely the answer isn't to wait for some kind of magical change in '08?
They're talking U.S. presence for decades.
This has got to stop.
Why in the hell are there criminals running our country?
I don't believe the United States has enough money or credit for them to invade all of the major oil bearing countries on the planet.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:45 amLooks like they've pretty much exhausted their supplies with their first venture.
Comment by TripMaster Monkey
"With Iraq continuing to lose its best and brightest in this fashion, it is assured that the country will remain a third-world hellhole, which is good news for the imperialist occupiers (us)."
Judging from your past rebuttals, there's no way it can be a third-world hell hole unless it's a) It's Imperialist, and b) It's occupied by Americans. If it's a leftist country, then there's automatically no violence, poverty, violation of human rights and so forth, right?
In addition, thank you for your thinly-veiled (leaning more toward obvious) insults towards our troops. Though this noble effort isn't going according to plans, I'm sure the troops don't see merit in being labeled as "imperialist occupiers." Don't confuse your disdain for the White House with our brave men and women on the ground.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:45 amjake, you might want to get a new battery for your hearing aid, the imminent threat you need to fear is not an Iraq attack, it's a Big Mac attack...
June 5th, 2007 at 10:48 amCompTROLLER V-1 sez:
Congrats, Compy. That made no sense at all.
And then we go from a completely nonsensical statement to the "liberals hate our troops" canard. How tiresome.
Compy, you're going to have to bring more to the table if you want to debate me.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:53 amI'm sure the troops don't merit in being USED as imperialist occupiers, Troll. It's not their fault they were given a lousy mission by immoral idiots, but like the resposible public servants they are, they salute and follow their orders.
Don't confuse our disdain for the White House with our brave men and women on the ground.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:56 amComparing Iraq to Japan or Korea is an apples to oranges comparison.
The only legitimate comparison is Iraq to Vietnam, and even it isn't a total fit.
We screwed up Vietnam. We never should have gone in there.
We screwed up Iraq. We never should have gone in there.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:58 amobviously these college student's haven't talked to McCain, Liberman, Graham and the rest of the rick ass repbublicans who say things are great in Iraq. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 5th, 2007 at 11:00 amFor the record, if we announce we will be there for some limited time, that is not Imperial. I guess “EMPRIE!†must be today’s talking point. How long was MacArthur in Japan after WWII?
Comment by Jake
For the record, Iraq is not Japan and this is not WWII. Only an idiot keeps fighting the last war.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:00 amWe weren’t willing to wait for Iraq to attack.
Comment by Jake — June 5, 2007 @ 10:35 am
That's true -- we would have been waiting a long time. Like forever.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:01 amNotice how the Repuke inbred trolls in here are all off-topic.
They cannot actually talk about this topic because they have no way to defend Chimpy.
Iraq IS going through a "brain drain". The best and brightest are leaving if they can. That's because professionals and intellectuals are being targeted by insurgents (along with gays).
Last week, a well-known Iraqi professor was gunned down in the street, and it isn't the first time.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:02 amJake, do you even know what’s happening in the world at large or do you just say what you wish was happening?
Comment by david
Jake just repeats the lies he hears from O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck and the other neocon liars.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:02 amWe weren’t willing to wait for Iraq to attack.
Comment by Jake
That's right, the Iraqi Navy was at the mouth of the Mississippi ready to take control of the US. And don't forget the Iraqi Air Force getting ready to fly over and drop the WMDs as soon as they can put big enough fuel tanks on their fighter jets to get here and they actually acquire WMDs.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:09 amAw, shane, now look what you've done!
Here's some paper towels, Jake. Wipe off the stool you're standing on.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:17 amFederation of Oil Unions
Subject: Strike at Pipelines
The strike started at 6AM, Monday 04-06-2007.
The strike will be in two stages:
The First Stage
- Closure of the 14 inch of petroleum products gas, petrol and paraffin
- Closure of 14 inch liquefied gas (reverse-pumping pipeline) supplying
Nassiriya, Diwaniya, Hilla [these major cities south of Baghdad-SR] and
Baghdad
- The port [of Basra-SR] has stopped receiving imported petrol. No
export of crude oil (RCR) or products of the refinery.
- Loading: no loading of transporters of petroleum products to the
governorates, except Basra, Amara and Nassiriya cities.
The Second Stage
1. Closure of the 48 inch pipeline delivering gas from North Rumaila to
Khor Al-Zubair, feeding all electricity plants in Basra and all
petrochemical, fertiliser and steel plants, and Southern Petroleum and
Southern Gas [companies-SR].
2. Closure of the 32 inch pipeline feeding al-Hartha and al-Najeebiya.
3. Closure of the 48 inch pipeline, starting from GTU and heading for
Baghdad, Najaf and governorates."
End of statement.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:24 amShit, I've got it!
June 5th, 2007 at 11:46 amjake has a mean little dog named Iraq, who attacks innocent bystanders when Jake takes it on it's daily dump walk.
He can't wait for Iraq to attack!
He must enjoy watching it bite toddlers.
But there is nothin'
like the sight... of an amputated spirit.
Scent Of a Woman
this is really bad, coming generation of Iraq which holds the future of this country seems to be alomost hopeless . sigh !!
who is reposible for this ?
June 5th, 2007 at 11:48 amSorry, TripMaster Monkey
You insulted the troops and this country. Your words are right there, don't attack me for highlighting them.
BackTrack 101. You still haven't passed.
"Imperialist Occupiers" Hey, you said it man. That's an insult to the troops. Who are the occupiers? American forces. Yet you believe you have a license to "fault" everyone else for "flaws in logic". Go look for a more proper way to disagree with someone.
You're not intelligent. I've been trying to let you in on that for your own benefit.
June 5th, 2007 at 12:39 pmCompTOLLER V-1 sez:
Still trying to sell the "liberals hate our troops" canard, huh, Compy? It's been debunked innumerable times, and yet, you still try your best, like an aging whore desperately trying to entice johns with drooping breasts and flabby thighs.
You're officially past "tiresome" now...you're squarely in "pathetic" territory.
And who's giving the orders to those troops, hmm?
Here's what makes you "liberals hate the troops" trolls so ridiculous. By condemning me for speaking out against the occupation, on the grounds that it "insults the troops", you implicitly condemn the one on whose orders those troops continue their occupation - your beloved Chimpy. Unless, of course, you want to make the argument that the troops are occupying without orders (silly, I know, but I wouldn't put it past you at this point...).
Who bears the responsibility for our policies towards Iraq? Where does the buck stop, Compy?
Not everyone...just the ones whose logic is flawed (like you).
I'd like to, but it looks like you have the market cornered in ranting idiocy.
Intelligent enough to hand you your ass (again). Not that that's saying much...
June 5th, 2007 at 1:05 pmComment by TripMaster Monkey
A) But weren't refering to who was "giving the orders." As well, Bush and Cheney aren't actually the ones occupying Iraq, just giving the orders to go in. "Imperialist Occupiers" is right there in your statement, and the troops are the ones who occupy. The don't come with an Imperialist or Socialist agenda. I'm simply quoting you, not claiming that "liberals hate the troops." Patriotism is neither Conservative nor Liberal.
Nice try to put words in my mouth. As I've stated, If I didn't literally state it, it's not my view. Nobody, including me, believes that troops could be deployed without the OK of the President and consent of the Senate. There was even negative reports from the Republican-hated UN Weapons Inspectors, who voiced their concerns. Don't get me wrong, even when I was in H.S. when this war began, I knew it was a bad idea going in.
Finally, I would appreciate it if you would tone down the insults, since I am willing to do the same. I, for one, used to be completely democratic until last year, when the atrocities of the immigration debate started. Oddly enough, these mexican-flag waving protests turned me to the right and make me explore conservative ideals. Conservatism can be a good thing, it's just not by the book these days. I do thank you regardless for your grammar pointers, because I am a tense writer.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:51 pmCompTROLLER V-1 sez:
I can't believe what I just read.
You actually went where I thought even you weren't stupid enough to go. "Bush and Cheney aren't actually the ones occupying Iraq"? This is so mind-bendingly stupid I'm honestly at a loss on how to set you straight.
Perhaps it would be simplest to let you set yourself straight:
That's right. They're just trying to do their best to serve their country. The agenda comes from their leaders (Bush and Cheney, remember?). It is the motives of the leaders that determines whether an occupying force is imperialist in nature, not the motives of the foot soldiers.
Again, you manage to completely contradict yourself within the space of a single paragraph. Do you practice thinking this sloppily?
And as I've stated before, your attempts to wriggle out of your past statements will not be successful. I don't know if your inability to express yourself clearly is inadvertent or intentional, and I don't really care. If you don't stand behind your earlier statements, you can retract them, but don't try to pretend they never happened.
Actually, that explains a lot. The deplorable state of our public schooling system is scandalous.
Really? After all the gratuitous schoolyard insults you've lobbed at me (not to mention many of my friends here), suddenly you wish me to "tone down the insults"?
I don't think so.
I'll continue posting as I always have. I didn't modify my posting style to throw extra insults your way, and I'm certainly not going to
modify it now to treat you with kid gloves, simply because you realize you can't insult me into silence, and ask me to "tone down the insults" in a childish and transparent attempt to claim the moral high ground.
Just know that I've levied no insults against you that you didn't richly deserve. I'm not as indiscriminate as you.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:54 pmit's a miracle that these kids even made it to graduation without being blown up - for the 4 who are staying my advice would be to try hang in there and avoid being shot until september until bush's country club opens - i'm sure they can find a safe haven in one of the blast proof apartments there - or will they be allocated only to american diplomats and oil barons?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:59 am