Troop levels in Iraq to remain high through 2008.
By on Mar 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Troop levels in Iraq to remain high through 2008.
Today, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker presented plans to President Bush recommending that troop levels in Iraq “remain nearly the same through 2008 as at any time during five years of war.” The New York Times reports that it “now appears likely that any decision on major reductions in American troops from Iraq will be left to the next president.”
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Just in case people here are interested in a summary of Bush’s war — it’s on Frontline (PBS)at this moment. Part two tomorrow night.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pmMarie Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Just in case people here are interested in a summary of Bush’s war — it’s on Frontline (PBS)at this moment. Part two tomorrow night.
started to watch it but got sick to my stomach seeing all those goddamn traitors… every single one of them deserve to rot in jail for the rest of their lives… when they die, leave them to rot in their cells till they turn to dust.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:23 pm4,000 American dead, untold thousands of Iraqis killed, maimed, and displaced and the Bush Administration has still not convinced America to give a damn about Iraq. Cheney’s response: “So?”
March 24th, 2008 at 10:27 pmmaybe betrayus could send in the marines to stop the olympics so that the tibetan monks could have a say as to what oppression and tyranny is all about
March 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pmThe six month surge is now a year old and it is such a success that we must extend it indefinatly.\sarc
March 24th, 2008 at 10:36 pmI guess this surge is more like extortion on the part of sadr’s army that the US is paying of too keep the peace and the semblance that the surge is actually working
March 24th, 2008 at 10:39 pmIf we can’t win with 90%(US) of the worlds military might against a country with .01%(Iraq) of the worlds military might…..how do you think we would fare against the Chinese……seriously. Our forign policy is so pathetic.
I know you are being sarcastic but when you consider the reality of what you suggest it becomes even more rediculous…..don’t you agree?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:45 pmfred lol you’re absolutely right !! I guess that’s one of the reason why there’s no direct indictment of Musharaf either .. I was being a little too flip with that one
March 24th, 2008 at 10:49 pmHow will the GOP convince American voters that Republicans are the correct ones to fix Bush’s Republican Iraqi mess? And you thought it was tough being a Republican in 2006 . . .
March 24th, 2008 at 10:51 pmToday, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker presented plans to President Bush recommending that troop levels in Iraq “remain nearly the same through 2008 as at any time during five years of war.”
I’m curious, was this what they were ordered to do? To come up with a plan that recommending that troop levels in Iraq “remain nearly the same through 2008 as at any time during five years of war”? Or were they just ordered to come up with “a plan”?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:52 pmThe surge is barly holding and achieving nothing in the way of the political change that is needed. If they don’t do something it will start failing at a bad time for the republicans. Then there is the economy……..It’s kinda like they are reaping the rewards of thier actions. With any luck the American people will put them in a permanent minority.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:55 pmwtf happened to when the surge showed signs of working that they would reduce or “redeploy” troops and bring the level of our forces their down to last summer’s levels??
March 24th, 2008 at 10:56 pmViolence is down … The surge is working … We can’t cut the troops!
Violence is up … The surge is working … We can’t cut the troops!
It never was a surge. It was always an escalation. I can’t believe people fall for this crap every time. I wish the media would use traditional words rather than pithy new words coined by Karl Rove.
We are holding POWs at Guantanamo Bay. Enhanced interrogation techniques are simply torture. Sending more troops to Iraq is an escalation. It reminds me of how people say we didn’t lose the Vietnam War because it was just a “police action”.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:57 pmthis is the worst reffereed fight I’ve ever saw!
March 24th, 2008 at 11:03 pmIt’s not like this was completely unexpected. Still, now it’s official. Lil’ George will pass all of his messes onto the next president for clean up.
-AF
March 24th, 2008 at 11:09 pmHow the hell are they going to keep those numbers when so many are on deployment 3or higher.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:12 pmThis is just crazy.
vehyrehk Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
wtf happened to when the surge showed signs of working that they would reduce or “redeploy” troops and bring the level of our forces their down to last summer’s levels??
Did anyone really expect them to reduce the number of troops? They seem to be hell-bent on destroying the military, it makes no sense at all.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:21 pmIn January, it will be someone else’s problem. They don’t care about anything but their profits.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:25 pmgood_golly Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 11:31 pmMarch 17th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
There have undoubtedly been phenomelal improvements, but there is obviously still work to be done.
What exactly is the GOP hoping to achieve by bankrupting the country, breaking the military and playing right into the hand of Osama?
March 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pmHey Zooey,
Have you read this? Amazing stuff! Absolute must read!
When Change Is Not Enough-The Seven Steps To Revolution-by Sara Robinson
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/when-change-not-enough-seven-steps-revolution
March 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pmI just found this blog! Great! I will come back.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:39 pm“bush’s war” on PBS… i did watch it… took a break for “christine” only…
it WAS hard to watch, and yet intriguing… i realized that i only learned about
all that way after the fact… not until things like AirAmericaRadio, which directed me to ThinkProgress, which led to the many other blogs and news sites…
what little i DID know about the lead up to the “war” just left me with a feeling
of inevitability, helplessness… now, seeing how it all played out, in condensed time, brings a new understanding of how it happened so easily… fear. fear. fear.
and planned chaos… but that’s tomorrow’s episode…
the show is so well done, and concise… a MUST see…
March 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pmjb Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
What exactly is the GOP hoping to achieve by bankrupting the country…
I just began reading Naomi Klein’s new book called “The Shock Doctrine.” The answer to your question is right there in the first 18 pages! (That is as far as I have gotten.) This book already lives up to the absolute raves from the progressives I have seen.
She is painting the big picture of what has been going on for the last 30 years in this country as well as around the world, some of it fomented by the US. This book should be manditory reading for all people, and especially us active progressives.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:42 pmWell, ya see, what we need is another “surge”…’cause the first surge worked so well, an’ we gotta build on that success…can’t let those soldiers die in vain…so we gotta send in more troops. Ya see, with more troops in harm’s way, it boosts morale…these troops live and die with their comrades in arms. They’ve been over there…most of them, so many times it’s like home to them. Heck, they can’t even adjust to life back in the States, so it’s really better fer them for them to just stay in Iraq until my term of office is up. That way, I can leave a winner. And their deaths will not have been in vain, because each man and woman will have died to make be look good. heh. heh.
[/Commander in Chief]
March 25th, 2008 at 12:08 amMerlin Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Thanx for the link Merlin. That was definitely a must read.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:38 amMerlin
March 24th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Thanks, Merlin. Excellent article.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:40 amIn an act of pure solidarity toward our troops, i too pledge to remain high throughout 2008.
semper fi, y’all
the texas holocaust
March 25th, 2008 at 5:49 amSpring war is breaking out in full bloom in Basra where the oil grows. The Sadr-lull is over, the Brits are out of Basra, will the Iraqi government forces be able to handle it on their own? Violence is down? The surge worked?
March 25th, 2008 at 6:56 am>Violence is down?
the best peace our tax dollars can buy in the mideast
> The surge worked?
not quite yet. more choas on the horizon:
Sadrists order disobedience campaign:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
March 25th, 2008 at 7:28 amMerlin Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Merlin, I have been reading (or should I say trying to read) The Shock Doctrine for the past six weeks. It will begin to piss you off royally. I have to put the book down every once in a while before I throw it at something or someone.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:58 amIraq…what happens when you let religious nuts play with a loaded democracy…
March 25th, 2008 at 8:12 amAs the election nears Lieberman and McCrazy will call for a ‘doubling of the Troops efforts’ to fight terror in Iraq. If the public disagrees they will surely be against the Troops and with Obama and the terrorists. We are not suprised are we?
March 25th, 2008 at 8:28 amWhere’s Pancho Villa when we need him? One border incursion by his guys, and we could bring our wonderful young people back and send them on another pointless mission that would have the virtue of being closer to home.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:43 amkaty Says:
March 25th, 2008 at 8:46 amMarch 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
* * *
It was very well-done. This was my second viewing, Katy, but I couldn’t make it past John Yoo. =(
jb at 11:34 PM. The rethugs desire to remake the US in their image. They hate the real Constitution, they want to have an absolute ruler who is the law, they want to return to a time when there were no protections for the working people (like Haiti), they want the rich to be able to tell the rest of us how much they are willing to pay us, they want to end Social Security payments and all taxes on the rich, etc.
As far as the military is concerned, they want to break it so that it is unable to function and completely subservient to the absolute ruler. Then, the ruler will be propped up by the mercenaries that have already been turned loose (see NOLA and So. Cal during the fires) against our own citizens. These private armies are without government control, having been deliberately placed in a legal limbo – they can’t be tried in civilian or military courts. All of the mercenaries are special forces types, many of whom are not US citizens and owe no allegience to this country.
If mccain is elected, we will have more war and more tax cuts for the rich. We will be totally bancrupt before his first term is completed. Watch out for war against Iran just before the election this year.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:50 amAs Moqtada Sadr’s cease fire appears to be showing cracks, as we are supporting the shia and paying the sunni (how’s that for incongruity?), as we marked 4000 deaths, as elevated troops levels will be maintained, McCain says he would stay the course, and he doesn’t care what anyone else says.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:33 amStraight talk from the Bush white house express.
petraeus is an awful human being.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:08 pm