Bush said this morning that we are going to win in Iraq.
Well I, for one, believe him this time.
I thought we already won a few years ago? Remember Mission Accomplished? So what is it that we’re trying to win this time anyway, because I forgot?
Hey, no one said we can’t win twice.
Between Afghanistan and Iraq, we may get 4 victories.
I wonder where we’ll be 12 months from now - new SecDef, new Congress, W admiting change is needed, I can’t see status quo a year from now. For better or worse, I think some major changes are on the horizon. I’d be lying if I said I was optimistic.
Yeah, that is an interesting question. Here’s my guess.
Bush will increase the troops in Baghdad by about 20,000 for a short term, but that will not be defined. The immediate result will be a reduction in attacks, not because of our presence, but because the insurgents will lay low for a while. Slowly, the attacks against our troops will increase and the result will be at least the same or more deaths in our troops and in the Iraq population.
The increase in troops will have to stay “until conditions in the field change” and by this time next year, we will have more than 140,000 troops in Iraq, with still no end in sight (or the 2008 elections).
But I’m confused. Today W said that we WERE NOT winning the war. However, a few months back I saw Cheney on Meet the Press and he stated that people who were saying that we were losing the war were giving aid and comfort to the enemy, that they were hurting the war effort. Yes, yes, confusing.
And now the president is calling for more army and marine troops after saying that we didn’t need any more. Hmmm, curious. I recall during the '04 campaign Kerry calling for an expasion of the military and the neocons poo-pooed him as being “out of step”. I believe this is what Colbert called “flip-floppery”. There are probably other names for it. 
I’m confused too. I heard Bush say the other day that we were neither winning or losing, and then today that we are winning.
Maybe he’s mixing up watching a basketball game with the war.
I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get the latest prognosis.
we were neither winning or losing, and then today that we are winning.<
I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get the latest prognosis. <
Maybe tomorrow we’ll be both winning and losing. He can say it’s a Zen thing.
How many troops does it take to win a game of whack-a-mole with an endless supply of moles?
**How many troops does it take to win a game of whack-a-mole with an endless supply of moles? **
Whatever that number is, we don’t have them.
I think Bush will make 2 big mistakes if he increases troops on a temporary basis,
- More troops means more people in harms way.
- If they are there temporarily, the insurgents will just wait it out, much like they would if there was a timetable, something the administration is opposed to.
So, I think there will be an increase in troops without a time limit, which of course still leaves more people in harm’s way, with nothing to do but keep 2 groups bent on killing each other apart.
I heard a similar report on The Onion recently… Thousands More Dead In Continuing Iraq Victory America marks three and a half years of winning in Iraq, and nearly 3,000 victory deaths
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/56628
Looks like McCain may get what he wished for. From the political angle, his presidential aspirations probably hinge on the success of the increase.
The only thing I hear more than how we are winning, is that we killed another top al-Qaeda operative. I think we have killed or captured about 20 Al Qaeda number 2’s.
I note today that the Pentagon has requested another hundred billion dollars in funding…probably for the victory party.
"I note today that the Pentagon has requested another hundred billion dollars in funding…probably for the victory party. "
Nope, not for that; the “Commemoration of Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan” celebration has actually been a line item in the last 2 federal budgets, with a total allocation of around 20 million dollars - and no, I’m not kidding.
.
$20 million Iraq victory party U.S. budgets for ‘commemoration of success’
October 5, 2006 BY ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY WASHINGTON – The military’s top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that U.S. troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring.
But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a $20 million victory party.
Lawmakers included language in this year’s defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money.
You have got to be fucking kidding me. Our representatives piss away millions of dollars to celebrate a war that cost us hundreds of billions in the first place???
Assclowns.