Assessing America's 'imperial failure' in Iraq

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Originally Posted by AFBlue

Fair enough. The fact that the two countries are comprised of a majority that share the same religious beliefs does not mean that they are allies.

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http://www.needlenose.com/i/swopa/MalikiAhmedinejad.jpg

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My guess is that Iraq would be pressured to do so by America and the internation community.

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Why would there need to be pressure? They love freedom and America now, right?

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Having personal knowledge of a national guard unit that is being activated to deploy for the entirety of 2011, I'll believe it when I see it.

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When you have personal knowledge that we plan to be there forever, let me know.

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Originally Posted by ChumpDumper

http://www.needlenose.com/i/swopa/MalikiAhmedinejad.jpg

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Meaningless as it relates to our discussion...funny, but meaningless.

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Why would there need to be pressure? They love freedom and America now, right?

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I didn't deny that the two nations were comprised of majority Shia Muslims. Even if leadership from the two countries aren't aligned, I'm sure an intelligent person such as yourself sees the potential for political backlash against Iraqi politicians.

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When you have personal knowledge that we plan to be there forever, let me know.

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I didn't say we planned to be there forever. WH23 asked me how long is long enough...I said permanently. That's my opinion, not a stated fact.

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Originally Posted by AFBlue

Meaningless as it relates to our discussion...funny, but meaningless.

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Quite meaningful. You have yet to give a good reason why Iraq would acquiesce to being used as a base for attack on Iran except that it would be bullied into it.

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I didn't deny that the two nations were comprised of majority Shia Muslims. Even if leadership from the two countries aren't aligned, I'm sure an intelligent person such as yourself sees the potential for political backlash against Iraqi politicians.

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I see immense backlash against Iraqi politicians if they let the US invade Iran from their country. That backlash would come from Iraqis.

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I didn't say we planned to be there forever. WH23 asked me how long is long enough...I said permanently. That's my opinion, not a stated fact.

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Let me know when it is a stated fact.

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Originally Posted by AFBlue

Radical leader, who coincidentally has no issue espousing his agenda to wipe Israel off the map, making repeated attempts to develop nuclear weapons despite repeated pressure and sanctions from the majority of the international community.

I'd attribute escalation to a campaign to continued pursuit of those weapons.

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do you personally think that those reasons are justified for an Iranian campaign?

I think the best thing to do is give Israel unconditional support to what they do. They have the quality of intelligence that we lost long ago. If they believe Iran is an imminent threat, they will take care of business.

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Originally Posted by Wild Cobra

I think the best thing to do is give Israel unconditional support to what they do.

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Unconditional? Why does Israel have such a hold on you?

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They have the quality of intelligence that we lost long ago.

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How do you know?

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If they believe Iran is an imminent threat, they will take care of business.

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An imminent threat to whom?

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Originally Posted by AFBlue

Actually the initial invasion into Iraq was relatively easy. If we'd had a strategy for post-invasion, it would've gone much better. I can see how we would take some learned lessons into a campaign in Iran.

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:WTF

...it would have been much better if we went in with 500K troops and tanks initially...no, it would have been much better if got the hell out of there and let the Iraqi people self-determine their own government instead of setting up a banana republic..

America's Empire and Endless Wars Are Destroying the World, and Ruining Our Great Country

Andrew Bacevich speaks with a fairly unique mix of experience, authority, passion and wisdom in questioning our nation’s priorities: specifically our willingness to place so much of our national identity, wealth, attention, moral practice, and finally the life and blood of many thousands of our citizens and millions of those of other countries in the hands of our military. A professor of history and international relations at Boston University, Bacevich served twenty-three years in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of colonel. He lost his son in Iraq. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy,

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