Leaving Iraq

In my opinion the war in Iraq has gone on long enough. I realize that US troops being there is a necessity given the political situation the Iraqis are in but at the same time it seems as though we are almost coddling the Iraqi government. At some point we need to to let the Iraqi government handle things for themselves and if it seems they are having a very hard time we can intervene again but this time in a political manner. This war started out as the War on Terror. We have gotten rid of Saddam Hussein, killed Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaeda is seemingly non-existent. We have found traces of weapons of mass-destruction and gotten rid of it. Our military work there is done, now it is time for us to bring our troops home and handle this situation a different way.

Wondering whether she is actually mentally challenged, or just thoroughly evil.

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq. With that said, the next couple years should be interesting with Iran gaining influence in the region. For the most part the US has established a democracy and a government that can sustain itself, but the question remains…. For how long? In my opinion sectarian violence has potential to erupt as a result of the troops leaving with Al-Sader’s militia committing most of the violence, as had happened previously.

First off I must say that if Michele Bachmann comes anywhere close to winning the United States Presidential election the American people are doomed. I mean she honestly thinks it would be logical to go to the Iraq government and demand retribution. Really?, I completely agree with this article that it would be a terrible move by the United States government. This was an extremely controversial war because a lot of countries around the world viewed it as a way for the United Sates to extort oil resources from the Middle East, rather than a war on terrorism. As a result, by Bachmann making such a claim, she is saying that such agenda was true. Overall, I feel as though such commentary will just fuel “anti-American” groups across the Middle East. Thus, I believe that President Obama is making very wise political and military decisions in regards to ending the war.

Why are the candidates with the least to say always the ones yelling the loudest? The extent of stupidity exhibited during the election process is always alarming, but more frustrating is the fact politicians will do nothing for the next year out of fear of losing office because of a mistake.

Leaving Iraq is the end of a long conflict there. However, things will not change in Afghanistan. The U.S. will still keep their full forces in Afghanistan. Iraq would be a key ally for that region. With neighbors like Afghanistan, Iran, and China, it would be key to have close ties with this country. It will be interesting to see if they uphold their side of the alliance after our military presence is gone.

The Hegemon can leave Iraq knowing that it is now quite securely embeded militarily in the region with supports from the Sunni allies including terrorists like Jundallah and other Wahabbi bros to divide and rule the animosity between Shiites and Sunnis the Middle East to contain Iran.

Next according to Indian ambassador Bhadrakumar, the Hegemon is likely to play similar divide and rule strategy to embed itself in AfgPak region for the Great Games of Central Asia to tussle with Putin.

"The Afghan endgame is moving into a crucial phase; much will depend on regional politics. The worst-case scenario for the US is that subsuming the contradictions in the intra-regional relationships between and among Pakistan, Iran, India and China, these countries might have a convergent opinion on the issue of American military bases.

An accentuation of these contradictions, therefore, would serve the US's geopolitical interests at the present juncture, hence the US's "divide-and-rule" strategy."

Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.

Good article, Economist

:))

Thank the Lord that this mess in Iraq will finally be over soon. It's been held off for too long and it needs to end. This announcement will most definitely boost Obama's campaign, even though this, along with taking down bin Laden, is one of the few things he has done, especially if the Republicans continue to have such indecision for their nominee. As for Bachmann, I'm finished trying to decipher the logic behind her reasoning. It's just too much to try to understand where she thinks these things up.

Although I fully understand the opinions of some that we need to remain in Iraq to repair the damage we have caused, we also have to think about the American soldiers dying there and the hole we are putting ourselves in financially. The situation in Iraq is very complicated since our presence is desired by some and rejected by others. I also find it in poor taste for everyone to point fingers at Obama or the US government for handling the war incorrectly. Although some mistakes were most likely made, and some things could have been done differently, pointing fingers now will not change the past. We need to stop looking backwards and make plans for the future and to move forwards.

"The United States needed a working democratic partnership in Iraq and we should have demanded that Iraq repay the full cost of liberating them given their rich oil revenues."

Thank goodness she isn't president. You don't go into someone's country, destroy it while helping them liberate themselves, and demand repayment. This will do nothing but further sever the relationship as well as make them not want to produce a fair price of oil for us. Politicians sure can be absent minded.

It is ironic that the United States is withdrawing troops from Iraq because they are finally supporting Turkey invading Iraq for the 3rd or 4th time. Before the US didn't want Turkey to attack Iraq because the Northern Region was finally becoming stable but now the US thinks Iraq is stable enough, Obama is willing to support Turkey's invasion. Even when the US finally withdrawaling from Iraq, they are somehow still involved. Will the Iraq War ever end??

"The United States needed a working democratic partnership in Iraq and we should have demanded that Iraq repay the full cost of liberating them given their rich oil revenues. I call on the president to return to the negotiating table with Iraq and lead from the front and not from weakness in Iraq and in the world."

Are you kidding me? This is a very insensitive remark. Over the United State's long tour there, thousands of civilians were killed. For her to even claim that they owe the US something is just absurd. The US made the decision to go over and install democracy, as well as hunt terrorists. They made that decision on their own, Iraq didn't ask for them to invade. Unbelievable.

I'm sorry, but the only person that knows anything about what is going on in Iraq, who is from the United States, is an American soldier. I think it is just wrong that Michele Bachmann believes she knows what's best for Iraq. She has never been in the military for what I know! She probably hasn't even held a rifle before much less shot it. I doubt she has even been to Iraq and talked to the soldiers and generals about what is going on. She is just reading information that sources send her. My belief, get someone who has actually fought in a war to be the man in charge of the war in Iraq. Iraq was a mistake from the start going in. Yes, we needed to go in and kill Hussan because of what he was doing, but you have to realize that Iraq has been at war with itself for hundreds of years. You have tribes that hate each other and all they want is to kill the other. You can't expect to walk right in and say "I'm an American soldier" and they stop fighting. They don't care! Yeah, Obama may be pulling the troops out to help his political polls in the presidential race, but enough is enough. Right now Iraq doesn't want our help, so just don't give it to them. Later they may see their mistake. The mistake the U.S. made was not going in with everybody right at first. In order to stop the fighting in Iraq and stabilize them, you have to have a soldier to sit on every single person until they learn to play nice. Yeah I think it is about time we pull out of Iraq, but Bachmann, please leave the military decisions to someone who actually is in the military and has fought in Iraq.

While drawing out of Iraq is good, the U.S. should have left the Qaddafi incident to Arab leaders. Terrorist essentially were supported to kill a despot. If democracy was the goal; I don't see this happening given the radical behavior of the people. Furthermore, I feel more attention needs to be shed on the ethnic cleansing currently occurring against black immigrants.

In sum Qadaffi supported terrorist and dictators, but he also raised literacy significantly in Libya, and welfare programs were initiated. Personally I think, Kim Jong-il is more oppressive to his people, and a more viable threat to world order.

While drawing out of Iraq is good, the U.S. should have left the Qaddafi incident to Arab leaders. Terrorist essentially were supported to kill a despot. If democracy was the goal; I don't see this happening given the radical behavior of the people. Furthermore, I feel more attention needs to be shed on the ethnic cleansing currently occurring against black immigrants. In sum Qadaffi supported terrorist and dictators, but he also raised literacy significantly in Libya, and welfare programs were initiated. Personally I think, Kim Jong-il is more oppressive to his people, and a more viable threat to world order.

Although a period of 1000 years separation stand apart from the Roman invasions into the Parthia heartland, the reasons given by neocon Hegemon remains approximately the same.

It is to seize the riches of the land using the pretext to remove Weapons of mass destruction and additionally, civilising the people with their proselytizing ideology.

Let's just be happy that we're finally pulling out of Iraq and taking many American lives out of danger instead of worrying about the costs. Lives are a lot more important than money. If we start asking Iraq for money then more problems will arise and the war may not be over anymore.

It's preposterous how often we fail to stick to our beliefs and opinions. After 9/11, the support for war was through the roof, as we all sought for revenge. Bush rightfully declared war against terrorism with the country on his side full of support. Now, we are all hanging our heads, acting as if we never supported the war. We have thousands of troops fighting for our homeland security when we're not even supporting it? The morale of our troops cannot be high when the people's back home is not. One of Obama's main campaign incentive was to pull troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and to end the war. That's fine and all but when will he act and stop talking? Three and a half years later he revisits his before mentioned promise, coincidentally right before the 2013 presidential election. Seems as if he's making a mockery of our voters. It may be a bit too much to ask, but where have the truthful and loyal Americans gone?

Good news. The Iraq more has cost so much money and maybe now the American economy, which has been struggling recently, will start to pick up. At least we are ending the war with the assassination of Osama bin-Laden. Too bad not much else got accomplished in Iraq and we are not leaving it much better off than when we arrived.