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The troops say they can win, the general says the surge is working and we need to support this until we win. 3500 dead soldiers and 30,000 wounded compared to all other wars is less then a battle, it is insignificant as a statistic of war. Is it unfortunate when someone (anyone) is killed whether innocent or doing their duty.....of course! The only "weak ass arguments", as someone stated, are the excuses given for not winning this war. My apologies for any personal attacks
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Here is what the military men and women said 5 months ago (not necessarily those currently serving in Iraq, but half served in Iraq at some point):
Should the U.S. have gone to war in Iraq?
Yes 41%
No 37%
statistically insignificant
Regardless of whether you think the U.S. should have gone to war, how likely is the U.S. to succeed?
Very likely to succeed 13%
Somewhat likely to succeed 37%
Not very likely to succeed 31%
Not at all likely to succeed 10%
Only half think we can win (succeed)
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?
Approve 35%
Disapprove 42%
about the same approval rating as the general public
Do you consider the war in Iraq to be part of the war on terrorism that began Sept. 11, 2001, or do you consider it to be an entirely separate military action?
Part of the war on terrorism 47%
Separate military action 47%
http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2006_main.php
http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2006poll_iraq.php
By nearly any measure, the situation is not progressing in Iraq..
The Iraq government is dysfunctional, rarely meets, and still not achieved the basic benchmarks that Bush/Riice demanded last year:
approval of an oil law regulating distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the oil industry;
reversal of the de-Baathification laws that are widely blamed for alienating Sunnis by driving them out of government ministries;
and the holding of local elections;
and reform of Iraq’s Constitution,
and the American military has been strecthed to or beyond its capacity.
Until the Iraqi goverment is forced to get its shit together with hard deadlines and benchmarks that are clear and with meaningful consequences, they will continue to suck off the US tit.
Bush had it right when he said in 2005:
"Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever..."
Regardless of whether Bush lied or not (although the Sen Intel report and the DoD IG report suggest that intelligence was manipulated to justity the invasion)....most experts outside of the Bush circle or within DoD with careers and reputations at stake now acknowledge that the US cant "win" what is now a defacto civil war (as a result of our invasion). The question is how long should we let our men and women die in the crossfire without a serious course correction that begins a phased withdrawal?