when, if ever, do you think all US forces will be withdrawn from Iraq?

[archive]

When it is logically feasible, as long as Obama's the president. That's not a choice in your poll, which is odd because it sorta falls in line with Dubya's pragmatic (and hence CORRECT!) stance on timetables--- there is no reason to give clear terms to your enemies (ie, Iraq's neighbor, Iran). Besides, with the recent and unprecedented Arab Spring, it seems more and more plausible that it can happen soon.

I didn't like bush's stances and I certainly don't like obama's. I honestly don not think we're gonna leave until we are forced to. It will having nothing to do with wants or needs (just as it is now).

 

[archive]

Pessimism? How? Everyone likes to use buzz words in this particularly forum and wont express their ideas. We'd still be meddling in Iran, if not for '79. We were in Afghanistan before we officially declared war. We lobby for Japan to become subservient to our needs in the Pacific (almost the same with S. Korea). We have open ended commitment all over the globe, but yet its pessimistic for me to say we are never getting completely out? We are the greatest magicians in the world.

 

[CowboyBob]

.....at the risk of completely derailing Bob's thread,.....

That's nice of you loki.... that's why we all love you.

My thoughts, we will never pull out completely. It will be a Korea / Japan / Germany / The Philippines type of thing. The government will have to establish bases there for a myriad of reasons but mostly to ensure the flow of oil and to keep a watch on Iran.

 

[archive]

I said "at the end of the 2020's," but technically "Never" is more accurate.

I think we'll always keep troops there, but by the end of the 2020's I don't expect the number of troops to be any higher than the amount we have in Europe, Korea, etc.

I can see where Toriko is coming from , but just being deployed and seeing the number of contractors go up as we draw down paints a different picture for me personally. I mean I see no reason why any person drawing up the lessons of history since WWII would see us not having a long lasting footprint in Iraq.

 

[chance1]

i think we're there .......... period

i think the chances of us pulling out equal the chances of JUB CE+P being dominated by conservative posters

just saying

I hear Iraq is lovely in the winter

 

[gingentleman]

War is big business...controlled by major corporate players like Halliburton. As long as corporate America has power over our elected officials, we will have military presence and action all across the globe. To think otherwise is painfully naive.

 

[vulgar_newcomer]

As long as there are large oil reserves there and the world is dependent on oil for the survival and health of a nation to operate the USA will not be leaving .
There is too much hostility in the region and its very unstable however everyday oil becomes more precious. Cut the oil supply to the USA or any nation without any sort of infrastructure to raid or obtain what can be had would make 9-11 . the Japan, tusumai/quake, & killer tornado look like a fine day compared to what would happen to the general populous quickly in any oil dependent nation.
I wish it wasn't true and we never should have been there and had Iraq been Somalia the USA would have never gone.

 

[rareboy]

at the risk of completely derailing Bob's thread, I figured I'd start my own

we started with a promise of 2009...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYTKj8pU5M

and after 2009 came and went, the new deadline was 2011...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022700566.html

and now that December 2011 is quickly approaching...



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/11/iraq-withdrawal-2011-delay_n_860188.html

so when, if ever, are you actually expecting us to be in a situation where we have 0 boots on the ground in Iraq?

my expectation is indefinite occupation; our entire political system seems bought and paid for by the military industrial complex.

We agree on this. With the state of US unemployment, the US will continue to focus the tax dollars on the only thing that America now produces and exports to the world....war materiels.

At the moment, the forces in Iraq are also a bulwark for preventing the re-eruption of conflict between Iraq and Iran and some protection against Iraq becoming a failed state that attracts the extremist terrorists.

So. When the US decides that health care is as important as bombs and planes and reduces the budget and foreign borrowing that supports the Pentagon.....the US will cease to have the need to ship off tens of thousands of young men and women who otherwise would be unemployed at home.

 

[BostonPirate]

we still havent left Germany or Japan.

We will maintain a base there permanently, IMO. Taht does not mean that the war is not over. It just means that we have to be careful and defend the bases better.

It is not part of a war plan. Its a gas station and layover point for other parts of the globe, just like the phillipines were at one point.

when will the war end? It has. When will the USA close its PERMANENT bases there?

lets see where the arab spring brings us. The president of Yemen left his nation today for emergency surgery due to a rocket attack.

Thats one more dictator down.

The Palesstinians are seeing that they will probably gain more through peaceful protests, and the Israeli thing is about to pop.

We have a permanent base in Iraq for THOSE reasons. Iraq is in the rear view mirror.

what I want to know is why we are sticking around in fucking afghanistan? why cant we launch predator drones at Pakistan from a carrier out at sea?

 

[construct]

No need to laugh, loki. I voted "never." I was an Obama supporter during the campaign, and I still am, and I still voted "never."

Since rather early into the war, I have believed that there would be a continuing presence similar to that in Europe and Japan after WWII.

I never expect all compaign pledges to be carried out to the letter. I treat them as goals maybe or as indicators of a vision or direction the candidate would attempt to move in.

So to me the important thing is that we currently have a third the troops that we had when Obama took office. Significant progress has already been made. Let's say that we're down to 15,000 by year's end. Would I be satisfied? Maybe not. Would I be pleased? Probably so.