.... that under no circumstances were U.S. troops to remain in Iraq.
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/romney-obama-repeatedly-underestimated-threat-iraq-n131511
Did they get it wrong in 2012? 
Mitty Romney, or Dickless Cheney....wish those two would just go away.
but the mistakes we made well before 2012. McCain was the one who said it best back in 2008, when he said "I don't care if we are there for 100 years, as long as our kids aren't dying" That should have been the strategy all along.
When we went into Iraq, I predicted, inaccurately I might add, that we would be there forever to prevent exactly the power vacuum that was created when we left. If we had left even 20,000 troops on the ground in Iraq, this never would have happened.
BTW this is not hindsight on my part, I said it repeatedly right here on this forum several years ago, and IMO these latest happenings in Iraq have only sadly proven me correct.
...............from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Iraq to Ukraine/Georgia(both former Soviet Union republics).
It is highly unlikely that McCain or any other POTUS would have gotten us involved in either Georgia or the Ukraine, and Syria most likely would not have happened if we hadn't left a vacuum in our wake. Iraq DEFINITELY would not have happened.
and please clue me in, what conflict is currently taking place in Iran?
BTW I am not saying that McCain would have made a good POTUS, just that he was right about us staying in Iraq indefinitely. It would have been done with next to no additional loss of life, and would have definitely prevented what is occurring today in Iraq.
maybe he remembered south vietnam and cambodia, 1975. whereas germany and japan seem to be doing just fine.
and truth be told I got very little agreement from righties either, as the lefties were effective in framing the argument that anyone who agreed with McCain was a warmonger who didn't care about our kids in the battlefield.
Funny thing is, McCain, and I were both right about the decision as is being proven today.I really don't know how Obamba could possibly be doing a worse job on the international front, even if he tried.
You've most likely earned a place with me on Matt "the Wall"'s list of neocons for failing to properly respect the price that would have been paid by the 20,000 remaining troops.
Of course our total exedous from Iraq was done purely for political purposes. I think Obama was glad that Maliki was being a tough negotiator on the Status of Forces Agreement. It gave Obama an easy excuse to leave. Add to that Obama's embracing of the "Arab Spring" and where does that leave us?
GWB may have kicked the dog I'd rather have sleeping at the moment, but BHO has done nothing but throw red meat and make all the wrong decisions since he took over.
and left the gate open.
I'd like it if the Right would just come out and say, we(the U.S. government) want control over Iraqi's oil exports. Save all the "terrorist safe-haven" non-sense for another day
.... that under no circumstances were U.S. troops to remain in Iraq.
Monday, October 13, 2008
BAGHDAD, Oct. 12 -- The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Sunday that American intelligence reports suggest Iran has attempted to bribe Iraqi lawmakers in an effort to derail a bilateral agreement that would allow U.S. troops to stay in Iraq.
Gen. Ray Odierno said in an interview that Iran, a Shiite Islamic nation eyed warily by the United States and Sunni Arab countries, is working publicly and covertly to undermine the status-of-forces agreement as officials from Iraq and the United States report nearing a deal that must be ratified by Iraq's parliament.
"Clearly, this is one they're having a full court press on to try to ensure there's never any bilateral agreement between the United States and Iraq," Odierno said. "We know that there are many relationships with people here for many years going back to when Saddam was in charge, and I think they're utilizing those contacts to attempt to influence the outcome of the potential vote in the council of representatives."
and can afford to get knocked down a peg.
And think about this for a second, how does the release of the Taliban 5 look now in light of this resurgence? Obama is restaffing the Aghan Taliban!! Does even Mari think a different script is going to be written in AFGAHNISTAN 2015-16? Obama said Afgan was "the smart war", we'll see how much of THIS will be Bush's fault.
Was in response to Putin.
I don't remember the Taliban being in Iraq.
Ah yes the 'Jew' card. Nice
Why aren't we pulling out of South Korea? Surely if we did, NK would just toss rose pedals over the DMZ right?
Gambler,
Could you elaborate on your assertion that Syria wouldn't have happened if we would have remained in Iraq. This is a bold statement devoid of any fact or what happened in Syria before their civil war. You're going to assert to me that the uprising against Assad wouldn't have happened? I have to call you on it.
and please clue me in, what conflict is currently taking place in Iran?
BTW I am not saying that McCain would have made a good POTUS, just that he was right about us staying in Iraq indefinitely. It would have been done with next to no additional loss of life, and would have definitely prevented what is occurring today in Iraq.
I'll toss a few things out there. Iran has been able to freely move troops and weapons into Syria over Iraqi airspace with the ok of the Iraqi govt. Of course they have to ok it as they were left no airforce to defend their airspace and the US wasn't there to interdict. Iran has been at the core of the ferment in Syria. Also, if we had a significant presence in Iraq, we'd have the intelligence, air assets and SOF's to influence anything that might be occuring one way or the other in Syria should we have chosen to have done so which we may well not have. The overarching goal of ISIS was not to overthrow Assad it was to gain a foothold there, train troops, gather weapons and THEN take over all or large chunks of Iraq minus the North which they are doing now. And use it as AQ used Afghanistan to attack the US. Did anyone notice a few weeks ago a Floridian Muslim suicide bomber in Syria? Born and raised here. Anyone think they're training any others over there? I do.
O'bama walked away from the SOFA as he wanted to leave just a few thousand troops. Maliki took this for what it was. An invite to say no. So he said no. And saddled up to Iran. How's that working out?
Gambler,
Could you elaborate on your assertion that Syria wouldn't have happened if we would have remained in Iraq. This is a bold statement devoid of any fact or what happened in Syria before their civil war. You're going to assert to me that the uprising against Assad wouldn't have happened? I have to call you on it.
and please clue me in, what conflict is currently taking place in Iran?
BTW I am not saying that McCain would have made a good POTUS, just that he was right about us staying in Iraq indefinitely. It would have been done with next to no additional loss of life, and would have definitely prevented what is occurring today in Iraq.
his purging of the Sunni's from the government, desire for Obama to totally pull out, alliances with Iran, it makes me wonder if he was simply planning for this day to come and all this was just part of his stratagem to eventually invite Iran to take over, at least the original southern Shiite regions.
Maybe but I think he never really thought O'bama would just bail out. But once O'bama wanted to leave basically no troops or air assets, I think he figured out after seeing what was happening in Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iran (basically giving them a nuke or hundred) he figured his hand was better played towards Tehran. Wait until these chickens come home to roost. Surely it'll be 'Bush's' fault.
Scared of what a few chickens can do, and they usually don't accomplish much.
You're right. They just fly planes into buildings. And now that a Floridian became a suicide bomber in Syria do we think there are no more of those 'over there' that can come 'over here?'
Good luck with that. And pretty lame new alias btw......
Along with the CIA funding and support ISIS(AKA the local insurgency) ?
... if the current situation was the administrations goal, aren't the on target?
Regardless if you agree with their FP.
O'bama walked away from the SOFA as he wanted to leave just a few thousand troops. Maliki took this for what it was. An invite to say no. So he said no. And saddled up to Iran. How's that working out?
Gambler,
Could you elaborate on your assertion that Syria wouldn't have happened if we would have remained in Iraq. This is a bold statement devoid of any fact or what happened in Syria before their civil war. You're going to assert to me that the uprising against Assad wouldn't have happened? I have to call you on it.
and please clue me in, what conflict is currently taking place in Iran?
BTW I am not saying that McCain would have made a good POTUS, just that he was right about us staying in Iraq indefinitely. It would have been done with next to no additional loss of life, and would have definitely prevented what is occurring today in Iraq.
Are you sure the CIA was funding them? I've not read anything that indicates that but maybe so. I pretty much thoiught all we were doing in Syria was blowing smoke aka the red line. When everyone saw that a) we weren't going to get serious about destroying their chem weapons (they still haven't delievered them all and their disclosure of same is woefully incomplete and b) the red line threat was a mirage, that was a clear signal for AQ and its offshoots ISIS to invest fully in Syria. And does anyone really think our ignoring the terrorist attack in Libya didn't send a message? How about ignoring the Green Revolt in Iran in '09? We used to be the leader of the free world. No more............
... if the current situation was the administrations goal, aren't the on target?
Regardless if you agree with their FP.
O'bama walked away from the SOFA as he wanted to leave just a few thousand troops. Maliki took this for what it was. An invite to say no. So he said no. And saddled up to Iran. How's that working out?
Gambler,
Could you elaborate on your assertion that Syria wouldn't have happened if we would have remained in Iraq. This is a bold statement devoid of any fact or what happened in Syria before their civil war. You're going to assert to me that the uprising against Assad wouldn't have happened? I have to call you on it.
and please clue me in, what conflict is currently taking place in Iran?
BTW I am not saying that McCain would have made a good POTUS, just that he was right about us staying in Iraq indefinitely. It would have been done with next to no additional loss of life, and would have definitely prevented what is occurring today in Iraq.
I'd like to know where ISIS got all those Toyota trucks. Were they stolen from Maliki's Regime?
Surely not from Iran. But they're now sending MRAP's to Syria.
Now ISIL, on Friday it was ISIS can do what with an MRAP, avoid Maliki's IEDs?
AND THIS INCLUDES BY DEMOCRATS, then the mission should have been to win and hold. This, "lets get the fuck out" almost from the beginning never gave the natives the confidence to step to our side. No wonder the insurgency was so strong, the natives were afraid to cross over for fear we'd be gone tommorow. THAT is what prompted the sunni uprising. When the elders saw US troops fighting and dying to rescue their neighborhoods. Obama could'nt wait to get us out so he could proclaim to the world HE had draw the war to a close.
Everyone but Obama knew this day was coming. Afghanistan is next.
When we went into Iraq, I predicted, inaccurately I might add, that we would be there forever to prevent exactly the power vacuum that was created when we left. If we had left even 20,000 troops on the ground in Iraq, this never would have happened.
BTW this is not hindsight on my part, I said it repeatedly right here on this forum several years ago, and IMO these latest happenings in Iraq have only sadly proven me correct.
You're mostly correct. But I wouldn't call it a Sunni uprising. Its ISIS and the Sunni's jumped on board for the ride. A deadly combo indeed.
sorry i wasnt clear, i was frefering to the "Anbar Awakening" which was primarily sunnis. The tribal sunnis began fighting against the radical AQI because they felt they had a solid partner in the US.
Care to share on what basis you make it?
"If we had left even 20,000 troops on the ground in Iraq, this never would have happened."