Happened to have the opportunity to watch Bush's press conference this morning as I was waiting to get my oil changed. I can't find a link to the transcript to quote him directly, but he made a reference to our enemies in Iraq being violent and determined.

Who exactly are our enemies in Iraq nowadays? There's obviously some al Qaeda there, but they make up a very small percentage of the fighters. So who are we fighting? Is it the Sunni insurgency? Are we fighting the Shi'ites, too?

He did say something that resonated with me, though. He indicated that he was open to the idea of sending in more troops, but only if they had a clearly defined mission. I had kinda been an advocate of trying to bump the troops levels and clean house, but there does need to be more to it than just numbers. Without an idea of what those folks would be doing, adding more troops just floods the region with targets. We've got to figure out what the goal is and what it is that we're trying to accomplish militarily to avoid an increase being arbitrary. Good to see that he is getting the need to define our goals and make sure that the solution we provide is directed to those goals. Increasingly, I'm doubting that there is a military solution to this problem, though.

Just thinking out loud here.

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

if i were bush, i would get on the TV, and say this word for word.

"to al queda, hamas, hezzbollah, the mehndi militia.......... if you dont immedietly stop the kidnappings, murders, all around general violence and plannign attacks on western sites, im gonna turn mecca into a fucking crater. understood? you know we have the bombs, and at this point, i dont care anymore. you can say GOODBYE. so cut the shit and work for the future, or be ready for extermination when you fight back after i bomb your holy sites into rubble. goodnight and may the one true christian god bless america and the jews"

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

The fighters in Iraq are a mishmash. There's Iraqis and Iranians, Syrians, Egyptians, there is some alQaeda, but they are not the dominant players. The dominant player is al Sadr and his Shi'ite militia. Shi'ites form the majority in Iraq. Sunni's are the minority, but were in control during Saddam's reign. The Shi'ites want control of Iraq now because for decades they were trampled under Saddam. The Shi'ites and Sunnis are fighting each other, and both of them are firing at us when they can. It is just a big mess. Iran is Shi'ite so they are helping al Sadr's militia. Most of the casualties in Iraq are coming from bombs made in Iran.

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

yup^. US fighters are not responsible for the mass death there, its stupid religious factions fighting to get a leg up on the others. even iraqbodycount, which was started to show what america is doing wrong, has changed its tune. as of today, they are saying that coalition troops are responsible for less than 200 deaths collaterally this year. (civilians who werent fighting)

while the number of civilians killed by the militias and terror asshats is upwards of 16K.......

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

Throwing more troops into the situation is just like throwing more money at the situation. In the end, no matter how much you use, it still goes toward nothing.

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

it's a lose-lose situation...

If we leave, the shiites get control and Iran gets a leg up on the region and there's no way in hell saudi arabia and jordan will be able to sit on the sidelines, either they'll begin having more infighting within their own countries or they'll have to challenge Iran to avoid larger shiite influence in the region and world affairs.

if we stay and increase the troop levels, we'll just be subjected to more casualties as we try and form a coalition to govern Iraq where the minorities have enough power to weaken shiite majority power...an almost impossible scenario to realistically implement.

My opinion has shifted to just pulling out and letting them fight it out and kill each other and when the dust settles against our interests and against our regional allies' interests then we go in for the kill with their help.

Re: Bush Press Conference Today

[quote=rubyraks;425214]it's a lose-lose situation...

If we leave, the shiites get control and Iran gets a leg up on the region and there's no way in hell saudi arabia and jordan will be able to sit on the sidelines, either they'll begin having more infighting within their own countries or they'll have to challenge Iran to avoid larger shiite influence in the region and world affairs.

if we stay and increase the troop levels, we'll just be subjected to more casualties as we try and form a coalition to govern Iraq where the minorities have enough power to weaken shiite majority power...an almost impossible scenario to realistically implement.

My opinion has shifted to just pulling out and letting them fight it out and kill each other and when the dust settles against our interests and against our regional allies' interests then we go in for the kill with their help.[/quote]

Yeah.... there really isn't any way for Sunni's, Shi'ites and Kurds to live together in peace. They haven't done so in the history of their religion, so why would they suddenly do it now?