Most parties seem to agree that the whole issue of U.S. troop withdrawal seems to be dependent on when the Iraqi army become capable of handling security issues on their own. But if you look at the history of the Iraqi army over the past thirty years, I wonder if they will ever be capable of becoming an effective military force. Consider the Iran – Iraq war. That had to be one of the worst fought wars in history. The two armies were more like a couple of punch drunk stumble bums flailing away at each other. The Iraqi’s best tactic was to fire scud missiles with chemical warheads at Iran, while the Iranians seemed to think it was a heroic thing to send young boys out in front of the troops to clear mine fields. During the Kuwait invasion, the Iraqis behaved more like street gangs than an organized army. And when operation Desert Storm started. It was obvious that with the exception of a few battalions of Republican guards, the army had no will to fight. The same thing happened during the 2003 invasion. When the U.S. troops entered Iraq, most of the army got rid of their uniforms and ran. True, some of them tried some guerilla style attacks from schools & mosques, but there was little organized military resistance. So it seems to me that the big problem is that the Iraqis have no cultural concept of what an army is or should be. The sunnis look at military force as a Gestapo style organization while the Shiites seem happy with terrorist style gangs. So unless the Iraqi people learn to replace their religious based tribalism with a sense of national pride, I see no solution to this situation other than to stand back & let them slaughter each other.

It pleased me that a few people get the massege that this is all out total war. It was not started by Geo. Bush. It is a war that we must win or all of our desendants will be moslem or dead. One out of six is moslem now, they are commited to fight until it is six out of six. We can believe their lies that some of those are extreamist within their ranks, but the truth is that they are all supporting this faceless monster and will not let any one try to stop it. Each one in this religion is dedicated to the destruction of the world if necessary, including their own lands, to achieve victory. All this arguing from the liberals and others that do not reconize our danger, have always been as they are now. They were the tories, the royalists, in George Washingtons day, they They were the people who said, This is Mr. Lincolns war in the 1860s, Faint hearts that forced us to lose in Viet Nam And will never stand up and make a diffrence. But WE are the people if not U S who? If we elect not to stem the tide civillization as we know it will cease. All the rest of the nations were unwilling to even stand with us, let alone take on this scourge. George W. Bush is right we either stop them now here or we will not stop them anywhere. If we fail we have lost our right to exsist. For we were put here to do this very thing, to bring freedom to first one nation and then on to another"opertunitity brings responsibilty" We could but we won't.

What has Bush done right ?

Lets see, he went after Iraq after "suggesting" that Iraq had something to do with 911. He claimed that Iraq had WMD's after cherry picking intel reports, He claimed Victory aboard that ship, "Major Conflict Over", he said we would be greeted by Iraq as liberators, then the Vice Pres. said the insurgents are in the last throws, these are just a few of the things that come to mind.
Bush and Cheney have got NOTHING right, how can anyone not see this.

I feel sad that so many American people can be fooled and lied to and not even relize it and even denie it and defend Bush.

On a side note, my total respect and admiration for our service men and women in Iraq and Afganastan, thank you for being great.

Davyo

My son is now serving our country in Iraq. He left behind his family, his pregnant wife and his other children. He will not be home for Christmas with them. Before he left his father and I went to visit him. I asked him his thoughts on going back to Iraq,yes this is his second tour and his second Christmas in a row to not be home with his family. He at first told me he was just doing the job that he is trained for. When I questioned him further, did he himself believe in this mission, he compared Iraq to Germany and what if no one had stopped Hitler. He told me it was something that had to be done. My son is smart and could easily have chosen an easier life for himself and his family. But he has chosen to serve his country and believes in it's mission. People need to realise how much others have given up for us to enjoy the freedoms we have.

Its seems I have been here before....It has happened in the past that when Washington DC took charge of the war and fighting and started to let the so called elected government elect run things we couldn't win..Yes just like VIET NAM...We never lost any battles and have not yet to date but as our government tries to cover their butts we as Americans lose ours....Drop leaflets tell everyone to go to Bagdad cause in 48 hours we are going to start carpet bombing and not stop till every thing is leveled..Hell then we can start to rebuild...As it is and the way our troops are being prosecuted for so called crimes they are more than a bit trigger shy...I say its long past due for the shock and awe we never got to see...

The soldiers who are bravely fighting and dying in Iraq are doing nothing to protect our freedoms. Their masters, in fact, are stealing our freedoms from us. Bush hypes of the fear of terrorism, and uses cowardly americans who roll over and say "Do what you want so I'll feel safe!"

It's a damn shame.

I wonder if the Muslims arround the 1300's were saying "If we don't fight back, we'll be Christian or Dead?"

So far, with the cost of the war exceeding $320 billion, we've spent more than $12,500 for every Iraqi man, woman and child. So for a family of four, that's $50,000. Cash. Money.

Get it?

Imagine how the "battle for the hearts and minds" would be going if we invested half that for peaceful and meaningful purposes there.

Instead, the money's gone, the country is in shambles, and we still ask, "Why do they hate us?"

Do any of you people remember Pearl Harbor. Do any of you people remember fighting Japan, and Germany.Do any of you people remember the attacks on the trade centers in New York,and the people that died that day. I guess it will take another attack or two on this wonderful country before a lot of you figure it out.WE ARE AT WAR!!! What part of that don`t you understand?? The terrorist attacked us, we did not attack them.They were in Afganistan, and Iraq, and Iran,Syria, Lebanon,Beriute.We only went after Saddam to bring him to justice for crimes against humanity, and because he bragged about having WMD which he used on more than one occaision against his own people.The fighting going on in Iraq is the same as the fighting that went on in Ireland between the Protestants and the Catholics. When the British intervened then both sides turned on those soldiers that were trying to bring peace to a nation.There are still WMD in Iraq, hidden, or taken out of the country to Iran or Syria.I`m not saying I agree with everything Bush has said or done, I have a pretty good brain also.We can not give these terrorist rites as some people suggest.These people have no uniforms,no code of honor, and they use there own people as human shields.They do not follow the rules of the Geneva Convention,so why would they come under its protection.We did give the Japanese, and the German misfits of war crimes the rites of the Geneva Convention, then we executed them.But only because they wore their uniforms, and we knew what nation they represented.These people are cowards, thieves, and thugs.They are fighting to preserve a way of life. This is the life they led under Saddam,and they are now fighting for the power and recognition of top war lord, so they can dictate like Saddam.They must keep everyone in Iraq in turmoil to get the troops to leave. When the troops leave, everyone who voted for a free goverment will be rounded up and executed.All the troops and all the people that want us there will die in vain, and that just cannot happen.IT MUST NOT HAPPEN, or what will the world think of us.They scorn us now, but what they will feel if this happens is indescribable.Tony Blair said it best I guess at one of his cabinet meetings.They wanted to pull the plug on him for his involvement in Iraq backing America.They asked him why he was so resolute on America. HE SAID:If it wasn`t for those Yanks, we`d all be talking German now.I measure a country by the people trying to leave it.No one is trying to leave America, as a matter of fact people risk life and limb to get in there.Only two people ever gave their life willingly for someone else.Jesus Christ for the souls of mankind, and the American G.I. for a complete stranger.He got everything he needed at that meeting. NUFF SAID!!!

I see so much disrespect for U.S. troops, the President, the Iraqi people. Someone said democracy only works in a country of reasonable people. Well, then, let's be reasonable. We all want a solution, we all have differen tviews and knowledge. The troops have first hand knowledge of how the Iraqi people feel. The President is the leader of our country, and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. Without these two, there would be no America. You would not be able to say, "Let's turn this into a holy war...", without fear of retribution. What really matters here, though, is the Iraqi people, and the U.S. troops fighting the war. What are the Iraqi people doing to promote peace within their own country and unite as a people? I tend to hink, and maybe some servicemen can comment, that most Iraqi's are either afraid to embrace democracy for fear they will be killed by insurgents, or they are indifferent, and are willing to let the U.S. go on fighting their battle. Let's not forget that we freed them from the tyrannical rule of an oppressive and despotic dictator who was killing off his own people while living in lavish palaces.

My husband is at Fort Riley training to leave to Iraq in February, I dont understand what training is needed by the Iraqis when it is obvious that they dont need instruction on how to kill, heck they are experts at making bombs. I dont think they need military training, what they need is to learn to value life. My husband and I are expecting our first child and he will miss all this.
I am so angry with this administration, gas prices went up so high last summer and their was never an explanation. Now we are in a war where the people do not want us there. Has anyone considered what would happen if we let the Iraqis solve their own problems. The Sunnis claim to have help from the Saudis and Shittes side with the Iranians why not let those countries aid in their civil war. Why is it that such a powerful country as ours was not prepared for what they got us into.

Bill, There is NO disrespect for US troops! The United States Military does NOT decide who to invade. They follow as they should, without question, the orders of the civilian authority. We have the greatest military on the face of the Earth! They are doing the best job they could possibly do given that they are commanded by the worst CIVILIAN! Commander-In-Chief this country as ever known. You CAN separate the policy from the troops. The troops DO NOT make policy. It is our job as citizens to insure that our troops have the best leadership possible so that they are not put into bad situations. The troops DO NOT have a say in strategic policy! That is why it is up to you and I to pay attention so that we do not throw good money after bad and more importantly throw away more good lives for a failed policy based on bad ideas and lies! No matter the outcome in Iraq our kids will come home as Heroes! Those that have sacraficed their lives and limbs will always be heroes because they have shown the world that our military responds without question or complaint to the direction of the civilian authority. The least we can do is pay attention and participate in the debate. I salute ALL the people on this blog for at least having an opinion. Do you know how many "so called" American citizens don't know or care what is happening in their name? I saw a good poster the other day. It showed two dog tired American GI's in Irag staring sullenly at the camera. The caption read "You shop, We'll fight"
God Bless America
Merry Christmas
BRING THEM HOME!

Let me see if I have this clear:
Bush has decided to wait until next month, before he lays out a plan for Iraq. In the meantime, more men and women are coming home in body bags, and the current government is being escorted off capitol hill, one set of handcuffs at a time? Have I missed something? George Bush will go down in history as the very worst President that we have ever had. If only we could save lives with an election tomorrow. George will be lucky, if he can crawl back to Crawford on all fours, once this mess is handed to a more intelligent commander. George WWWIII Bush! What a joke!

The mess that is Iraq. Who's responsible. Things are likely to get worse before they can get better and "better" maybe still a far cry from what Bush envisaged.Or,it is what he envisaged all along!

The message to Bush, the defense specialist said, is that the U.S. cannot withdraw a substantial number of combat troops by early 2008, as suggested by an independent, bipartisan commission on Iraq, because the Iraqis will not be ready to assume control of their country. Bush is delaying making public his new Iraq policy plan until early next year in part to allow officials to work out the funding, he said.
So, he lies and our Men and Women die for his ignorant vendetta. Geez!