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How Do You Get 100 Years in Iraq? Six Months at a Time.

Posted April 9, 2008 | 01:38 PM (EST)

Read More: 6 Months, 6 Months MoveOn Ad, General Petraeus, Iraq Surge, McCain Iraq, Moveon, MoveOn 6 Months Ad, Moveon Ad, MoveOn Iraq, MoveOn Iraq Ad, MoveOn McCain Ad, MoveOn.Org, Petraeus Testimony, Responsible Plan To End The War In Iraq, Six Months, Video, Breaking Politics News

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It seems like no matter what happens in Iraq, the Bush administration and John McCain always have an answer: 6 more months.

When the "surge" began a year ago, they told America things would get better by September. In September, they said we'd know more by spring. And this week, General Petraeus is on Capitol Hill asking for -- you guessed it -- 6 more months. He says we need a 45 day evaluation period starting this summer, followed by an indefinite "assessment period" which puts us back in... September!

Senator McCain and President Bush couldn't agree more.

It's a strategy: selling an endless war on the installment plan. So today, we put together a web video that captures some of the greatest "just give us six more months" hits -- from 2003 to today. Check it out:


Worth noting: that while Bush and McCain have no plan to end the war, a group of military leaders and Congressional challengers have put together a Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.




 

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collapse FreedomsEpitaph See Profile I'm a Fan of FreedomsEpitaph

"Worth noting: that while Bush and McCain have no plan to end the war, a group of military leaders and Congressional challengers have put together a Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq"
Also worth noting is
"THE BIDEN PLAN: ENDING THE WAR IN IRAQ
Senator Biden believes it is important to bring home our troops without leaving chaos behind in Iraq. The Senator and Les Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, have a five-point plan that offers a political solution to ending the war. On September 26, 2007, the Senate voted 75-23 to endorse the central elements of the Biden-Gelb plan in an amendment offered by Senators Biden and Brownback."

Maybe we don't have to reinvent the wheel, maybe combine both to get success.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:30 AM on 04/10/2008
collapse rage See Profile I'm a Fan of rage

We should stay and finish the job. We underestimated insurgent involvement in the beginning. We should have destroyed or secured access points into Iraq. Now we have to deal with the fighters. Hopefully we'll limit their effect to an annoyance then secure the borders. Then we should confiscate enough oil to pay for the rebuilding of Iraq and reimburse the U.S's. financial investment in this war. They will still have enough oil left to run their country for decades or longer.

McCain was correct, though. When we move from conflict to security, we will be there for as long as the Iraqi government want us. Without us, Iraq will quickly fall and Iran will have nothing stopping them from moving in and annexing Iraq into the new Persian Empire. Liberals are so worried that Bush is trying to steal Iraqi oil. Wait until you all see what Iran does with it when we leave.

We are not leaving Iraq no matter how loud the protest.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:16 AM on 04/10/2008
collapse seamikej See Profile I'm a Fan of seamikej

This statement reminds me of the legendary Santayana quote: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

We, in the United States, have 2 very different examples of how these "Wars" of occupation work: Korea and Vietnam.

In Korea, we stayed (and continue to stay) to protect a fragile peace that most Americans have no idea what started the war in the first place.

In Vietnam, we left. There was, as expected, years of civil strife, political instability, and chaos, but it eventually worked itself out and now Vietnam is one nation that we DON'T hear as a possible terrorist state.

To me, the points that you're making are, at best, speculation. You (and everyone else) have as little knowledge of what would happen in Iraq if the U.S. redeployed as you do who's going to win the Super Bowl 100 years from now.

Probably less.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:32 AM on 04/10/2008
collapse Dave01 See Profile I'm a Fan of Dave01
Moderator's Pick

HuffPost's Pick

Does anyone else see the parallel between Chechnya/Russia (and the former Soviet Union) and the Iraq/US war? Chechnya and Iraq are both tribal nations that bind together to fight foreign invaders. The only difference is that in Iraq the Sunni Muslims are fighting Shiites and the US, and in many cases Shia Muslims are fighting both Sunni Muslims as well as US soldiers.

There is no winning in this conficlt, there are only degrees of losing. This administration as well as McCain need to define the word success and what is an "acceptable" amount of death and destruction. Since when does "mission accomplished" not mean "mission accomplished"?

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:06 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse jdmccl See Profile I'm a Fan of jdmccl

I see more parallels with Russia/Chechnya and China/Tibet. China is just better at it and Chechnya fights better that Tibet. Tibet needs to get out before things get really bad, it"s a shame, lets give them San Francisco or Massachusetts?

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:56 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse Uselessboy See Profile I'm a Fan of Uselessboy

One Friedman Unit away, the 6-month critical Iraq policy term perennially given by Tom Friedman.

Maybe more properly it should termed the Standard Neo Con.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:25 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse SamEllison See Profile I'm a Fan of SamEllison

You're not useless Useless, thanks for the FU.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 AM on 04/10/2008
collapse unscum See Profile I'm a Fan of unscum

Bush and Cheney are traitors for getting us into this war, killing and maiming so many americans and iraqis in the process and spending 600b to 2 trillion and counting. Petraeus has dishonored himself by now telling us the truth, something a soldier of his stature should never do. I'm sick of this war; I want that money spent here in the the US on healthcare, education, science/technology grants for innovative companies and industries, infrastructure, alternative energy sources and the companies that develop them; is this so much to ask to have the money we give in taxes spent on us!!!

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:15 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse rage See Profile I'm a Fan of rage

Just because you don't agree with Bush/Cheney, doesn't make them traitors. National defense is one of the things our taxes pay for.

How does Gen. Patraeus dishonor himself by doing his job. Again, just because you don't agree with the reasons for this war doesn't make it illegal.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:36 AM on 04/10/2008
collapse schatsie See Profile I'm a Fan of schatsie

I also am so sick of this....Just think at least we have lemon laws for cars...Bush should have been impeached years ago for the lies about 9/11 (yes there was a reason he did not testify under oath) and Iraq and Katrina and Enron....

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 07:58 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse eggman See Profile I'm a Fan of eggman

What a coincidence. Victory, like McCain, is just over the hill.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 05:20 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse Oneill4congress See Profile I'm a Fan of Oneill4congress

This is absolutely incredible. Take away all the rhetoric and what the General is saying is that (1) the current plan has not created a safe and stable environment in Iraq; and (2) the present plan has not made America or American troops safer. The solution? More of the same. Excuse Me? If this isn't a re-run of Vietnam one month at a time I have never seen one. I am a Vietnam veteran and the father of an Iraq war veteran, and I for one have had enough of this double talk. The time to honor our troops by bringing them home safely is upon us. The time for bringing the General back every six months for an "update" is over.


Bill Oneill
www.oneill08.com

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:59 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse joebhed See Profile I'm a Fan of joebhed

You're exactly right, Bill.

But, this is not just about getting elected and defeating the neocons and their agenda.
It is about ending the war in Iraq and restoring as much peace on their land as they can bear.
Now!

A somewhat tragic irony: We support a Shia who is President because of his close ties to the parties most strongly influenced by Iran.
We support him in trying to wipe out an "insurgent militia" of al Sadr.
Sadrists are a bunch of Iraqi nationalists who want an independent Iraq, and the least to do with Iran.
I"ve heard of the proxy war. But, this is in reverse.

The Sunni nationalist insurgents are in the same boat as al Sadr.
Mostly anti-Iran, and definitely pro-Iraq.
Yet, these two insurgent groups, both of whom really only want to see an end to the occupation, are what we call "rogue militias".
How long are we going to continue to support the friends of our enemy to wipe out the enemy of our enemy?

We MUST negotiate with the nationalist Shia and Sunni insurgents an end to the US occupation. Such negotiations can lead to removing the insecurity that our occupation is itself causing. We need some peace.
We DID invade their country for no good reason.
Without recognizing the legitimacy of the nationalist insurgents who oppose our continued presence, our presence will forever be required.
Peace.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:47 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse Uselessboy See Profile I'm a Fan of Uselessboy

What he's saying is that it's none of our business.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:26 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse wiltmellow See Profile I'm a Fan of wiltmellow

I watched the hearings. At one point, Crocker replied to a question, "You have a right to ask that question Senator ..."

The Bush team truly believes that we have no rights other than those they grant us.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:49 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse SubparDude See Profile I'm a Fan of SubparDude

:

There is a wonderful, evolutionary pattern at work:

For Years, they Told Us - Just Wait Six Months.

Now, Every Six Months we Hear - This Will Take Years.

Huh?


:

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:27 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse SeriousBlack See Profile I'm a Fan of SeriousBlack

Yep, in computer programming terms I think that's called an "infinite loop"...

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:28 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse newworldman777 See Profile I'm a Fan of newworldman777

The strategy of the neocons who got us into this mess is quite simple. Now that they realize that their arrogant experiment to democratize Iraq has failed miserably, they will run out the clock and hand the mess over to what they surely must know will be a democratic president, forcing him/her to deal with a lose-lose situation. They will accomplish this by highlighting any shred of optimism -- either real of fabricated -- while igoring the overabundance of negativity, to prove that "the surge is working," and was thus the right decision. With no political progress having resulted from the surge -- the original purpose of which was to enable such a benchmark -- any sane person can discern that the surge is a failure. This entire fiasco is absolutely pathetic.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:02 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse noneIn2008 See Profile I'm a Fan of noneIn2008

So you heard Obama's plan in his comments to Petraous: "no precipitous change".
Even better, his handlers clarified that he will still consider the possibility of potential reductions starting sometime after 1 year, after he has been in office. That's definitive!

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:53 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse EspritDeVoltaire See Profile I'm a Fan of EspritDeVoltaire

Six months for the Pentagon is like forty days in the Bible. It's not literal, it simply means a long time. They pulled the same song and dance during Vietnam. They'd never give a straight answer and whistled the administration's tune for as long as they could get away with it.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:48 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse laocoon See Profile I'm a Fan of laocoon

and that is why the military is above any criticism.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:16 PM on 04/10/2008
collapse JRandomPoster See Profile I'm a Fan of JRandomPoster

I'm just waiting for it to go from "6 more months" to "We have always been at war with Iraq."

1984 was supposed to be a warning, not a training manual.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:23 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse jeffreyleonard See Profile I'm a Fan of jeffreyleonard

Six more months, six more years
Iraq, Vietnam, trail of tears
It's all a ruse
the excuse they use
when we're done you can leave
and our followers will still believe
you gave up
like Southeast Asia
our poisoned cup
right wing aphasia
can't talk about reality
without dumb duality
win or lose
it's yours to choose
our work is finished
the nation diminished

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:55 PM on 04/09/2008
collapse Nonamnesiac See Profile I'm a Fan of Nonamnesiac

It's time for the adults to take over this prcess and stop listening to the childish chicken-hawk worshippers of Sergant Rock. It's obvious from Petreaeus's testimony that every single life and limb lost is a waste and that every day we have any troops or contractors in Iraq is harmful to US interests and helpful to the interests of Iran.

The only thing left to do after listening to Petraeus and the lies of those who lied us into the war and their subsequent predictions for why we must stay in Iraq is just get out.

This is not complicated. If you want to get out -- and I mean all troops and contractors -- you get out. You put together a plan so that our troops are safe while they're rapidly exiting and exit -- now -- and you make the contractors get out too.

It's the only way -- immediate, safe withdrawal.

It's time to stop listening to the childish chicken-hawk worshippers of Sergeant Rock coming up with ever more stupid, dishonest reasons to remain in Iraq and make the pols get our troops and contractors out of there now -- safe and sound. The next Petraeus testimony, in say the beginning of June, should be about how efficient we were in getting all of our troops and contractors out of Iraq.

It also means we have to shut up Dems who say "the war was wrong, but we must remain" -- Dems like Obama and Clinton.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:43 PM on 04/09/2008
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