"basskisser" wrote in message
om...
From Harley Sorenson:

So why are will still there?

Besides stealing Iraqi oil, our politicians want to save face. If they
pull our troops out now, they reason, the rest of the world will laugh
at them. "Ha-ha-ha," the world will say. "Silly Americans."

Can't have that. Better to continue repressing the 25 million people
of Iraq, who will continue to respond by picking off our troops, one
by one.

Can't have a red face.

It's not about a "red face". Leaving Somalia after 19 of our guys got
killed sent the worst message possible...that we could be cowed into leaving
an unfinished job. In hindsight, I think if Clinton had to do it again,
he'd have sent more troops in rather than pull the others out. It sent a
very bad message to terrorists that our will can be broken pretty easily
once the casualties start to mount. I'm sure that played a large role in
the 9/11 attack.



Little do those egomaniacs realize that the rest of the world will
stand and applaud if we leave Iraq. "Finally," the world will say.
"Finally, the Americans are using good sense.

Not likely. They'll say "Finally, the Americans got what was coming to
them."

Bully for you,
Americans."




But admitting our mistake and leaving Iraq is not likely to happen.
Even if we elect a new president next year

Again, not likely.


we voters can't win.

*You* Democratic voters can't win. *We* Republican voters are doing fine.


The
new guy, whoever he is, will be afraid to pull out of Iraq for fear
the opposition party will label him "soft on terrorism" or "weak on
national defense."

Not just the opposition party...the terrorists will also.


We've seen all this before, with Vietnam. Presidents of both parties
kept the war going because none wanted to be "the first American
president to lose a war."

Both parties? In 1965, LBJ sent the troops in. In 1973, Nixon brought the
troops out. Was there somebody in between who I don't know about?




Ego. Hundreds of thousands died so that a handful of men would not (in
least in their opinion) lose face.



The solution to the Iraq problem is to get out. Now. Today. Let the
Iraqis rule themselves. Meanwhile, go to the U.N. and offer as much
assistance as humanly possible to help the Iraqis rebuild their
country.

Even if Saddam and the Baath party comes back?



Bush and his minions used to tell us that we had no quarrel with the
Iraqi people, that it was Saddam we were after.

Well, Saddam has vanished. Who is our enemy now?

Saddam. He's still alive, correct?