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| Sununu: U.S. could leave Iraq next year |
| 2007-04-01 |
| Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said yesterday that he could envision having all American combat troops home from Iraq by the end of next year and that conditions appear to be improving in Iraq's capital as the Iraqi government assumes more responsibility. "I think the goal of withdrawing (all American) combat troops by the end of 2008 is very realistic and attainable," Sununu told the New Hampshire Sunday News in an exclusive phone interview from Baghdad. Sununu, touring the war-scarred country this weekend as part of a four-member congressional delegation, said Dec. 31, 2008, is a goal -- not a deadline -- for removing combat troops and that other military personnel would probably stay on to advise and assist the Iraqis. "I think it would be foolish for anyone to predict a day when there would be zero ...," said Sununu, who faces re-election in 2008. Sununu marks the second member of the state's four-person congressional delegation to visit Iraq this month. Two weeks ago, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., joined another delegation that visited Baghdad and was told by military leaders that more time would be needed to assess whether a surge of American troops in Baghdad would make the country safer. Yesterday, Sununu said Iraq recently deployed about 6,000 of its own troops to Baghdad and established 10 districts to help with security. |
| Posted by:Dave D. |
| #8 Verlaine, I understand the objective and the rationale for it. My concern is whether we are really going to be able to eliminate those forces arrayed against us if the "government" there has a revolving door for the Shiite/Iranian backed bad guys. If they won't get serious and stomp out the Saderites and other Iranian hand puppets then we are in for a long tough slog with minimal hope of success. Again, I'm having a bad day after reading one soldier's perspective on Poweline this morning. I am pretty sure there is a big element of fact to what he writes and that makes me very concerned. |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2007-04-01 21:33 |
| #7 Mike, that is exactly the reason the Dhimmos are pushing so hard for a troop withdrawal under Bush : they know if they do get a Dhimmo President, he/she will be trapped by overarching political reality and unable to do a cut-and-run on Iraq, because of the spectacle of the last helicopter out of Saigon. If on the other hand, they can get Bush to do a withdrawal and Iraq turns to another Saigon evac, they can blame Bush. And they think they can then get a Dhimmo in the White House. They don't care about victory, American lives, American prestige, American security, or Iraqi lives : the Dhimmos just want power, and power in a bland, do-nothing era so they can pump the pork. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-04-01 14:10 |
| #6 ...I'm wondering why anyone assumes that Fall 2008 is the absolute latest W can pull them out - he doesn't have to pull them out at all, no matter what happens (assuming Congress doesn't have the balls to actually cut the funds. I'd love nothing more than to see W say(in so many words)"I believe we should be there and I will leave it to my successor to decide whether or not they should come home." Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-04-01 13:29 |
| #5 Not the way I think we should look at it, Remote. It's first and foremost about our national interests. Those - I think - clearly call for us achieving some sort of basic viability for the Iraqi govt. in terms of security. The details of how every little thing goes in Iraq, now or later, will not be important to us. But having reached in and smashed one of the baddest actors around, we need to defeat the various forces ranged against us by establishing basic order. No one will remember a weak or vacillating US if the medium-term outcome is an Iraqi govt. in basic control of its territory and cooperative on issues of terrorism and jihad. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-04-01 13:20 |
| #4 I'm having a down day on the situation. Is the government there worth supporting? Are the people going to do a damn thing to move their lives forward and stop the militias? Are we just running in place? If we are then I say we leave and let them kill on another. Hey we tried and they were too imbued with the "inshallah" mindset to take responsibility for themselves. |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2007-04-01 12:59 |
| #3 His father was smart. I guess maybe the brains skipped a generation. |
| Posted by: RWV 2007-04-01 12:00 |
| #2 As long as US leaves Iraq in ruins, it's OK by me. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-04-01 06:55 |
| #1 "I think it would be foolish for anyone to predict a day when there would be zero ...," No, dipwad, it is disastrously foolish for you to be talking about an end-game in terms of dates rather than outcomes. Just as it was for Gen. Casey, when he started to do it in '05. Can anybody here play this game? Sununu is one of the several for which I previously had some respect and expectations. Now I classify him smack in the middle of the pack of utterly mediocre, clumsy, and cowardly politicos who go to Washington for no apparent reason other than to keep going there. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-04-01 01:18 |