W.H. defends Syria strike: "We learned our lesson" in Iraq

[Eugene]

Source: CBS News

September 8, 2013 1:35 PM

W.H. defends Syria strike: "We learned our lesson" in Iraq

By Lindsey Boerma

(CBS News) The United States "learned our lesson" in Iraq, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Sunday on "Face the Nation," making the case for why a limited military strike in Syria won't escalate into a repeat of the nearly nine-year war.

"The president opposed Iraq because he knew it was an inchoate mission with unplanned for consequences, unbudgeted for costs, and we saw the result of that," McDonough said. "And that's why the president undertook the effort that he did with our military leadership to end that war."

Lawmakers remain split as they head into a vote this week on whether to approve President Obama's request for limited military involvement in Syria amid mounting evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. Concern about engaging in the country's two-year-old civil war is "understandable," McDonough said

"It is important to recognize that we need to be disciplined to not allow the mission to creep, not allow ourselves to be pulled into the middle of this," McDonough said. "We're not talking about government, we're not talking about occupation... we're talking about very consequential, targeted action to reinforce a prohibition against these weapons."

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Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57601886/w.h-defends-syria-strike-we-learned-our-lesson-in-iraq/

[sibelian]

1. Go home, White House.

You're drunk.

[rusty fender]

5. + 1

[RetroLounge]

9. +100

RL

[scarletwoman]

10. This may be one of the best replies I've ever seen!

[leftstreet]

16. +1

[Jackpine Radical]

26. No, no. Get the keys.

Don't let them drive.

Remember that car Bush ran into the ditch? Well…

[840high]

35. +10

[L0oniX]

40. DU rec n/t

[Starry Messenger]

43. Excellent.

[Initech]

47. And the last thing they need is more booze!

[newfie11]

2. If we learned our lesson in Iraq

We wouldn't be wanting another war.

[durablend]

3. The American people learned their lesson

"HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Raksha]

21. Yeah, the American people learned their lesson...

but the neocon warmongers and the Beltway crowd obviously didn't.

[Bjorn Against]

4. Yes we did learn our lesson, we learned that we need to resist Presidents who lie us in to war

[L0oniX]

39. Unfortunatly the bull shit national security secrets ploy helps to keep us uninformed. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Well, it's a relief that we won't be going to war with Iraq again....at least, not immediately.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. "the mission" has already "crept".

The only lesson these idiots learned from Iraq is that they can do and get away with anything.

[L0oniX]

38. "The only lesson" I disagree. They also learned they can be war criminals and get away with it. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Why did Obama appoint to high positions a batch of people who had voted for and supported

an inchoate mission with unplanned for consequences, unbudgeted for costs? The fact that he did so, going as far as appointing the Republican Iraq War Yes voter Hagel to head Defense, indicates that the lesson was not learned and makes clear that the same set of idiots who fell for or promoted Iraq are still in place and the fact that Obama did not appoint a single opponent of the Iraq war to any positions makes certain that only the war hungry and easily duped have the President's ear right now.

[forestpath]

30. +1000

[L0oniX]

37. ^^^^this^^^^

[Igel]

11. "the effort that he did with our military leadership to end that war."

This is a disturbing quote: "And that's why the president undertook the effort that he did with our military leadership to end that war."

The Status of Forces Agreement from before Obama's inauguration called winding down the war and having all troops out by a specific date.

The Iraqis insisted on holding to that agreement. Not Obama. It was the Iraqi government who rejected proposal after proposal. Obama's team argued for having troops on the ground as emergency back-ups and for training/advising.

The only "effort" required for what happened was honoring the agreement signed by his predecessor and have an orderly withdrawal. That effort wasn't optional. Those troops had to be out.

I guess he could have just said, "Abandon all the equipment, files, and just make your way to Istanbul or Kuwait City and catch a commercial flight home."

[scarletwoman]

13. They're slinging the bullshit so hard and so fast, they don't have time for actual facts. (nt)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. But, the dog ate his homework.

[Jefferson23]

14. I got news for you bright light, a strike wouldn't need to be just like Iraq to be a disaster.

Stupid defense and they learned what? Ha!

Jimmy Carter: Syria Strike Illegal Without U.N. Support
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/jimmy-carter-syria_n_3844094.html

[City Lights]

15. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. nt

[darkangel218]

27. Im laughing.

[Brigid]

32. I'll do this:

[scarletwoman]

17. No, they haven't. They still want to do the "regime change" thing.

Syria’s Assad must go, Obama says

(explanation of edit: I didn't actually edit, I just had to open the edit page in order to copy the link to a different post)

[Solly Mack]

18. Damn

[frylock]

19. comedy gold

[bvar22]

20. I agree. They DID learn their lesson in Iraq.

The LESSON of Iraq:

An elective Military Intervention in the ME is worth
[font size=3]Hundreds of $BILLIONS$ of No Bid/No Oversight Taxpayer $DOLLARS$[/font] to "connected" Private Contractors and Arms Manufacturers and related War PROFITEERS/Investors.....the 1% [/font]

[Brigid]

33. "War is a racket."

-- Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC

[grahamhgreen]

44. Actually, it's more like 3-6 trillion...

[bvar22]

45. ...and counting!

[Autumn]

22. "effort "? I thought that timing was an agreement from bushy boy and crew and the Iraq

government held the US to it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. This crossed into surreal a while ago

[jsr]

24. Trust us.

[Adsos Letter]

25. "...unplanned for consequences..."

You mean, like this?:

[IMG][/IMG]

[dkf]

28. Or not...

[KoKo]

29. McDonough Says: "TRUST US! We Won't Lie Like the Bushies Did"....

WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS....NOT, THE BAD GUYS!

As he reads from his Playbook.

[indepat]

31. How a limited military strike in Syria would resemble Iraq would be both would be wars of

aggression in violation of international law. And did that Iraqi venture not drain the Treasury of a reported $6 trillion, an amount Republicans gladly added to the national debt so they could bludgeon the social safety net once a Democrat were in office. Now someone tell me this is the scenario.

[markpkessinger]

34. If the Administration is so sure this will be only a "limited engagement" . . .

. . . why have they been unwilling to rule out boots on the ground?

[L0oniX]

36. Lesson NOT learned: Lie the people into war and they won't trust you and might never trust you...

again.

Lesson 2: Don't prosecute US war criminals and the rule of law means nothing.

Lesson 3: Don't follow the will of the people and Democracy will die. [ ooops ...break this one and the others won't matter]

[Spitfire of ATJ]

41. Look how CBS said "We" backing up the latest Moran claim that Iraq happened under Obama.

[blkmusclmachine]

42. Who's "we" and "our" ?!?!

1 Party, 2 Faces

[Initech]

46. No they didn't. No they didn't.

[Skittles]

48. not enough to hold anyone accountable