The troops have to stay.

[gulliver]

If the troops don't stay in Iraq, it will fall apart. If they do stay, Iraq will stay together ... until the troops leave.

If the troops don't stay in Iraq, the Republicans will say we didn't stay long enough to succeed ... no matter how long they stay.

If the troops don't stay in Iraq, the Republicans will look like they made a huge mistake ... to a greater extent than now.

So the troops just have to stay. There was no plan for them to leave anyway. We need to stick to the plan.

[mike_c]

1. I can't decide whether this is parody or frighteningly close....

...to the truth. No reflection on your post, gulliver-- it's just that it's SUCH lame justification that it's very likely the operative reasoning among republicans (and not a few dems) in Congress, LOL.

[gulliver]

12. It's sort of both parody and frighteningly close...

... life imitating satire. The people that make these arguments expect the counter-arguments to be dropped, and lately they always are. It's weird.

[karynnj]

13. nicely done

Like the other posters - it took careful reading to see it was satire/parody - and as you say it's imitating life.

[annabanana]

2. The troops are sitting in the middle of a civil war with

targets on their backs and damn little cover. The Iraqis they are training as just as likely to kill them as the guy on the street.

As the situation continues to deteriorate (and it will) Iran's influence over the Shia will increase and they will have 160,000 hostages.

I am so damn sick of this.

[tocqueville]

3. the troops ARE Staying in Iraq and Iraq IS falling apart

more and more for everyday and one reason for that is the presence of the troops

so the whole assessment is completely flawed...

[Igel]

4. And yet, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2351868

Who the ball's lobbed to in this round, and how hard ... let's just call it an empirical question and go have a :beer:

The devils are in the details. More than one devil, me thinks, in this.

[PWRinNY]

5. So this is all about how Republicans and Democrats LOOK?

What about what's best for our troops? What about what's best for the innocent Iraqi civilians being killed every day? What about the fact that Iraqis want America out of their country?

What about the burden on our children and grandchildren and the burden being placed upon them over this travesty? What about the children and grandchildren who never got to exist or know their fathers and mothers?

What if foreigners invaded America? What if they came here and took our country away from us? What if we built our own insurgency to get them out, but they wouldn't leave, all because their political parties were at war against each other on the other side of the world, to decide how to make themselves look better and the other party look bad?

This isn't about pride. It's not even about winning or losing elections. It's about doing what's right.

[kentuck]

6. It is not up to the Democrats in Washington to decide...

It is up to the American people to decide whether or not they want the troops to stay.

[RDANGELO]

7. I don't think it makes a bit of difference whether the troops start leaving

tomorrow or three years from now. The country is in a civil war which is going to escalate further. That was pre ordained because the Sunnis never bought into the government. Eventually the Shiites will gain control of the country ,and they will control it the same way the Bathists did with fear and intimidation. Thousands of Innocent people will die or disappear.This will all happen whether we are there or not. There is really only two questions left. When is the US going to leave, and what is going to be the relationship between Iran and Iraq.

[tocqueville]

9. except for the 2500 more troops having to die in vain....

If the US pulls out now, this will be avoided.

[BeFree]

8. The plan?

What plan? Stay til we win?

We can not stick to 'the plan' since we will never win. That's why the Dems have come up with an alternative. A way to gauge if this is a failure or becomes a success. Our plan is reasonable and workable.

I'd say we were as successful as we are ever going to be, and that was in the second week. There need to be limits. There are too many lives on the line to stay the course, like we did right up to the end in Viet Nam.

Remember the same argument you present is the same one from that Viet era, and we all know what happened then.

[AtomicKitten]

10. I would to hear the MSM talk about the PERMANENT BASES.

[Monkeyman]

11. We will have to deside this in Nov.

Repulgs thnk they are right and laying all their cards on the table in 06. We have to back the ones to get us out

www.john06.com