Richardson sticks to Iraq message

This should bring out all of the rightwing lunitic fringe "mission accomplished" members again.

We're stuck in Iraq with 160,000 troops and countless Blackwater hired killers...I mean personal security guards...who are doing 15 month tours, meanwhile Iraq has no military or no government to speak of 5 full years after the Republicans pre-emptivly invaded under the guise of WMD's.

The military is broken and will have to start withdrawing in the coming months because they've been over-extended by the Republican Draftdodger in Chief and this will put us right back to where we started from in 2003...and round and round we go, "mission accomplished" is no more "accomplished" than when the dumbass Republicans in the White House started this stupid war in 2003.. but they have "mission accomplished" getting tens of thousands of Americans and Iraqi's killed and wasting billions upon billions of our money.

GALLUP POLL = Iraq still sucks:

In spite of what the Wingnut (Fox Noise Channel talking heads, Rush etc) punditocracy would have you believe, American opinions on almost all aspects of the Iraq situation have remained largely unchanged. There has been some moderating improvement in attitudes, but the shifts are very small, and nowhere near what has been advertised. And, interestingly, most shifts appear to be in the Republican-leaning independents, who have a natural tendency to cluelessness.

-Who will do a better job with Iraq?

"Thinking now about the political parties: Do you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party would do a better job of dealing with each of the following issues and problems? How about the situation in Iraq?"

11/30-12/2 Results:

Republicans - 38%
Democrats - 48%

-Was the war a mistake?

"In view of the developments since we first sent our troops to Iraq, do you think the United States made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, or not?"

War a mistake - 58%
War not a mistake - 39%

-Is "the surge" working?

"Based on what you have heard or read about the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq that began earlier this year, do you think the increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is making the situation there better, not making much difference, or is it making the situation there worse?"

Better - 40%
Not Much Difference - 39%
Worse - 20%

-How is the US doing in Iraq?

"In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq: very well, moderately well, moderately badly, or very badly?"

Very Well - 8%
Moderately Well - 35%
Moderately Badly - 43%
Very Badly - 21%

-Will the US "win" in Iraq? (whatever that means).

"Which comes closer to your view about the war in Iraq? You think the U.S. will definitely win the war in Iraq. You think the U.S. will probably win the war in Iraq. You think the U.S. can win the war in Iraq, but you don't think it will win. OR, You do not think the U.S. can win the war in Iraq."

Definitely Win - 15%
Probably Win - 22%
Can Win,But Won't - 20%
Cannot Win - 37%

-How long do we stay in Iraq?

"If you had to choose, which do you think is better for the U.S.: to keep a significant number of troops in Iraq until the situation there gets better, even if that takes many years, or to set a timetable for removing troops from Iraq and to stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq at the time?"

Stay Until Situation Gets Better: 38%

Stick to a Withdrawal Timetable: 59%

- How much confidence do you have in the current Iraqi government?

"How much confidence do you have in the Iraqi government to meet the goals the United States has laid out for Iraq: a great deal, a fair amount, not much, or none at all"

A Great Deal - 2%
A Fair Amount - 30%
Not Much - 42%
None at All - 24%

There it is, despite recent rightwing spin most Americans realize that Iraq is and has been a great big clusterfreak, thanks again Republicans!

I laugh everytime I hear one of the rightwing nuts come out and claim "mission accomplished" in Iraq...again.

What a bunch of fools, we've got thousands of troops over there and NOTHING is getting done.

The so-called "surge" is just a way for Bush to cover his butt and pass off his self-made mess to the new Democratic President in 09.

Mission UnAccomplished:

http://photobucket.com/mediadetail/?media=http%3A%2F%2Fi76.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj2%2Fdanakf1%2FArtwork%2520by%2520Dana%2520Flores%2FMission-Accomplished.gif&searchTerm=mission%20accomplished&pageOffset=15

Just a reminder of one of the many thousands of individual tragedies that make up the fiasco in Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR2007121901381.html

"President's Address to the Nation"
-Jan 2007

"To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution."

--George Bush
--January 10, 2007

Let's see, how many of these objectives has W actually obtained?, hmmm.....oh that's right, ZERO.....if so many innocent people hadn't already died in W's Excellent Adventure in Iraq I'd be bent over sideways laughing at this administrations ineptness.

A REALITY OF WAR AND THE AFTERMATH.

At age 17, I enlisted in the United States Army and joined the 24th Infantry Regiment Combat Team, originally known as the Buffalo Soldiers, and found myself fighting a bloody war in a place I had never heard of: Korea. During nine months of fierce combat, I developed not only a soldier's mentality but a political consciousness as well. so saying I am in agreement with those wishing to bring an immediate end to the war. which I, like many others, feel its an unjust-war.

$12 billion a month, that's all folks. The terrorist won't need to blow us up, they'll just bankrupt us. Of coarse, they get a big assist from the idiots at the Pentagon:

Lexigton, S.C.--C&D Distributors, a parts supply firm, collected $20 million from the U.S. military over a six-year period by filing fake shipping invoices. The sisters who own the company found a flaw in the Pentagon's purchasing system:Bills labeled "priority" are usually paid automatically. Among the sisters' greatest hits: a $293,451 bill for shipping an eighty-nine-cent split washer to a Florida base. Which would seem outrageous, if not for the $998,798 they invoiced for sending two more washers to Texas.

But at least the Pentagon supported the troops in 2007 (NOT!)

*Required that soldiers discharged early because of battlefield injuries, repay their enlistment bonuses

*Sent the longest-serving National Guard unit home after 729 days of combat in Iraq--one day shy of the 730 that the soldiers needed to qualify for education benefits

*Omitted 20,000 cases of brain trauma from the official tally of troops injured in Iraq

*Denied medical benefits to 22,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress by discharging them for having enlisted with "pre-existing personality disorders"

(Troubling Times-- R.S. magazine).

Please look into Ron Paul(www.ronpaul2008.com). He will end the war ASAP. Fix the dollar and help the country...constitutionally. www.ronpaul2008.com

Where's the Swamp story about the humiliating cave in by Dems in both houses of Congress over war funding? When Pelosi and Reid spew meaningless rhetoric that there will be no war funding without timelines, it gets big headlines in the Swamp. When they completely reverse themselves and bend to Bush's will (again), it gets little or no coverage.

Richardson's whole plan for foreign policy (starting with bringing the troops home) is smart. And of course redirecting $3 billion a week will do a lot for our domestic policy too.

I remember NPR commentators 2 years ago talking about how ridiculous it is to use the continuing US military presence and huge cash payments as an incentive for the middle east to get there stuff together in Iraq and the surrounding area… why is that an incentive? They don’t want us there. That’s pretty clear. The commentators were talking about how it made more sense to use the withdrawal of US troops as the incentive. When the entire planet thinks it’s a good idea. Why is Richardson the only candidate advocating it?