Gates:US may halt Iraq troop reductions

[malaise]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7238437.stm
<snip>
[]US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has indicated he may halt troop reductions in Iraq after up to 30,000 American soldiers are sent home this summer.

The Pentagon aims to draw down troop numbers in Iraq from 20 to 15 brigades. One brigade has already left and the last of the five is due to go by July.

After meeting the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, Mr Gates said he wanted a "period of evaluation".

Mr Gates has previously expressed hope 10 brigades could remain by year's end.

He told reporters at a US base in Baghdad on Monday: "A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense.

"In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," he added.

"But one of the keys is how long is that period and then what happens after that."
--------------------
In other words troop levels remain the same as they were pre-surge.

Obama and Clinton, let's hear from you.

[Selatius]

1. He is afraid if we drop the troop levels back to 130K to 150K levels, all gains will be lost.

Baghdad would become a warzone once again with militias taking out old grudges against each other, and Al Anbar would turn into a nest for insurgents once troops are shifted back into Baghdad to fill in the void left with the departure of 30,000 "surge" troops.

[malaise]

2. There are no gains for the people of Iraq

The occupiers must go home.

[Selatius]

5. Wait, sorry, I meant if we drop them lower than pre-surge levels, we lose any gains.

Likely, we will go home at the end of the day. This is a civil war Iraqis ultimately must deal with on their own, sort of like what the Vietnamese ultimately did when US forces withdrew. Ideally, we wouldn't be the one to start the civil war, but we did when we removed Saddam from the equation, and that's a cross we're gonna have to bear, whether we wanted the war or not. The Iraqis will forever remind us if we try to forget.

[malaise]

7. Cool n/t

[Jeanette in FL]

3. Who didn't see that coming

I guess they really think that we are stupid out here. Promises made by this administration are nothing but BS.

Yeah, I would love to hear what the candidates have to say about this.

[malaise]

6. I too would love to hear them

:hi:
Meanwhile the world looks to the Dems

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7230301.stm
<snip>
The importance of who is in the White House is illustrated best by President George W Bush himself. If Al Gore had won the election in 2000, it is unlikely that the US would have invaded Iraq.

In a speech in September 2002, Mr Gore predicted one of the consequences that might flow from an invasion, one which many in the US and around the world are now looking to this election to resolve. It had, he said, "the potential to seriously damage our ability to win the war against terrorism and to weaken our ability to lead the world in this new century".

There is a sense now that the rest of the world has an opportunity to re-engage with the United States.

A McCain presidency could be something quite volatile, given his commitments on US security.

[ClintonTyree]

4. I'm shocked!

The troop withdrawals will only go as far as is mandated? :wow: I don't think ANYONE saw that coming! :sarcasm:

Anyone who thought Bush was actually going to go above and beyond the minimum number of troops he could withdraw is a hopelessly brain-dead Bushbot. We are, after all, going to give Iraq all the time they need to get their shit together, even if it takes decades, like Republican John McCain suggests. He's in for the long haul, willing to sacrifice as many American lives and as much American money as it takes to "get 'er done". :eyes: They've yet to describe what "victory" in Iraq would look like. It's a nebulous, moving target, always in a state of flux. We may never know when they've achieved it because they don't know what "it" is.

A vote for a Republican this November is a vote for "more of the same". If you like what Dubya's done for our country you'll love John McCain. He's a chip right off the old blockhead.

[malaise]

8. Bingo n/t

[spanone]

9. it was not a 'surge' it was an escalation

[spanone]

10. it was not a 'surge' it was an escalation