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Feedback ForumShould we send more troops to Iraq, or pull them out, and why?Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: Jim Formaker Comment: Get our troops out! We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars there in what will ultimately amount to nothing. How much heathcare would that have bought in the United States? (Something our government says we can't afford to pay for). How much of our antiquated and failing infrastructure could we have rebuilt with that money? It's interesting that we can never find the money necessary for taking care of our own people and country but we always can manage to come up with the money for war. Poster: Lynn Applegate Comment: The war was lost in first days after Baghdad fell when there were not enough troops to stop the looting, when we could not assure the safety of the Iraqi people the disintgation of Iraq began. We never should have been there in the first place. The lies told by the Bush administration are finally coming out so lets end this illegal immoral war and get our soldiers out. The occupation of Iraq is only worsening the situation and more troops being surged into Baghdad will not change the outcome. Poster: J North Comment: They bungled the mission and should be held accountable. But pulling out would leave an open sore in the Middle East and we will regret it. This is not Viet Nam. This enemy will come after us. Put in more troops and embed well trained and vetted Iraqi troops with American units like they should have done at the start. The Iraqis know who are the thieves, kidnappers, the insurgents, and jihadists and can put people in prison who belong there. The Iraqis can ensure Americans respect Iraqi culture and norms and win the hearts and minds back. Then once the violence has subsided substantially, help Iraqis build an infrastructure and put people to work. We owe them this for allowing our leaders to wreck their country. Poster: Walt Stone Comment: The answer is to promote employment by starting a WPA style rebuilding project as mentioned by Newt Gingerich on a Sunday talk show. I can't believe anyone would rather fight than work to rebuild their homeland. Get the US contractors out and spend the money on the local workforce. Use the US and Iraqi troops to secure the border from intrusion. Poster: John E. Carroll Comment: We should NOT send more troops. We should pull our troops NOW. Poster: M.J. Weston, Jr. Comment: Let's bring our troops home from Europe, Japan and Korea first. World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War have been over for quite a while now. Then let's build up the Iraqi forces with imbedded U.S. Special Forces advisors, gradually moving our forces including front line fighting reserves and support troops initially into neighboring countries for at most a couple of years then bring them all home. If necessary, split Iraq into three semi autonomous federated states with most of Baghdad as a separate capital and city state. The oil reserves need to be internationalized and placed in trust for the all the Iraqi people with monthly or quarterly distributions to finance ( primarily health, education, welfare and safety of citizens) the three separate state governments and the national government, conditioned upon good peaceful behavior. The trustees would be primarily international representatives but with initial minimal ( but gradually increasing over 20 years) Iraqi participation and would not have any ties to the United Nations. Too bad if the Iraqi politicians don't like it. Poster: R Hawthorne Comment: We will not pull them out any more than we wil pull our troops out of any of the other 100 nations they are posted in. This is not about spreading democracy or stopping terror. It is not even about stealing oil. It is about global domination. Our Government is being controlled by zealots who cannot see the consequences of what they are doing. Poster: N Arad Comment: No, the increase of troops in Iraq would mean a slaughter of a generation here in America and a mass killing of the Iraqi culture. We should not have gone into Iraq and we should get out before any more of our troops or Iraqi citizens die. Poster: Sue Luke Comment: We definitely need to get out as quickly as possible. It was a bungle to ever go in there, and all we're doing is making it worse. George Bush should be tried for crimes against humanity, just like Saddam Hussein--but both trials should be/should have been held in the World Court. I have seen first-hand how much people in foreign countries fear and, yes, hate our country. Let's stop the killing now. Poster: Sandra Gates Comment: Sending more troops to Iraq will not resolve the current situation. We need to send over a nonpartisan delegation to Iraq to investigate and come up with a plan of action that would facilitate Iraqi soldiers independance. This administration has profitted from this war. Bernard Kerik was suppose to be reponsible for training Iraqi soldiers from 2003 to 2004. What happened? Poster: Brian Carey Comment: Pull them out now! George Mcgovern and William Polk have outlined a rational plan for doing what we will have to do. Poster: maureen horstman Comment: we should get out of their asap! Poster: Janet Comment: Bring the guys home! We should not have been there in the first place. What a mess!!!! Poster: Mr. Sixto B. Alcantara Comment: Send more troops because we owe it to the inhabitants of Irak to restore order and bring peace so that they can go about setting up the state or states and leader or leaders they want to establish. If we leave, there'll be chaos. Poster: Matt Corwin Comment: The U.S. should get our troops out of Iraq NOW, because our presence is only fueling violence. We should accept responsibility for what has happened and make commitments to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country. Poster: Robert Vogel Comment: There are fewer troops in Iraq than there were in Vietnam, but their options are just as poor. Ultimately they will have to leave. Sooner will be less expensive than later. Poster: Sharon Hudson Comment: Bring the troops home. The invasion of Iraq should never have happened. Too many soldiers are dying so Bush came save his legacy. They are now in a civil war, which we are responsible for, but it is up to them to solve their problems, it is their country not ours. America has no right to dictate how others should live. We have become the evil empire. Poster: Kenneth Patrick Comment: I've been watching what is going on and it's my opinion that if we actually need more troops over there to EDUCATE their POLICEING practices, then and only THEN, and if that is ACTUALLY the case, should we send more of or heros over there to die. I don't think we should do there fighting for them. But I am all for helping them do there own fighting. Poster: Howard Comment: Troops out, bases out, embassy out, rascals out. Poster: Catherine Margerin Comment: The troops never should have been there in the first place and now we should do what the Iraqi people want us to do: go home. The troops should be pulled as soon as possible. A violent foreign occupation is unacceptable to the people there and is a magnet for violence. In France during the Nazi occupation, the resistance would have endured for generation is the German troops had stayed. We would never stand in the US for an invading Foreign army killing our children and controlling our government, why do we expect the Iraqi to tolerate it? Poster: Michelle Phillips Comment: No,not more troops! I believe our Government along with others,like Russia,China,the European Union,Turkey, should have a true diplomatic sit down with Iraq's neighbors,this includes Iran and Syria. Lets see what that produces,hopefully there'll be enough concern about the entire region emploding,or exploding, that most countries if not all will help stabilize Iraq. As soon as possible,I think that should happen.That way we don't let our troops down,the ones that make it home a live,for those that made it back in pieces(physically and mentally),and for those that died for the cause. With Much Respect, Michelle Phillips Poster: Joe Colton Comment: We should follow the reoomendations of the Iraq Study Group and withdraw in phases. The war was unneessary and for bogus reasons. It is not the central battle on the war on terror. Too many of our young men and women have been killed or maimed by Bush's folly and incompetence. Poster: Sharon Abreu Comment: We should pull the U.S. troops out now. They never should have gone in the first place. But the point now is that there is increasing instability with the presence of U.S. forces. As long as it is believed we are an occupier (which we are), there will be increased instability. We should get out now, and do what we can to support international efforts to help decrease the violence and establish nonviolent peace efforts if at all possible. We've created a terrible situation there. Our country now has a huge financial debt. How can we help to TRULY bring peace in the world - and respond to climate change and the many ramifications of dealing with that - if we don't stop spending billions of dollars we don't have? We have to stop now. We have to stop supporting those in Congress (including those like my Democratic congressman Rick Larsen) who continue to support more money and more troops to Iraq with no end in sight. We have to continue to bring to light the suffering caused by the depleted uranium we use on people in countries we invade/attack and on our own soldiers. Poster: John Bell Comment: If we were doing some good Iraq there would be reason to stay. But since we are not, we should leave. Poster: Olga M. Graves Comment: This is an illegal war. For the mistakes of our current adminstration we may owe Iraq the reconstruction of their country -- but, we don't owe them the lives of our young men and women. Our kids should NOT have to die trying to separate tribal people from killing each other. This is still about oil. Poster: Richard Toole Comment: We should pull out all our troops as soon as possible. We should never have invaded in the first place. waiting will only cost more lives and other precious resources. We should provide humanitarian Aide and preserve our resources for needs at home and other parts of the world. Violence only fosters more violence! Poster: nancy low Comment: please pull them out, at least to the borders of Iraq. Poster: Jane Comment: Get out while there are still some people alive...Iraqis and GIs! This invasion was illegal....Sovereignty belongs to all nations...not just for our so-called political/financial allies. Further, situations like Dafur should be handled through the U.N. with all countries seeking to assist. It is disgusting to watch war profiteers/oil thieves make their blood money while the rest of the world's people die for them. Pray for Justice. Poster: Arline Granberg Comment: Our presence is making the situation more volatile. The carnage will only escalate as long as we're there. Poster: John & Nicole O'Hara Comment: We should take our troops of Iraq right now today Dec.15, 2006 Poster: Reiner C. Clode Comment: Americans have been totally brainwashed, Get our boys out of there as quickly as possible! Poster: Jerre Comment: No. 1st we don't have the troops available. 2nd, we don't need any more of our soldiers killed for a political debacle.3rd, it won't do any good. We should have never gone in there in the first place and all we've done is mess everything up. Bush should be impeach if he puts more troops in after what the citizens of this country said on Nov. 4th. Poster: Ellen Rann Comment: The US should make every effort to get out of Iraq. More troops will expand our presence there and will not have any effect other than more people getting killed, and less troops will just be more of the same. Neither more troops nor less troops is the answer. Poster: Chuck Schmitz Comment: Victory will not depend upon increasing or decreasing troops, only the date that the final clash between Sunnis, aided by Saudi Arabia, and Shiites, aided by Iran, for dominance in Iraq. If we increase troops it will be delayed until we give up and leave. If we decrease now it will happened soon. There cannot be a victory for a unified government in Iraq, at least not for many decades, maybe centuries. These folks have been taught for too long to hate anyone that doesn’t believe exacted as they do. Our only chance to have a civilized Iraq was when we first invaded. We missed the opportunity in two critical areas. We didn’t hold towns/provinces, ammunition dumps, etc. as we moved thru the country, and we didn’t secure the borders. We should have used enough troops, maybe 500,000-800,000, such that we could have left in each conquered (liberated?) town an overwhelming force such that no insurgent would even think of attacking the coalition forces. We also should have secured the airports, and all train lines, roads that led to neighboring countries, again with overwhelming forces for the same reason. In addition a large force should have secured Baghdad such that no one would think of looting. The same goes for any ammunition or arms stashes. Then we could have gone about the business of rebuilding Iraq while there was peace and security. This overwhelming force would have replaced the heavy-handed iron-fisted control that was necessary by Saddam to maintain control over the majority Shiites. It is too late now for us. Now is the time to just go home and make sure we don’t ever again do such a bad job trying to help a foreign nation. Poster: James Hall Comment: The United States has been wallowing in that Middle Eastern sandbox long enough. If more troops are sent' who are they going fight? The ongoing struggle of the US army in Iraq is beginning to resemble what is going on between the Israel and the Palestinians. Poster: greg zimmerman Comment: Begin withdrawal of US troops and negotiate with Syria and Iran to assist Iraq in stabilizing. It's a civil war between age-old factions of Shia and Sunni which has existed since Mohammed died in 632. Poster: Richard Young Comment: Just as surely as did the invasion of Pearl Harbor, our unprovoked attack on Iraq and the subsequent death of over 600,000 Iraqis (so far) shoud and probably wil go down in history as a day of infamy. How can anyone possibly believe the unorovoked destruction of an entire nation is right or good? We have helped lead them into a civil war, and have greatly motivated terrorists to seek revenge against us. What evidence is there that our continued presence in Iraq can either atone for or correct these situations? Poster: Ken Sholl Comment: The war is lost. Time to come home. Poster: John Doe Comment: We should not be there at all...... Poster: Marilyn Miller Comment: I think we should begin right away to decrease the troops in Iraq. I don't see any evidence that they are helping to stabilize the country or to provide any meaningful sense of security. Poster: Sal Jay Giardina Comment: We should decrease the number and exposure of our military. We have been successful in completing our mission, as best I can discern our mission. The only presence we should have is diplomatic (and advisory, for a transitional period). Nations in the region should be encouraged to step forward an replace our people as we vacate. Poster: Wendy Hershey Comment: Bring U.S. troops home NOW. Congress should vote not to spend more money on the disastrous illegal immoral occupation. Poster: edie groner Comment: We should decrease troops and bring them home in 07, and not continue to occupy Iraq or other middle eastern countries with US long term bases. We are there to protect the oil and we should become energy independent of oil politically and environmentally now. I agree with Tom Friedman who now says we should bring our troops home now and not continue our co-dependent relationship with Iraq where we are not wanted and putting more soldiers and civilians in harms way. Poster: Carol Seeley Comment: We should decrease Americain troop levels starting immediately. Military troops indicate occupation and force and the pain of many years of the US imposing its will upon Iraq - weather by sanctions or bombings or other military actions. Only when Iraq / local Iraqis request a certain kind of assistance should we respond to their need. As for the reparations we owe them, they (Iraqis) should tell us how they want reparations to be paid - by cash and/or technical assistance. Then we send non-military assistance, even to train their security or army or whatever they need. By that I mean that the assistance we give is a must - after the devastation we reaped on them, and also a must that it be offered and delivered in civilian clothes and as a guest in Iraq. Poster: Charles Saylor Comment: We should never have put our troops in Iraq and certainly we should pull them out; now. The administration talks about winning. Winning what? There was no al queda in Iraq prior to the war, but this war will result in their being in Iraq. Of course no politician can admit that they murdered 2800 + soldiers and made cripples of 20,000 + others; so I guess we have to kill more to prove ...what? This is the worst president we've ever had and at a time when we needed a good one. Poster: Hilda Comment: Decrease because we do not have enough troops available. Poster: Professor Emeritus P. Bagnolo Comment: The nation should be split into united states reflecting the majority opinion thereof each state. Then America can leave them to their own devices and that should be done Immediately, I see perhaps 3-5 states. Then we should pay them reparation for our insulting attack on that nation by a war criminal adminsitration that does not represent the more intelligent and Christian people of America. Jesus was a pacifist. Allow them to make their states, get out and pay reparation. Make the contractors cough up all their profits for reparation money. No one should profit from war. |
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