Iriemon said:A shift in WH policy? I was heaing before the troops would be withdrawn when the mission was completed, when we had victory. Now the president seems to be saying the commanders on the ground will be making the decisions.
oldreliable67 said:I see no inconsistency in those statements versus his previous statements. Bush has always maintained that as Iraqi forces stand up, we will stand down (to paraphrase his earlier comments). This does not seem inconsistent with "staying the course", rather it seems to add specificity and describe more fully the criteria to be used to judge when the course has been completed.
Just my opinion, - YMMV.
He sure jumped the gun to engage in this war (his war) why is he "passing the buck" now.
oldreliable67 said:Sorry, don't quite understand your statement. Are you trying say, "He sure jumped the gun to engage in this war (his war) [and that is] why [he] is "passing the buck" now." Or what?
"jumped the gun" is your opinion and certainly you're entitled to it. Others, though, disagree. And "passing the buck" seems to also be a POV that Bush detractors will readily agree with, though, IMO, a pragmatic look suggests that there is no justification for that argument. And thats my opinion - YMMV.
Now it is an entire mess and he has thrown his arms up and said somebody else deal with it.
oldreliable67 said:Thats an opinion. Care to offer some evidence to back it up? A comparison of statements earlier versus now, for example? Or maybe a quote or two from the "National Strategy on Iraq" as compared to previous statements? Or, heck, anything at all?
oldreliable67 said:I see no inconsistency in those statements versus his previous statements. Bush has always maintained that as Iraqi forces stand up, we will stand down (to paraphrase his earlier comments). This does not seem inconsistent with "staying the course", rather it seems to add specificity and describe more fully the criteria to be used to judge when the course has been completed.
Just my opinion, - YMMV.
oldreliable67 said:Iriemon,
Your reservations are understandable. I well remember how Vietnam was micromanaged from Washington - and we all know how that turned out. Every Pres since then has given just a bit more authority to their CGs on the scene. Bush (I think) recognizes that nobody is going to know more about the situation than the folks on the ground there and involved on a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis. He is going to give great credence to their opinions. But, I also believe that Bush, when he refers to the 'commanders' on the ground in Iraq, is also being, well, maybe a bit disengenious. I feel sure that he is also listening to input from other agencies as well, i.e., the CIA, NSA, and other alphabet soup folks.
IMO, Bush's task is to talk all this input and meld into something that resembles a coherent national policy. Can he do that? Remains to be seen. It is in all of our best interest that he get it right. The score so far? Unfortunately, it is quite hard to know.
My impression is that the majority of our guys on the ground there think considerably more progress is being made than portrayed by the MSM (See Lieberman's comments for example, or some of the soldiers blogs on IraqtheModel.com). While overall new enlistment rates are down a bit, I'm told that re-enlistment rates among Iraq veterans is huge - our guys are voting not with their feet, but with their lives. (Was on the train coming home last nite with the XO of the JAG unit here who mentioned it to me. He mentioned a web site for it but it escapes at the moment. Will try and find that link.)
alphieb said:Nah, just my opinion. kidding...I'll find LINK LATER
KCConservative said:If I had a nickel for every time you've made this promise, I'd be a rich man.
jallman said:Wait wait wait...what I dont understand is this...in the beginning of the war, everyone was crying out for him to listen to his commanders...and now you guys are hemming and hawing because he is doing just that? Where is the logic in that? It seems like anything the man says is wrong.
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