Leaving Iraq, Honorably by Chuck Hagel (1 Viewer)

[aps]

Now this is a Republican who I respect.

Leaving Iraq, Honorably

By Chuck Hagel
Sunday, November 26, 2006; B07

There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not the Americans. . . .

The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq. The cost of combat in Iraq in terms of American lives, dollars and world standing has been devastating. We've already spent more than $300 billion there to prosecute an almost four-year-old war and are still spending $8 billion per month. The United States has spent more than $500 billion on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And our effort in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, partly because we took our focus off the real terrorist threat, which was there, and not in Iraq.

We are destroying our force structure, which took 30 years to build. We've been funding this war dishonestly, mainly through supplemental appropriations, which minimizes responsible congressional oversight and allows the administration to duck tough questions in defending its policies. Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility in the past four years.

It is not too late. The United States can still extricate itself honorably from an impending disaster in Iraq. The Baker-Hamilton commission gives the president a new opportunity to form a bipartisan consensus to get out of Iraq. If the president fails to build a bipartisan foundation for an exit strategy, America will pay a high price for this blunder -- one that we will have difficulty recovering from in the years ahead. . . .

Chuck Hagel - Leaving Iraq, Honorably - washingtonpost.com

 

[Nexus]

Now this is a Republican who I respect.

He has a point about the funding and the military. The burden is borne almost entirely by the military and their families.

 

[saggyjones]

That's a smart republican, too bad there aren't more like him in power.

 

[aquapub]

One of the few things nearly everyone agrees on is that if we abandon Iraq, it will fall under the control of terrorists like Maqtar Al Sadr.

There is no honorable way to hand Iraq over to terrorists.

 

[Navy Pride]

Hagel is running for president......His views represnt very few people on the right........

 

[26 X World Champs]

Hagel is running for president......His views represnt very few people on the right........

How'd he get elected then? You mean like Zell Miller not representing the Democratic Party...is that what you mean?

He's way to the right of Rudy....and Bloomie...Specter....Snow...Steele...Kean...

 

[jfuh]

Hagel is running for president......His views represnt very few people on the right........

Doesn't mean they are invalid.

 

[Morrow]

Hagel is running for president......His views represnt very few people on the right........

Tell that to Nebraska. He doesn't represent your views, your views don't represent the right, your views represent the loud obnoxious people on conservative talk radio.

 

[jujuman13]

Quote
(Hagel is running for president......His views represent very few people on the right........)

Which goes to show how totally unrealistic those who disagree with his assessment are.

I suppose we should ask NAVY PRIDE how HE would have won the war / peace in Iraq, but doubtless he will duck the question.

As for my views, these are well known, the US enterred this war on the basis of engineered intelligence, about the only good thing that came out of it was the outing of Saddam Hussein from power, other than that the US has gained nothing other than a battle field on which to battle with Al Quaeda and is now locked into a quagmire from which the IDIOT (Bush) is unwilling to see he has failed and is unwilling to withdraw.

The only people who will win in Iraq are those who are sitting on the sidelines waiting to pick up the pieces, namely Russia with it's seemingly unquenchable thirst for control of the planets oil reserves and China with their thirst for reliable oil supplies.

The US has lost, not only over $500 Billion cash, but also needlessly wasted the lives of our best troops.

All this based on a lie.

This President will rank in posterity as the head of the administration who snatched defeat from victory.