Iraq needs US to help protect border
The LA Times reports that the Iraqi government says they’ll need US troops for about a decade in order to secure their borders.
Commanders say they are reasonably confident in the Iraqi security forces’ ability to keep order while facing insurgents or other internal threats. But when it comes to their capacity to protect against attacks from other nations, it is inconceivable that the Iraqi army will be able to stand alone by the time U.S. troops go home, said Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, commander of the U.S. military training program in Iraq.
Talk about the blind leading the blind.
But ya know what I hope the Iraqis do to defend their borders? Build a wall. Nothing pisses off liberals more than a government which protects it’s citizens with a wall. Ask the Israelis. Ask our own border states. iIn fact the only thing I can think of that would piss off liberals more than a wall between Iraq and Iran is if the Iraqis asked the Israelis to help them build it.
Category: Liberals suck, Terror War
To really piss off the liberals, they could also ask Halliburton and BP to provide logistic and engineering support, and have Sarah Palin cut the ribbon.
Liberals don’t have problems with walls as long as it’s to keep their subjects IN, like East Germany, etc.
Like your thinkin`.
I think the Israelis would be more than happy to send an engineer or four and some supplies. They like flipping of the Iranians as much as the next guy.
We don’t even secure our own border, so why the hell would we do that for Iraq?
Regardless of supporting the Generals or not failing the Iraqi people. There is only one card left to play. A oneway ticket for US forces out of Iraq.
The US cannot fix a dysfunctional society. We can only offer proximate solutions to dysfunctional surroundings. If we continue to stay in Iraq, believing, “we can fix Iraq”, will will find ourselves in Iraq until hell freezes over.
The only solution is for Iraq’s to build their country on their own. Just like Americans built our country on our own. Granted, we had help from France, Morocco, an abundance of natural resources, and slavery. However, Iraq is never going to be like the USA. We overthrew Sadam, we built an army for them. Let Iraq’s have their country back.
We can leave 10-20,000 advisors and a lot of AID and development efforts from the UN.
But thinking we will stop violent Islamic radicalism through occupation is mindless chatter.
I agree with Jake. We’ve been in Iraqi for years. They knew a pullout was coming. These aren’t children, they’re not helpless. It’s their country and they need to handle it. Should we help them? Yes. Should we carry them? No.
Well, in deference to Jake and Pinto…..We have been in Japan and Germany for 55 years, Kosovo, Bosnia, Korea, etc., yet all of a sudden, we need to pull everyone out of Iraq?
I guess someone needs to make the argument for why we are still in all these other countries, but we need to get out of Iraq/A-stan.
I know you’re right, OT, but those countries did have some semblence of modern society BEFORE the clinically insane started to lead them. They mostly needed to be “brought back to normalcy” maybe not Korea….
anyway- I am ashamed to say I agree with all three of you. Thank God I’m not in charge.
In previous wars there was a definitive intention to WIN, to END the war succinctly. This ‘kinder/gentler’ war (that I do blame the prev admin for) just prolongs the violence and the enemy’s perception that he can win. look to Sherman’s march to the sea– It just needed to be put in their face-“We’ll win– stop fighting!”
But these radicals don’t care about thier own people, so I don’t know how that’d work, either.
my ambivilence annoys even me.
Boo; I agree that we have been tap dancing our way to a negotiated withdrawal. That’s not victory and as in past lessons, it will mean that we will be back in the future for the same reasons. You can’t have peace without victory. You vanquish your enemy, or make your enemy realize that they cannot win and they quit. You don’t do that by turning the battlefield into a re-run of the best of Barney. Group hugs come afterwards.
I know that flies in the face of the SF guys and those that think that winning the hearts and minds while conducting the war is the way to go. We would still be fighting the Third Reich if we had tried that during WWII. Maybe I’m old school, but I was trained that you fight swift, violent, and decisive. Then you break out the lollipops.
This is what I don’t understand and those of you with more experience maybe can enlighten me. We started WWII with less than 500,000 ill equipped, uniformed troops. 4 years later we finish the way with over 4.7 million in uniform. Here we are in Iraq, over 7 years later and they still don’t have a functioning military, WTF?
#8 OldTrooper:
You’re pretty good at history, so correct me if I’m wrong on this one.
We stayed in Japan and Germany for their strategic value during the Cold War — Japan to block China, Germany to block the Soviet Union, am I right? And we’ve stayed because of economic and political ties with both countries, post-Cold War.