We Can Win Iraq in Six Months (Times Two Hundred)

The problem with Americans is we're impatient.  Two thirds of us want to get the hell out of Iraq.  Many of us realize that Iraq's political con artists leaders will never get serious about political progress as long as they don't see any threat of US forces leaving.  Stepping back a bit, it's doubtful there ever will be serious progress in Iraq, because Iraq as a unified nation-state no longer exists.

But the Bush/McCain axis of procrastination is content with keeping American troops in Iraq forever.  And if McCain is elected, that's probably what we should expect, American troops staying in Iraq forever, in six-month increments:

•  F reakin U nbelievable.

  by ROGNM on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:43:22 PM PDT

  •  McCain Cartoon

    Thought the following link to Steve Bell's cartoon in today's Guardian of McCain's rationale for staying in Iraq was perfect.
    Link is :

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/...

    by An American Living in London on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 06:55:18 AM PDT

•  Impatient

  is when you are wondering why it has taken 6 months to complete an easy, shock and awe mission.  Incensed is when you are into year six.

  by gchaucer2 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:43:43 PM PDT

  •  LMFAO

    I’m sure everyone on this site knows the ONLY reason we ever invaded the innocent country of Iraq and unleashed the most god-awful attack in the history of the world on the poor Iraqi people was for the war-profiteers. There will never be a victory in this inmoral, insane, and totally fabricated "war on terror",  which the bush administration conveniently waged on an old Saudi and bush nemesis after the oil fields were nationalized, unless the bush administration decides to blow themselves and their war profiteering buddies up, which would rid the world of the number one terror threat.

    by Freedom Loving American on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:11:45 PM PDT

  •  Impatient

    is when you hear someone use the hideous term: shock and awe mission

    by nehark on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:12:59 PM PDT

•  Patience

  Winning hearts and minds is difficult there

  (No Fox News)

  by Krush on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:44:17 PM PDT

•  This installment plan

  has far too high an interest rate.  And the payments seem to never get any lower.

  by Coach Jay on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:44:35 PM PDT

  •  And the principal is terrible too.

    by Mother Mags on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:46:32 PM PDT

    •  And you get to a point where nobody wants to

      give you any more money.

      by FXDCI on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:55:37 PM PDT

•  This ad is very powerful

  But I wish that the youtube logo was not covering the tally of US Lives lost.

  by sea2008 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:44:54 PM PDT

•  The Illusion of Victory

  is the goal of every war propaganda campaign.  This is no different.

  Turned the corner, the surge is working, mission accomplished, elections, ad nauseum.

  by Ohiodem1 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:44:55 PM PDT

  •  Yup

    And then it's "Eurasia has always been at war with Oceania."

    by Soundpolitic on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:48:48 PM PDT

    •  I thought it was Eastasia

      wait, I think I hear the thought police pulling up now.

      by Mickey Thunder on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:56:28 PM PDT

    •  "Got another one for the memory hole, Winston."

      

      by Joe Beese on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:59:56 PM PDT

•  Fantastic Commercial! Yea moveon n/t

  by The Distillery on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:44:55 PM PDT

  •  Yea, MOVEON is right. How about send them a

    few dollars to support the work if you can.

    by divineorder on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:45:46 PM PDT

•  But don't you know

  Retreat = surrender, and real men don't surrender (and they certainly don't require SS protection).

  by rdxtion on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:45:16 PM PDT

  •  helping Iraq = surrender too

    real men don't help reconstruct countries, real men just keep fighting

    by Shahryar on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:19:29 PM PDT

•  I want the troops home...yesterday.

  McCain and all the other wingnuts need to get real...or at least take the blinders off. McCain sickens me the most. He is delusional about the price of war and he demeans his own POW experience as a result. He's pathetic...

  Bring the troops home.

  Home in 2009 not the end of time.

  by SallyCat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:45:47 PM PDT

•  GET THIS THING ON NATIONAL TV! n.t

  by Soundpolitic on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:47:35 PM PDT

  •  forget that, we've got Obama's bowling score to

    worry about.

    by Cartoon Peril on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:52:45 PM PDT

•  Bu$hCheneyCo sends down a man in uniform

  to defend their dumbass political decisions.  Too damn chicken to go themselves, or even send a sock puppet like Condoleeza.  But is that surprising?

  by Cartoon Peril on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:47:55 PM PDT

  •  Force of habit

    He sent other men in uniform to do his fighting for him at a formative age.

    by Joe Beese on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:15:44 PM PDT

•  "What is winning"

  
  
  
  ````
  peace
  
  

  by peace voter on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:47:56 PM PDT

  •  And why are so few people

    asking this question??????

    by oscarsmom on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:57:28 PM PDT

•  Four more American soldiers dead

  today in Bagdad...that is 16 since Sunday.
  Sadr City is now a dying zone for Iraqi civilians and soldiers as well as Americans.
  Personal note...I want to wish my son,Nick, who is stationed near Sadr City a Happy Birthday..altho that seems ridiculous considering where he is right now..but dammit..Nick, the day of your birth was the the best day of my life 24 years ago and that has not been matched cept for your younger sisters birth. I love you and hope you stay safe everyday...and hope you get a little B-cake if you are not too busy watching out for your mates and surviving another day in paradise.. love,Dad.

  by Hawkjt on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:49:11 PM PDT

  •  Oh Jesus.

    Does this make 14 in the last 5 days?  Peace and blessings to their families, friends and comrades.  I am so depressed over the relentless IGTNT diaries.  At least we look at faces -- the war criminals see our soldiers as numbers.

    by gchaucer2 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:51:21 PM PDT

    •  Ooops,

      sorry -- my eye missed your count of 16.  The nightmare makes things a blur.

      by gchaucer2 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:52:10 PM PDT

  •  Coward Kagan was on PBS newshour last night

    telling us how great everything is.

    by Cartoon Peril on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:51:45 PM PDT

  •  I'm adding Nick

    to my prayers == some may scoff, but I want to remember those in harms way as well as those whom we have lost.  Peace, Hawkjt.

    by gchaucer2 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:53:36 PM PDT

    •  Why would anyone scoff?

      My heart goes out most to people like Nick and his mates.  It's a different tugging for those whose families have lost them.  Best, Nick.

      by conlakappa on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:34:57 PM PDT

  •  I really want your kid home now!

    I'm sorry he's there.

    by woodstock007 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:54:45 PM PDT

  •  F&%K

    BUSH, CHENEY, RUMSFELD......F&%K THEM ALL!!!!!

    by bluestateonian on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:55:55 PM PDT

    •  good thing....

      that's not a country music song.

      
      
      `````
      peace
      
      

      by peace voter on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:57:42 PM PDT

  •  I hope your son has a good birthday

    and is home safe and sound for his 25th, Hawkjt.

    by littlesky on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:57:38 PM PDT

  •  I wish your Nick

    a happy birthday and stay safe. He and his colleagues sure are willing to give their most valuable thing for their country. Regardless the unwise decisions of the politicians back home, you have to be proud of Nick and all of the young men and women who are now far away in Iraq.

    God Bless Nick!

    by jakartaman on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:13:14 PM PDT

•  time to let Iraq sink or swim

  by SensibleDemocrat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:49:41 PM PDT

  •  Iraq is Vietnam with sand

    Iraq won't stand up until we stand down.

    by Ohiodem1 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:55:05 PM PDT

    •  You like slogans n/t

      by ajc1485 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:55:38 PM PDT

      •  The manipulation of symbols and

        slogans are the most powerful tools of the propagandist.

        I have been studying propaganda methods and techniques since 2003 when I observed the successful selling of the Iraq war and then the swiftboating of John Kerry in 2004.  I feel that if we are not in a position to respond to and thwart new propaganda attacks if we do not understand what our opposition does.

        Since I have been studying the science of propaganda, I have also been working on ways to reverse the process, and defend ourselves against the continuous assault without resorting to dishonesty myself.

        So I have come up with a slogan or two, but the distribution is only to a few people who read blogs or I can talk to.  I believe that I came up with the Iraq is Vietnam with sand comment.  I am not 100 per cent sure I came up with They won't stand up until we stand down, as a complete reversal of the Bush administration mantra.  I might have come up with that one, not sure though.

        If you have any interest, I put this article up on Questionitnow blog last year.  The issues I describe, that is the administration and Republican/neocon agitation for war with Iran is still in heavy rotation.  Senator Graham can hardly say a whole sentence without the word Iran being in it.  Here is a link:

        How to Sell a War

        So to answer your question, I really don't like slogans, but I understand the power that they can exert on the movement of public opinion when repeated endlessy in the delivery channels.

        This has been a very big interest and issue for me for several years, and I like to share, whether anyone wants to hear it or not.  They are using it against us, we have to understand and fight it.

        by Ohiodem1 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:17:11 PM PDT

  •  You're angry n/t

    by ajc1485 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:55:14 PM PDT

    •  not really

      by SensibleDemocrat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:52:22 PM PDT

      •  If you're not angry...

        ...you haven't been paying attention.

        by JeffW on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:22:12 PM PDT

        •  I have been paying attention

          and I am concerned and worried but not angry

          by SensibleDemocrat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:15:22 PM PDT

•  Have they signed that oil agreement yet?

  Bottom line: We're not leaving til we get control of the oil.

  by lisastar on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:50:18 PM PDT

  •  You are against war profiteering!!!!!! n/t

    by ajc1485 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:56:37 PM PDT

•  Hey

  Why  was there no live blog about todays testimony. What the heck???I don't know what happened and it seems weird that it is quiet about that today.

  by woodstock007 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:52:21 PM PDT

•  LINE OF THE DAY BY WAL MART CEO!!!

  http://www.ft.com/...

  Lee Scott: "I think it’s just unfortunate that it has become something that has been driven by a small group of people that have just extraordinary political influence," he told the Financial Times.

  Corporations are people too!!!!

  by ajc1485 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:53:07 PM PDT

•  Brilliant ad

  Endless war on the installment plan is exactly right.

  I'm still waiting for the pony I was promised.  

  by littlesky on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:53:20 PM PDT

•  That just

  pissed the hell outta me!!!

  by bluestateonian on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:54:00 PM PDT

•  Whatever happened....

  to "when they stand up, we'll stand down"?

  I searched, but was unable to find a YouTube compilation of Bush saying that over, and over, and over again.
  
  
  `````
  peace
  
  

  by peace voter on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:56:13 PM PDT

•  I just want to know ONE thing

  when are we going to seriously look at the money trail on this "war"?   To me it seems so obvious.  We have to keep this thing going so various elected officals and all their friends can make a fortune.  I just don't have any proof.  (At least I'm willing to admit it!)  But I'm convinced it's the only reason.  Nothing else makes any sense to me.

  Melissa
  Oh yes we CAN!

  by mwjeepster on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:56:18 PM PDT

  •  Hard to track pallets stacked high with C-notes

    Besides, there's still the $2,300,000,000,000 that Rumsfeld said we're having a hard time finding.

    Has anyone checked under the sofa cushions?

    by Joe Beese on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:04:15 PM PDT

•  Past Time to Filibuster and End to This War!

  When the Senate takes up the next war funding bill, either one of them could lead a filibuster
  http://www.senate.gov/...
  refusing to stand down until their colleagues agree to vote against any bill that provides funding to continue the war

  Just how can we possibly make this happen?

  Call Senator Clinton and Senator Obama

  Also call your own two Senators.

  Bluntly, but politely, tell them you want them to filibuster the next war spending bill.

  Here are the numbers you need:
  Senator Hillary Clinton -- [phone]
  Senator Barack Obama -- [phone]
  Senate Switchboard -- [phone]

  Did Senator Obama mean what he said?

  "Let me be clear: there is no military solution in Iraq, and there never was. The best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq's leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops. Not in six months or one year - now."

  -- Sen. Barack Obama, September 12, 2007

  Did Senator Clinton mean what she said?

  "Our message to the president is clear. It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today."

  -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, July 10, 2007

  This latest grass roots effort comes from a group with great stake in stopping the war, family members of active duty military persons.  Military Families Speak Out gives voice to their {our ... because  my son is an Army officer currently on the ground near Bagdad} frustration with the course of events since the occupation began.

  Military Families Speak Out is an organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones currently in the military or who have served in the military since the buildup to the Iraq war in fall of 2002. Our membership currently includes over 3,700 military families, with new families joining daily. If you have family members or loved ones in the military and you are opposed to this war, JOIN us.

  Military Families Speak Out is asking for help in a grass roots effort to persuade our political representatives to become leaders, to act upon their stated belief that the war began as a grevious error and continues to drag down much of what we care about.  Military Families Speak Out asks that we/you contact your senator and representative .... requesting that he or she participate in an honorable filibuster to prevent continued war funding.

  Call Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and your own two Senators and tell them you want them to filibuster the war spending bill.  

  Sign MFSO's online petition http://ent.groundspring.org/...

  Get others to sign on too by forwarding this message to everyone you know.

  Download our leaflet from  http://www.mfso.org/and pass it out at meetings, concerts, baseball games, the post office -- anywhere people gather in your town.

  Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on people in your community to press Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and your Senators to filibuster the war spending bill.

  Why should we ask our leaders, especially our potential next President, to do this?

  Congress has the power to end the war in Iraq now. The President can't spend a dime on this war without the approval of both houses of Congress.

  They wouldn't even need a majority of their colleagues to back them up -- all they need is 40 Senators prepared to unite behind their leadership and block additional funding to continue the war from making it through the Senate.

  This idea presents to opportunity to move beyond the tiresome debate over who spoke out against the war first.

  by phillybluesfan on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:56:25 PM PDT

•  Please Run This Ad

  Somewhere on national TV running up to the elections.  It absolutely KILLS the whole "experience" myth that McCain has going for him.

  by charlieg on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:53:34 PM PDT

•  DKos went on the blink

  there for awhile!  Anyone else notice?

  by oscarsmom on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:55:10 PM PDT

  •  Yep!

    I'm still at work. I thought that my work had finally blocked it.

    by Glinda on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:56:08 PM PDT

    •  LOL I always am afraid

      that Doomsday has arrived!

      by oscarsmom on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:58:09 PM PDT

      •  The Lieberman campaign must have caused it

        ;-)

        by Glinda on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:02:22 PM PDT

  •  yep. Usually our dealers come on

    to tell us junkies why our supplies were cut.

    Maybe we didn't pay our bills.

    by ksh01 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:56:27 PM PDT

  •  Offsite Problem with the Servers

    Wasn't anything ct could deal with other than yell at the place that hosts the servers.

    by DHinMI on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:57:48 PM PDT

•  yikes, what's going on with the site?

  sorry for the OT, but two hours this morning, another hour today.....

  by ksh01 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:55:22 PM PDT

  •  I misssed the morning's outage.

    I would guess it was growing pains and the primary season.

    by Glinda on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:58:31 PM PDT

•  Damn powerful ad

  Damn powerful ad.

  I hope it turns viral. WTM.

  by DAVE DIAL on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:09:13 PM PDT

  •  Hope people email it to their friends, blog

    it...

    Just got this email:

    Moments ago, the email below went to MoveOn members across the nation. It has a new video we put together featuring the question, "How do you get to 100 years in Iraq?" and the answer, "Six months at a time." It shows how President Bush, Senator McCain, and General Petraeus ask Americans for six more months over and over again.

    You've told us in the past that you blog, so we wanted to ask you to help us get word out about this video by posting it online—on your blog, on someone else's blog, or on multiple blogs. Your taking a couple moments to do that will make a big difference. Of course, you can also email it to your friends.

    Thanks for all you do.

    –Nita, Justin, Eli, Marika, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
     Wednesday, April 9th, 2008  

    by divineorder on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:56:21 PM PDT

•  Dig it

  http://digg.com/...

  by DAVE DIAL on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:16:34 PM PDT

•  Arbitrary borders...

  The nation of Iraq will never be "fixed". The boundaries were arbitrarily drawn by the British. There is no "Iraq"...

  by neuron on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:43:34 PM PDT

•  Preaching the choir. Yawn. n/t

  by wobbledon on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 05:05:01 PM PDT

•  Six Months

  So they're going to go back to pulling that "Six Months-Six Months" okey-doke on us again? They've been telling us "Six Months-Six Months" for five years so far, and I thought they were fianlly going to cut the crap and amite they never intend to leave.

  by William Domingo on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 05:15:33 PM PDT

•  Iraq: Lunatic Washington Plays 'Calvin Ball'

  (With apologies to Mr. Watterson, Calvin, and Hobbes.)

  by Stuart Shaffer on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 05:22:49 PM PDT

•  It's the oil stupid!

  (This comment is not being used in a hostile or derogatory way but as a passing reference to something someone once said.)

  We are there to sit on the oil until the US and UK oil companies can get at it—for as long as it takes—even 100 years. I can’t believe that this fact is not made the center of the debate. Until the truth about why we are there is openly discussed, we will remain trapped in this miasma.

  At least Levin proposed that surplus Iraqi oil profits be used to ease our burden. That is a tiny step forward.

  by anothergreenbus on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 06:17:41 PM PDT

•  I suppose..

  Iran has one fewer enemy to worry about.

  Doesn't seem quite worth it though..

  by SecondComing on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:00:36 PM PDT

•  Rackafrackin' archives!

  Git off my YouTube!

  by JeffW on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:17:06 PM PDT

•  Great ad

  I hope to see many more ads about McCain's 100 years comment as autumn approaches.

  by existenz on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:19:40 PM PDT

•  Withdrawal yes, partition no.

  ...and please stop pushing for it.

  Once the US withdraws, 2:1 says the Iraqis will sort it out amongst themselves in a way that does not involve partition or genocide.

  This pseudo-lefty idea of withdrawal cum partition is really getting on the nerves of Iraqis.

  by naltikriti on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:40:54 PM PDT

•  We can no longer win in Iraq

  Great video. I am glad we have groups like Moveon.org that are working on behalf of the American people. This administration and the GOP are incapable of seeing the human cost of this war. Their aim is to never leave Iraq. They want to stay there indefinitely and I am surprised that our generals who while working for the president continue to support a policy that is detrimental to our troops. The president needs to be straight with the American people about how long he wants our troops to fight a war we can't win anymore. Victory is no longer on the table. Our only option is to elect a democrat like Obama so we can pull our troops out. Staying in Iraq has made us less safe. Our occupation attracts more jihadists to Iraq. Our presence is used as a recruiting tool. The Iraq war is not part of the global war on terror which is in Afghanistan. Petraeus owes to the men and women who serve under him to do right by them. The burden our troops bear by serving in Iraq is unfair and too great. He owes more to our men and women in uniform than to toe the White House line in front of Congress.

  by Probus on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 01:17:21 AM PDT

  •  First, we have to know what "winning" is!

    This is even less clear than Vietnam was.

    by OHeyeO on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 05:01:22 AM PDT

•  Exactly

  If McCain gets elected, we will never get out of Iraq. McCain doesn't want to leave Iraq until there is a stable democracy, no presence of Al Qaeda, and little influence from Iran. At that rate, we could be in Iraq for another hundred years.  Check out his statements to General Petreaus; I don't think he even knows what he is talking about.

  http://campaigncircus.com/...

  by kberly7568 on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 08:57:40 AM PDT

•  New Today .

  It's IRAN . We have to stay there to beat back Iran now . I knew there was a way Bush would try to contain and eventually occupy both countries . It is the NEO CON blue print for the 21st Century . We'll be talking nukes soon .

  by ArtfromMI on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 03:17:07 PM PDT