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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Bindare_Dundat on September 11, 2008, 08:32:00 AM
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The outgoing commander of US troops in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has said that he will never declare victory there.
In a BBC interview, Gen Petraeus said that recent security gains were "not irreversible" and that the US still faced a "long struggle". When asked if US troops could withdraw from Iraqi cities by the middle of next year, he said that would be "doable".
In his next job leading the US Central Command, Gen Petraeus will also oversee operations in Afghanistan. He said "the trends in Afghanistan have not gone in the right direction... and that had to be addressed". Afghanistan remained a "hugely important endeavour", he said.
Earlier this week, President George W Bush announced a cut of 8,000 US troops in Iraq by February - with some 4,500 being sent to Afghanistan Gen Petraeus took up his role in Iraq in February 2007, as President Bush announced his "surge" plan.
He has overseen its implementation, including the deployment of nearly 30,000 additional troops to trouble spots in Iraq.
In an interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme, Gen Petraeus said that when he took charge in Iraq "the violence was horrific and the fabric of society was being torn apart". Leaving his post, he said there were "many storm clouds on the horizon which could develop into real problems".
Overall he summed up the situation as "still hard but hopeful", saying that progress in Iraq was "a bit more durable" but that the situation there remained fragile.
He said he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory": "This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it's not war with a simple slogan."
He said al-Qaeda's efforts to portray its jihad in Iraq as going well were "disingenuous". It was, in fact "going poorly", he said.
Of his strategy of establishing joint security stations in key locations, Gen Petraeus said that "you can't secure the people if you don't live with them". He said it was now fair to say that the Iraqis were standing up as US forces stood down. The confidence and capability of Iraqi forces had increased substantially, he said.
Gen Petraeus did not confirm reports in the media that the US was preparing to withdraw all troops from Baghdad by next summer, but he did say that consideration was being given to removing US forces from a number of cities, including the capital.
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simple solution, just send in VP palin to Build a Bridge to victory ! ;)
NT
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i thought we won?
wow... somebody call mccain up and let him know, so he can stop making it the primary focus of his campaign...
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Read the article....the thread headline is bullshit.
He said he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory": "This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it's not war with a simple slogan."
He said al-Qaeda's efforts to portray its jihad in Iraq as going well were "disingenuous". It was, in fact "going poorly", he said.
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so the surge is a succes, but we still haven't won the war?
we still need 140k men and 160k contractors, just to keep a situation where it isn't yet won after 5 or 6 years?
geez, maybe obama could win this war in 6 years. Bush and the repubs had their chance and, according to patraeus, haven't succeeded.
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Obama wants to pull out...he wants to run and hide in fuzzy bunny land.
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Obama wants to pull out...he wants to run and hide in fuzzy bunny land.
What does victory in Iraq = ?
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An Iraq that can protect itself internally and externally, can stand on its own feet economically and does not present a threat to its neighbors or the region.
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An Iraq that can protect itself internally and externally, can stand on its own feet economically and does not present a threat to its neighbors or the region.
with or without 310,000 armed americans there?
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What do u think...i would advise u guys to read Woodwards book. I'm getting through it now.
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What do u think...i would advise u guys to read Woodwards book. I'm getting through it now.
whats the title, and what's it about? I haven't ready a good book in a while
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The War Within...it documents what led up to the "Surge"
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Obama wants to pull out...he wants to run and hide in fuzzy bunny land.
If by fuzzy bunny land you mean Canada, ...I WISH! We'd take him in a heartbeat!
He'd be waaaaay better than the lying, conniving, useless POS we have in there now.
He might even prove to be as good as if not better than Trudeau! Oh how I miss that man!
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so the surge is a succes, but we still haven't won the war?
we still need 140k men and 160k contractors, just to keep a situation where it isn't yet won after 5 or 6 years?
geez, maybe obama could win this war in 6 years. Bush and the repubs had their chance and, according to patraeus, haven't succeeded.
America hasn't won a war in 50 years. Iraq will turn into another North/South Korea where we have troops there for the next 50 years.