Is putting any time frame on the war in the middle East-Iraq a good idea...?

Question

Democrats want troops out if goals unmet By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
45 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders have coalesced around legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if that country's leaders fail to meet promises to help reduce violence there, party officials said Thursday.

The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time.

The proposal is the latest attempt by Democrats to resolve deep divisions within the party on how far to go to scale back U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Answer 1

Very stupid plan. We withdraw when the mission is complete.

And think of what they are saying - we will abandon you and allow your democracy to fall to terrorists if you cannot protect yourselves.

Answer 2

In the last election, the people spoke loud and clear, which is why the democrats have won the majority. The main platform they used was admitting that they were wrong to give Bush the authority to go to war, and also in allowing him to insert as many troops as he has. The people want this illegal war to end. How else do we put an end to a war against NO ONE? Who are we fighting, ask yourself that question... terrorists? If that is the case, this war will literally go on FOREVER! How can you catch every "terrorist" in the world? It's a battle that just cannot be won, and which allows the President to keep on fighting his dirty battle on behalf of his lobbyists and cabinet full of neo-cons. We went to war with Iraq under false pretenses, and putting a timetable in place is the only logical way to remove our troops from this terrible situation. With that being said, we must help Iraq become a viable nation, with monetary, political and international support.

Answer 3

A hard timeline is not a good idea. Any war the US is involved in should end when the mission is complete.

Suppose we reach the Democrat's pullout date, and the Iraqi's are only a month away from having the capability to defend themselves and keep terrorist sectarian violence under control. Would it be better to stay that last month, or do we pull out and let them degrade into horrid civil war and become a hotbed of terrorism that will plague us in the future?

We were in Germany, Japan, and Korea for decades. That has been GREAT for those countries - they are each in the top ten industrial nations in the world now because the US was patient and supported them long-term. The dems don't want to do that because it might be HARD - wahhhh!

I'm in favor of letting the greatest country on earth continue to export prosperity, democracy, and freedom. That will happen if we stay long-term, it won't if we leave on the dem's politically-motivated schedule.

Answer 4

The burglar scenario is a good one. But, even if we set a goal or date to pull out, it is my personal opinion that nothing will change. There are more civilians being injured and killed than soldiers. It is sectarian violence that is the problem, not us being there. As long as Sunni and Shiite's are trying to kill each other and unwilling to sit down and work together the fighting will continue. Have you noticed the Kurds seem to be doing just fine (for the most part) in Northern Iraq. If we leave now, Iran's influence will topple the elected (though ineffectual) Iraqi government.
If we pull out, the killings will continue. Our job, militarily is completed, but we cannot leave Iraq without it's own effective fighting force unless we want Iran to invade and take over.

Answer 5

Nothing about war is a good idea. But once in it you should stay until goals are met. Problem with this area is there will never be a time when there will be peace no matter how long the war is waged. Especially when the goals are continuously changed due to politics.

Answer 6

I think that is a good plan. It gives a way out, gives the Iraqi's to realize they need to step up and gives Bush the chance to send more troops, if needed, with reports. And, it gives the troops time to recoup before being deployed again, which they are in need of. It's a good plan. We need something and I think we do need some sort of time frame. When people have big goals, they make lists of what needs to be done, the amount of time it will take to get it done, what tools are needed to get it done, etc. This plan at least defines somethings, which hasn't been done before. It's measurable.

Answer 7

As much as I hate the fundamental factr that we invaded the sovergnity of an independent nation....you cannot put a timetable on military actions such as this. If you did the enemy would simply wait you out. Also think of the soilders who went to fight the Nazi's in WWII, they were not there for a years tour of duty, they were there for the duration, however long that took. But at least they knew who the enemy was.

Answer 8

Time frame or no time frame, it doesn't really matter just as long as US troops are pulled out of Iraq ASAP. There will never be a good time to pull out & when it happens everybody in Iraq will know it so picking a date to do it won't make much difference. All Bush is doing now is trying to buy time so that he can leave office & pass his mess onto the next President anyway.

Answer 9

My personal opinion is setting a timetable, or just pulling out of iraq in general and defeats the entire purpose of doing anything in iraq. If we pulled out of iraq, before things were secure there, it would become a haven for terrorists and then they would be able to bomb us again and put us back at war, but probably on our own soil.

Answer 10

I hope liberals will wake up and realize who they voted into office because of this issue.
They promised action but I think the elected officials are not going to deliver because of the realities that they propose. It puts America in grave danger in many ways.
The best answer is to knuckle down and get the job done, and then move on.

Answer 11

Setting a deadline is a big mistake. Setting a deadline and announcing it is an even bigger mistake, you would be just letting the terrorist have to much info. It would be like someone saying I am not home my doors unlocked feel free to go on in and take what you want.