2007-03-04 12:10:55 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
I don't remember that at all. Not saying it didn't happen, I guess I just never believed it.
My understanding was that this was going to be a war that would last a minimum of ten years.
2007-03-04 16:00:18 · answer #1 · answered by fredonia 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, there is a problem here... any STATEMENTS were made by polititians. And how you define "the war"... we're currently dealing with a FUBAR occupation !!
Now I served in Gulf War I, and for another 8 years after. MY guesstimate at the time we started the war was a MONTH or TWO to topple the government and neutralize their MILITARY... and I was correct.
Our problem has come from piss-poor planning in the post-war / building the peace phase... and the outside influence of Iran, Syria, and extremists in Saudia Arabia.
2007-03-04 20:32:24 · answer #2 · answered by mariner31 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Mission accomplished was declared after about a year. Many thought that after the mission was "finished" that our troops would start pulling out and we wouldn't even be having discussion. But we didn't start pulling out and the deadline for the Iraqi government kept passing with no action, many Americans began doubting whether or not we're ever going to leave. That's when Bush's approval rating started diving. At least that's my perspective.
2007-03-04 20:25:33 · answer #3 · answered by Mommy 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Americans was not able anticipate that the Iraq war will be over in just two years.
2007-03-04 20:14:01 · answer #4 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Wishful thinking.
They were lead to believe that "Iraqis will welcome us with open arms" (I believe Rumsfeld's words were very close to those) and under this assumption it made sense to think that the job would be quick. We just needed to remove a dictator and protect the initial steps of establishing democracy and then we'd be done.
One of the reasons we got into this terrible mess is the people in Washington making the decisions weren't listening to people who had a more realistic view of how things work in the Middle East.
Wishful thinking, ignoring people truly in the know--disaster.
2007-03-04 20:17:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Huh?
A: A change in government will take more than two years.
B: Terrorists are hard to predict since they look like every average person. Bush just underestimated their power, and had too much good faith in our soldiers... Something you seem not to have.
C: Saddam is out of power. When a leader is taken down, I'd call it a win.
D: It's WAR!
2007-03-04 20:16:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
That was the funny part of the population trusting the misunderestimated president who was just trying to put some food on his family. As is his literacy, so are his estimates and plans.
2007-03-04 20:15:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
They thought it would be. Who knows why they thought it. Maybe they were used to our most recent previous conflicts being over quickly. Maybe it was a similar thought process to talking **** before a drunken brawl in a bar (ex. "Bring it on! I can beat your *** in five minutes"). Your guess is as good as mine. To be honest, I thought it would be over pretty quick, mainly for the first reason I mentioned. But I cant speak for everyone.
2007-03-04 20:16:28 · answer #8 · answered by kittiesandsparklelythings 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
anyone who predicts how long a war is going to last is an idiot. that's like going into the dmv estimating it will take 15 minutes.
2007-03-04 20:21:27 · answer #9 · answered by L-Boogie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I missed that altogether. Who said it? I always expected somthing like ten years.
2007-03-05 00:28:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋