I know there has to be some so would an intelligent Republican please answer this?

Question

Do you understand the difference between Benchmarks and Accountability versus Cut and Run or Surrender?
Mainly the Democrats and some Republicans want benchmarks set for the Iraqi.Along with accountability for the funds we give them.Somehow in the political mayhem this has been twisted to cut and run.Do you think we should have benchmarks and accountability?

I am a Democrat and this is what I would like to see And if it's not an option our President is happy with then I want our troops home now.Because evidently NOTHING will change and we will never leave Iraq.

Jeepers, Thanks for clarifying the issue.I do hope the new bill has benchmarks and gets passed.But according to Condi Rice he won't sign one with benchmarks either.So what happens then?

Answer 1

Ahh, vicky, there were no benchmarks in the bill Bush just vetoed.

It had a timeline, withdraw the troops starting now and have em all out by a certain date.

The benchmarks are what the Democrats are now saying they will put in the new bill, since Bush vetoed their last one.

No one has said anything bad about the benchmarks, most republicans support benchmarks that the iraqi government has to meet.

Answer 2

I won't say outright that I am an intelligent Republican , just a Republican that had a son that served in Iraq.
I see the difference between "Benchmarks and Accountability " and "Cut and Run". But that is not what Washington DC is fighting about or what they seem to be promising.

If the Iraq spending bill was so important to the Senate , they won't of loaded it with all the additional projects........
Congress added money not requested by President Bush for the following programs in the 2007 Iraq war spending bill:
$3.5 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery.
$3.5 billion for disaster farm aid.
$2.25 billion for homeland security, including airport, border and cargo container screening.
$2 billion for military readiness.
$1.8 billion for veterans health care.
$949 million for Afghanistan.
$663 million for pandemic flu preparedness
$650 million for low-income children's health care.
$500 million for fighting wildfires.
$425 million for rural schools.
$400 million for low-income heating assistance.
$150 million for the FBI.

The Senate would of made it a straight forward bill that involved the troops, Iraqi responsibility and United Nations involvement. Instead they gave Bush exactly what he said he would veto - so they can sit back and say they don't know what to do but they can stand at media conferences and tell the voters they are doing their best. And the voters are expected to buy it and keep voting for them.

Answer 3

Bush doesn't want Benchmarks, because it would mean he would have to come up with a plan that he never had.
all military maneuvers have estimates of the time that it will take to achieve goals.
in this way they can determine if things are going poorly or well,so they can decide if they need to abandon that particular mission, plan and try again a later day, so lives and resources are conserved.
to say that forcing the military leaders to do what strategists are paid to do, would hinder the military operations, is a lie. a lie to hide the fact that Bush never had a plan, is unwilling to make a plan, and wiling to let our boys die needlessly to prevent looking like a fool for not having a plan.

Answer 4

I will answer you.

American people lack the political will to fight those fights which must be fought. Iraq represents issues far greater than the feeble minded democrats would have you believe. I understand that people are mad at Bush for ousting an insane madman who would eventually attack the U.S. even if currently at the time of invasion he had no weapons.
The benchmark for Iraq exists in time not goals. Sure we should and can do better in Iraq but your idea and the democrats' ideas of benchmarks are far from reality. The truth is, if we wanted to we could use our military to dominate that country-but Americans lack the political will to fight a just war.

Look around you, 1/4 of the male population is becoming gay. Women do not raise children anymore, we are more concerned with Grays Anatomy and huge suburban houses than we are liberty and justice. Public school systems are the epitome of pathetic. Young parenst lack accountability. Police are fat and lazy. School aged children have 5 different sets of parents. I see men with trucks which have affixed stickers on them which say, "my other toy has ****" and we wonder why America is looked upon so poorly? Muslims by the way, dislike the filth that democarts and liberals pump into the world economy. It is funny tome that devout Catholics and devout Muslims have way more in common that muslims and ACLU members.The point here is that Americans need to accept there is no benchmark for Iraq success. It is a perpetual war/battle. The comparisons to Vietnam and WW2 are ridiculous. The war in Iraq is more of military police operations than it is full scale war as our strong country took part in WW2. Accept people that fighting battles is an everyday thing-not a 2 year-3 year-4 year thing.

We don't say to police, "well you guys have been arresting bank robbers sonce 1777 and we still have em' around here! You all should quit!" In such a case one could argue police have failed to meet a, "benchmark of accountability" which is hilarious-the question poses the response. Clearly what Iraq and the middle east-for now-is a foreign military/police action zone. Democrats are morons. Listen, I am not pro-killing anybody and I pray every night for iraqis. But I am in the military and I know that though I pray for sinners and killers you bet I will stop them from hurting my family or friends or countrymen/women.

Thus, the bennchmark for Iraq is the same as for any police offensive-keep attacking. People need to get out of their mind the whole concept of time frames for supposedly met objectives, i.e. more trained troops, 3 mcdonalds per square mile, ACLU and birth control sold at gas stations, etc.

People still kill people and we have cops to stop that for years and yet people still kill people and we need cops. Thus, in Iraq bad people continue to kill people and we continue to fight them. This doesn't reflect American failure. Think rationally not politically.

Answer 5

Benchmarks are great. If the Democrats plan was to withdraw when Iraq has X amount of troops fully trained.. or when security has been restored then it's something worth looking at.

But when you declare "US troops out by October" you are in fact engaged in "cut & run" as any intelligent Democrat would know.. and I'm assuming there might be one.

Answer 6

I think what inspires us least about the democratic response is the lack of a solution to the problem. All they want to do is leave without solving anything.

As good republicans, we know that a full-scale (not micro-scale as we're seeing now) civil war will develop if we leave without a solution.

Answer 7

Accountability? Consequences for their actions? That goes against everything that this thing that passes its self off as the Republican Party stands for today.

Is it okay to answer if I'm an ex-Republican?
Whatever happened to the party of fiscal responsibility?
Barry and Nelson are spinning in their graves.

Answer 8

Sorry, the well is dry. The intelligent Republicans are busy counting their war profits.

Answer 9

Cut and run Democrats hate accountability and benchmarks.

Answer 10

Right on! Thank you, I'm so sick of hearing "cut and run" and loose the war...for Pete's sake it's no longer our war!