What lessons have we learned from the Iraq situation?

Answer 1

If "we" means the USA government, then I don't think we've learned anything at all. Olberman last night said that Rice is being marginalized, and this means we'll probably attack Iran soon, and that the recent diplomacy attempt is a sham.

If we means the American public, then I think we've learned that we should try to get out of the Middle East ASAP.

Answer 2

Such a huge enterprise, so many aspects of it.
The American soldier is very high maintenance, and is best in areas away from civilian populations.
To achieve a desirable goal in international relations, as slow and irritating as diplomacy is, it would seem preferable to sending in the military.
The preparations made by Bush I prior to the first Iraq war were extensive and included many other nations;that approach seemed to have been more productive than the one used in the second Iraq war.
and finally...
A lesson for a president would be: If you are going to engage the nation in an unnecessary war, be sure to win it before the second election cycle.

Answer 3

yeah right, lessons. Sure


Well I personally learned that politicians are all full of crap and will do anything that the popular consensus tells them too, regardless of whether it's good for the country or not.

America is pissed about 9/11 they wanna kick someones ***... hmm what was our last popular war... oh yea desert storm! Let's beat up Iraq!!

Well, that didnt go so well, we've managed to unstabilitize the region and screw things up pretty bad.. and it's not gonna be easy to fix, but the war isnt papular anymore soooo eff that we're out!!




it just seems like we need rational people in office who can actually use common sense and explain to americans what's really going on. Not just tell us what we want to hear.

Answer 4

Don't go to war if you don't have the troops. Original battle-plans for takeover and occupation required 750,000 troops not including coalition forces. Two generals and three battle plans later, we settled for 250,000 troops (including coalition forces).

Second, never go to war without 90% to full publci support. If in the early stages of 2003-2004 the American public was completely behind the war (as in enlisting in and supplying the war effort), we'd probably have been out in 2005 (because then we'd have the needed 3/4 of a million troops).

Third, know your enemy. Iraq's divide between Shia and Sunni is far to deep for any current plan to fill. We needed Arab allies, with an understanding of the divide, to assist us in uniting the country. We had so few Arabian-Muslim allies and troops that the original invading force did not have enough farsee-to-english translators!

Overall Lesson: Don't go to war if you are not supported by the people.

Answer 5

that bush is a moron
that republicans cater to power instead of the public
that democrats have no backbone
that greed outweighs the good of society
that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is the republicans new campaign slogan.
that Linkin Park lyric "when the rich wage war its the poor who die" is one of the most genius lyrics ever.
that Bush and his cronies have no heart, only very big bank accounts.
that a corporation can flee to another country to avoid jusice
that America needs to quit trying to solve the problem of other counties, and fix the problems here first.

Answer 6

Always be sure that you have acheivable, simple and clearly stated objectives before you commit troops.

Because the time to withdraw is that Golden Moment after you've done what you came to do and before the s--t comes down.

Answer 7

1) George dubya is a moron
2) more then 1/2 of the US screwed up in electing him
3) you can't force American diplomacy down the throat of anyone, especially people that hate you and have never experienced it
4) Vietnam taught us nothing
5) our next president has a hell of a mess to clean up after this moron spent 8 years pissing off the rest of the world

Answer 8

Don't let a moron like Bush, and a sociopath like Cheney handle a situation that requires careful planning, and restraint.

Never assume they are going to make the right choices.

Answer 9

What lessions have we learned?

1.That this is not a war about terrorism and never was.
2. Never vote for GOP again because they lie more than a psycho killer. Oh wait, they are a bunch of psycho killers.
3. Keep all Bush family members and their minions barred from running for office again.
4. You cannot bomb a country into democracy no matter how much propaganda you drop on your own people in your own country to convince them that is what you are doing.

Answer 10

Pre-emption is not always the best course of action.

Self-righteousness can inevitably lead to self-destruction.

Blind allegience to a cause can make one oblivious to its faults.

Now, the real question is: What has the adminstration learned? Apparently not much as they keep "staying their course."