Defeatest Howard Dean Says US Troops Can't Win

[BCPVP]

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If we were obliged to make an all-or-nothing call, then no, of course "Iraq is not Vietnam".

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Isn't this what I said? I said Iraq isn't Vietnam, you responded by pointing out an article by a guy who says the same thing yet claim he thinks differently. I'm aware that the U.S. could make similar mistakes, but that does not mean the two wars are equivalent.

Do you even read the posts you respond to?

You'd think a person who wants to talk about "not winning" something would be a person who actually knows something about not.... oh, wait a minute. Never mind.

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[BluffTHIS!]

<-------- plays fulltime for a very nice living and doesn't quit when the variance gets rough.

Yes, I'm certain you're quite successful and wealthy and the ladies all flock to you. Aside from that, I was referring to Howard Dean. You know, the guy referred to in the Subject?

"You're so vain, you prob'ly think this song is about you...."

[BCPVP]

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<-------- plays fulltime for a very nice living and doesn't quit when the variance gets rough.

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Admit it, you started this thread to brag about your poker winnings... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[andyfox]

Where does Dean say he has no confidence in the ability of our brave troops? He says he has no confidence in the ability of our president.

I think Dean is a bad party chairman, but I don't see him saying what you says he is.

[Cyrus]

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Clearly Dean has no confidence in the ability of our brave troops, even if he disagrees with the way the administration is conducting the war.

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The administration itself has already defined its objectives for victory in Iraq as a successful hand-over to the Iraqi military and security forces which will carry on the fight against insurgency. The administration has warned that the fight in Iraq may take years - perhaps go into the next decade. do the math : A military victory is not in the cards any time soon.

In other words, victory for the American troops, henceforth, depends more than anything else on the Iraqis' successful undertakinbg of the counter-insurgency war. Some victory objective!

On an individual level, I guess, victory for the soldier means staying alive until they United States hands over the whole wretched mess to the natives and gets the hell out of Dodge.

Or haven't you heard ?

[cardcounter0]

Rummy says they only way the insurgents will be defeated is not by US Troops but by turning over the job to the Iraqis.

[sam h]

The issue is not whether or not we will be victorious in Iraq. The issue is that the problem in Iraq is not fundamentally a military one to begin with, and that all of the administration's idiotic rhetoric about "victory" just obscures the reality that it is really a sociopolitical problem of building a democratic regime with the worst ingredients possible. The insurgency exacerbates this problem, but the problem is much bigger than the insurgency and has no clear solutions.

The Bush administration is either too stupid to understand this or just unwilling to admit it.

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The Bush administration is either too stupid to understand this or just unwilling to admit it.

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Good post. I'll only add that these are not mutually exclusive.