I agree we didn't have enough troops there to begin with. There was basically no intelligent post-invasion plan.

Islamist violence is down because the Islamists have taken it too far and killed too many Muslims and lost their support. Ironically the only 2 places where terrorism is still up (compared to say 2003) is Iraq and Afghanistan. IMO we should have sent many more troops to stabilize Afghanistan and never invaded Iraq.

The Iraqis may want us there right now, but the majority want a withdrawal timetable. Only our administration and some republicans don't want a timetable because they have no intention of actually withdrawing.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

On that, I disagree with both you & the administration -- I think we should have used far less military. We should have engaged in a clandestine war with Hussein and a covert war with Al Qaeda. Instead, the military geniuses and president reached for the big club. About as useful as a nuke.

Wrong tool for the job.

B

IMO even that would have been better than what the administration did with Iraq. I like the idea of a covert war with Al Qaeda, but IMO the Taliban had to be toppled as was done.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Yep. No question.

In hindsight, we're all military and political geniuses.

B

It's not hindsight when it is predicted before hand.

we will be in Iraq for the next 40 to 50 years........

We must not lose our lead in Adobe Photoshop technology, that is certain!

I had the foresight to know that Iraq wouldn't go well. I knew the WMD claims were BS and I was actually surprised to see all the jubilation when Saddam's statue came down. I almost thought at the time that I'd been proven wrong, but then the chaos and insurgency started and my fears came true.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

When do you think the WMD's left Iraq and where?

How did you "know" this? You can't be trying to say the materials never went in, can you?

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
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Oh no, not again!!!

Signed,
Bill Murray

I knew it was BS when I heard Chenney say "there's no doubt that Saddam has WMD's". AFAIK, there was never any intelligence that removed all such doubt. At least I never saw it, including in Powell's UN presentation. This BS just kept getting reinforced as time went on, especially at the end as the inspectors were getting kicked out by us in the rush to invade. I also knew the Saddam-Al Qaeda connection claim was BS because why the hell would Saddam, a secular "socialist infidel" in the eyes of Bin Laden, want to cooperate with the group? It made no sense.

As to where the WMD's went, my belief is that they were all destroyed, some secretly. Saddam was walking a fine line between complying with the UN and not being seen by Iran and other adversaries as a weakling ready to be rolled over.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGzbwJG4jZw&feature=related

You do realize that OBL cooperated with some Christian Infidel at some point in the past, right?

Some were destroyed by the UN. Now whether it was done secretly for whatever reason or it was moved out of the country, we don't know. More to the point, how could we have known at the time?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
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11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Information.
Type of material Quantity (tons) Remarks
1. Precursor chemicals produced and procured = More than 20 000 Some 4,000 tons of declared precursors are not verified owing to the absence of information sought by the Commission from suppliers.
2. Chemical warfare agents produced = 3 850 Whether several hundred tons of additional chemical warfare agents were produced cannot be established owing to the uncertain quantities of precursors (mentioned in 1 above).
3. Chemical warfare agents consumed in the period from 1981 to 1988 = 2 870 No documents or information on the consumption of CW has been provided by Iraq to support the declared quantities consumed. Without supporting documents the verification of this part of the material balance is impossible.
4. Chemical warfare agents destroyed under UNSCOM supervision 690 = Declared quantities were verified by the Commission.
5. Chemical warfare agents discarded during production, or destroyed during aerial bombardment in 1991 290 = Iraq has not provided supporting documentation for 130 tons of chemical warfare agents declared to have been discarded or destroyed.
In the area of chemical warfare munitions, based on Iraq's FFCD of June 1996, a material balance of munitions either procured abroad and produced by Iraq, for CW purposes, in the period from 1981 to 1990 was presented by UNSCOM in October 1997 [S/1997/774]:

Type of munitions Quantity Remarks
1. Empty munitions produced and procured 247 263 = Some 107,500 empty casings have not been verified owing to the absence of information sought by the Commission from the suppliers.
2. Munitions filled with chemical warfare agents or components 152 119 = Whether several thousand additional munitions were filled with chemical warfare agents cannot be established owing to the uncertain quantities of procured munitions (mentioned in 1 above).
3. Filled munitions consumed in the period from 1981 to 1988 101 080 = No documents or information on the consumption of chemical munitions has been provided by Iraq to support the declared quantities consumed. Without supporting documents the verification of this part of the material balance is impossible.
4. Filled and empty munitions destroyed unilaterally by Iraq 29 172 = Unilateral destruction of 15,620 munitions is not verifiable owing to the destruction methods used by Iraq (melting and demolition).
5. Filled and empty munitions destroyed under UNSCOM supervision 38 537 = Declared quantities were verified by the Commission.
6. Filled and empty munitions discarded by Iraq or destroyed during aerial bombardment in 1991 78 264 = Iraq has not provided supporting documentation for 16,038 discarded chemical munitions.

Source: http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/cw/unscom.htm