Sunday (London) Times: Ferocity of Iraq attacks leaves US troops helpless

[Mark E. Smith]

The Sunday Times November 26, 2006

MORE than 3 1/2 years after President George W. Bush launched an invasion of
Iraq, which his supporters proclaimed as a "cakewalk," American troops were
yesterday engulfed in a wave of sectarian bloodletting that threatens to destroy
the Iraqi govt and may jeopardise a crisis summit this week with Nouri al-Maliki,
the prime minister.

US forces were reduced to near-impotent bystanders as the violence ignited by
Thursday's car bomb attacks on Shi'ite targets in Baghdad spawned a spiral of
revenge.

After a series of attacks on Sunni mosques on Friday, insurgents in Diyala
province were reported yesterday to have stormed two Shi'te houses and
murdered 21 men in front of their relatives. A suicide car bomber yesterday
attacked a joint US-Iraqi checkpoint near Fallujah, killing three civilians and one
American soldier.

The violence closed Baghdad airport and forced the cancellation of a planned
trip to Iran by Jalel Talabani, the Iraqi president, who was hoping to enlist the
help of the Shi'ite regime in Tehran in quelling the sectarian strife.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2472223,00.html

Anybody sobered Georgie up yet?

[Botany]

1. Sad beyond words ..... and all because of lies by bush & company.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive”
Sir Walter Scott

:cry:

[Jacobin]

2. Gee, just like Poppy said:

What was that about invading Iraq and the horrible problems we would encounter?

[LynnTheDem]

11. "Had we gone the invasion route, the United States

could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

-President GHW Bush, 1998
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/11/05_debate.shtml


Then there's James Baker, the man currently trying to fix bushbaby's mess;

"Iraqi soldiers and civilians could be expected to resist an enemy seizure of their own country with a ferocity not previously demonstrated on the battlefield in Kuwait.

"Even if Hussein were captured and his regime toppled, U.S. forces would still have been confronted with the specter of a military occupation of indefinite duration to pacify the country and sustain a new government in power.

"Removing him from power might well have plunged Iraq into civil war, sucking U.S. forces in to preserve order. Had we elected to march on Baghdad, our forces might still be there."

-James A. Baker, 1996
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0825-08.htm

But who could have known. :eyes:

[Jacobin]

12. Thank you.

Excellent advice!!

Too bad the Dauphin is such an idiot

[stepnw1f]

3. Knocking on George's Head: Helloooooo! Anyone Home........?

Time to get over yourself.... people are d-y-i-n-g for your e-g-o.

[aquart]

9. Let's be honest: plenty of Democratic egos, too.

Show me anyone with a presidential ambition who's willing to pull out immediately and risk being labeled a loser? Even Skelton, the token Dem on MTP this morning, who is surely no presidential candidate, was spouting the insane garbage about training Iraqis.

People are dying for the AMERICAN ego, that refuses to admit it can lose.

[dbt]

13. Way too true!

The "opposition" party :rofl: has fallen all over itself to give bu$h everything he's asked for during the last all-but-six-years. And they hate to be reminded of it.

:freak:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[Name removed]

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[DoYouEverWonder]

14. If we lose in Iraq

what does that say to China and Russia and anyone else in the world with a real army, that hasn't been previous reduced to shambles after 10 years of sanctions?

That's one of the reasons Bush's Blunder wasn't a good idea to begin with. Our poor performance in Iraq has shattered the illusion of having the most invincible army in the world. Now our enemies know our weaknesses all too well.

[stepnw1f]

19. This War Has Huge Ramifications for the US

The amount of hatred Bush has sown around the World because of this War and his ego, will haunt the US for years to come. Just one little weak minded man can do this to so many people....

[stepnw1f]

16. Sorry... but Bush Gets all the Blame for this one

He started it and is soley responsible for it's continuation. Don't even try to evenly spread the blame here.

[smoogatz]

17. Al Gore. n/t

[qwlauren35]

21. I'm not sure it's an ego thing.

I think it's a sense of responsibility. We made this mess! IF we can do anything to straighten it out, then we should try...

However, given today's news, I'm starting to think that we're not improving anything by staying.

Again, I wonder if things would calm down if this "execution" thing was overturned.

On the day that the entire country decides that things were better off under Hussein, the US would truly need to eat crow. I wish there was something we could do to put things back together.

But this is a Humpty Dumpty situation if ever there was one.

[saigon68]

15. Nothing between the ears--Look at the face

[msongs]

4. "peace" indeed nt

[Name removed]

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[MadMaddie]

6. Not that I think this will wake his dumb ass up...but his

legacy that he is so worried about...

He will go down in history as the man that started or aided 3 wars in the middle east.....heckofajob *

[On the Road]

7. The One Reaming Reason for US Troops NOT to Leave Immediately

would be to prevent a Sunni-Shiite bloodbath like the Indian partition. If the US troops are impotent to prevent that, well, it's really time to pack up.

[aquart]

10. We cannot prevent a bloodbath. We invoke it.

It was always going to happen. Be clear on this. When Saddam died, it was going to happen. You think people weren't planning for it? He's in his hard-living sixties and his sons were worthless. It was going to happen when he died.

What we lost, by our criminal invasion, was the opportunity to be honest brokers in the inevitable civil war.........and all the sweet deals that would have come from being the trusted party that brought safety and sanity. By not being able to wait until we were NEEDED, we lost everything we would have gained. Except for Halliburton which benefits few Americans. Thanks for nothing, Dick Cheney.

All the ground Clinton gained, all the ground we gained way back in World War II, has been swept away. We are standing in water and high tide is beginning.

[upi402]

8. The smart solution is easy

Do the opposite of what the Republicans want.

[Name removed]

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