The ISG Report IS ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS. It, like the administration, MISSES THE POINT

[berni_mccoy]

Here is the point with Iraq:

- The situation in Iraq is a direct result of the Bush Administration fraudulent case to go to war.
- The Iraqi people KNOW that the U.S. Invasion was ILLEGAL
- The Iraqi people DO NOT TRUST our soldiers. Our soldiers aren't protecting them from sectarian violence. Our soldiers tortured them. Our soldiers killed them. EVERY Iraqi knows someone who was killed at this point.
- The Iraqi people have less infrastructure and support than they had BEFORE the U.S. invaded

This is why NOTHING WILL CHANGE if we follow the recommendations in the report. Here are THREE SIMPLE RECOMMENDATIONS that will have an immediate positive impact for Iraq:

1. Remove Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld (done), Rice, and the entire WHIG from office. PROSECUTE THEM for War Crimes and ALLOW IRAQI'S TO TESTIFY.

2. Remove ALL U.S. Contractors from the region and help establish IRAQI gov't agencies to take their place. Place a retroactive windfall profit tax on all Oil and Defense contractors, taking 50% of their profits from 2003 to now. Use that money for reparations and to help the gov't agencies acquire the resources they need to get the job done.

3. Redeploy U.S. troops around the region and work with the U.N. and countries in the region to provide support to the democratically elected government.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. As long as 'around the region' equals Kansas

I'm fine with your plan. We need to get our troops out of there. Not just sort of out of there. Out of there.

[still_one]

2. I do not disagree with your premise, but there are those in Congress who also are to blame

and there are those in Congress WHO VOTED AGAINST THE IWR

Why do you suppose those that voted against the IWR did so, verses those that voted for it. They both had the same amount of information, except one group knew it was a fraud, while another group "DIDN'T"?

I think not.

[bobbie]

3. The don't miss the point

They are doing what they want to do:
-Ignoring the voter
-War profiteering
-Pretending otherwise

That's what American gov't does. Period.

[wtmusic]

4. agree berni

Prosecuting Junior et al for war crimes is the only way to restore credibility. Without that all else is pointless.

[sandnsea]

5. What's any of that got to do with Iraq?

That might correct the wrongs WE made in Iraq - but it doesn't create a government IN Iraq that all the people will support. None of what you said will stop the violence, and the UN doesn't go into countries that are not at peace. Even if we had full UN cooperation tomorrow, it would still take a plan to bring the Iraqi's together and stop the violence. That was the purpose of the ISG, not prosecuting everybody in the US government that you don't like.

[WinkyDink]

7. "not prosecuting everybody in the US government that you don't like."

"Don't like"? DON'T LIKE??!

It isn't about LIKE; it's about WAR CRIMES. Where have YOU been?

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. The UN does go into countries that are not at peace

What do you think UN Peacekeepers are for?

The most recent examples are Liberia and Haiti.

[sandnsea]

10. Only with peace treaties

They don't go into countries where there is this kind of violence in the absence of a peace agreement. In fact, many of the UN humanitarian agencies pulled out of Iraq a long time ago, I don't know that they ever went back. The peace is negotiated BEFORE peacekeepers go in, UN peacekeepers do not engage in combat to create the peace.

[Jcrowley]

11. The Iraqi people are quite capable

of forming their own governmental organizations. They certainly don't need or want any "assistance" from the US/UK in forming any sort of government. I think that's called colonialism. Of course nowadays it's hidden in the paperwork of such reports as the ISG.

The violence will subside exponentially the instant the occupiers leave.

[sandnsea]

12. They're fighting each other

So please explain how our leaving would stop that instantaneously.

The point is, the purpose of the ISG was to find a path that would strengthen the government so it can create peace and we can get out, not investigating the intelligence that got us into the war or prosecuting criminals. Two different tasks, which the OP appears to have missed.

[Jcrowley]

16. You are mistaken

The word I used was "subside", re-read my post.

You might ask yourself where all the weapons are coming from and who benefits from the chaos. You might ask yourself what the 70,000 mercenaries are doing.

If the purpose of the ISG was to strengthen the Iraqi government then that certainly makes it a furtherance of the colonial project as the Iraqi government was hand-picked by the US, it has zero legitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi people and the Arab world.

How much of the ISG report have you read? It's a joke.

Among its recommendations, the Iraq Study Group advised that Iraq privatize its oil industry and to open it up to international companies. Author and activist Antonia Juhasz writes "Put simply, the oil companies are trying to get what they were denied before the war or at anytime in modern Iraqi history: access to Iraq's oil under the ground."

From report:

Assessment

There is no guarantee for success in Iraq. The situation in Baghdad and several provinces is dire. Saddam Hussein has been removed from power and the Iraqi people have a democratically elected government that is broadly representative of Iraq’s population, (False) yet the government is not adequately advancing national reconciliation, providing basic security, or delivering essential services. The level of violence is high and growing. There is great suffering, and the daily lives of many Iraqis show little or no improvement. Pessimism is pervasive. U.S. military and civilian personnel, and our coalition partners, are making exceptional and dedicated efforts—and sacrifices—to help Iraq. Many Iraqis have also made extraordinary efforts and sacrifices for a better future. However, the ability of the United States to influence events within Iraq is diminishing. Many Iraqis are embracing sectarian identities. The lack of security impedes economic development. Most countries in the region are not playing a constructive role in support of Iraq, and some are undercutting stability. Iraq is vital to regional and even global stability, and is critical to U.S. interests. It runs along the sectarian fault lines of Shia and Sunni Islam, and of Kurdish and Arab populations. It has the world’s second-largest known oil reserves. (True) It is now a base of operations for international terrorism, including al Qaeda. Iraq is a centerpiece of American foreign policy, influencing how the United States is viewed in the region and around the world. Because of the gravity of Iraq’s condition and the country’s vital importance, the United States is facing one of its most difficult and significant international challenges in decades. Because events in Iraq have been set in motion by American decisions and actions, the United States has both a national and a moral interest in doing what it can to give Iraqis an opportunity to avert anarchy. An assessment of the security, political, economic, and regional situation follows (all figures current as of publication), along with an assessment of the consequences if Iraq continues to deteriorate, and an analysis of some possible courses of action.


Sami Rasouli, an Iraqi-American living in Najaf. Rasouli says if U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, "The 1,300 al Qaeda members that the Iraq Study Group mentioned would leave and have no business in Iraq anymore. They are here to target American forces."

I suggest you listen to this program to get a more realistic view of the on the ground reality:
http://www.democracynow.org/streampage.pl

[sandnsea]

20. All of that has to do with Iraq

The comments in the OP have to do with OUR mistakes. The OP says 'help Iraqi govt agencies take their place' - well duh, that's what the Iraq Study Group attempted to figure out. It takes an actual strategy, not just a statement of a goal. The ISG also rcommended working with countries in the region to support the Iraq government, and went on to outline methods to do that.

You can't just say UN peacekeepers in, contractors out, and think you've created an outline for world peace.

[LSK]

21. and how is our staying preventing it - its not

[LSK]

18. wrong, I think employing the Iraqis will stop a lot of violence

Right now the unemployment rate is something like 50%.

We have 100,000 contractors over there.

When people are working, they are not blowing each other up.

[sandnsea]

22. That's in the report

It does address unemployment, more Iraqi contractors, more foreign aid, more investment, debt forgiveness, etc.

[malaise]

6. I think the details it presents are useful

However in terms of a solution it is utter rubbish and misses the point completely.

You are correct.

[ixion]

8. three good suggestions, that would actually accomplish something

far greater than the ISGs, for sure.

Will it be implemented? Probably not. Seems there are still too many stupid people at the helm. :cry:

[AzDar]

13. It's pure bullshit..utterly worthless political stalling. Now, why would

Bush need to stall? Securing the oil, or more dough for Halliburton, or perhaps both.
Meanwhile, innocent Iraqis and U.S. service personnel DIE.
IT'S TIME TO LEAVE IRAQ, PERIOD.

[Hubert Flottz]

14. Some great ideas.

There's a "PLAN" I can agree with.

[rman]

15. agreed

[bryant69]

17. Boy is that never going to happen

While we are at it why don't we have a workers revolution, eliminate the wealthy, put the people in charge, abandon capitalism, and cure yaws.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[H2O Man]

19. Nominated.

Very well said.

[ms liberty]

23. K&R...excellent points - I agree 100% n/t

[Jcrowley]

24. K&R

Quibble

Remove US troops from the region entirely and cut funds and military weaponry to Saudi Arabia and Israel.