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New York Times: A War We Just Might Win

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by old_tony, Jul 31, 2007.

  1. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/opinion/30pollack.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

    Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

    After the furnace-like heat, the first thing you notice when you land in Baghdad is the morale of our troops. In previous trips to Iraq we often found American troops angry and frustrated — many sensed they had the wrong strategy, were using the wrong tactics and were risking their lives in pursuit of an approach that could not work.

    Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

     
  2. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Because We Haven't Been Wrong Before...

    About This.

    Lately.

    In The Past Couple Days.

    Today.



    (And that sig is beneath you, tony.)
     
  3. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Agreed. Classless.
     
  4. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    Well, I thought saying "since the 1950s" would be more accurate but I cut them some slack.

    The truth is never beneath me.
     
  5. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Of course reading this today at the gym....

    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1647454,00.html

    ... shows you just the opposite can hold true too.
     
  6. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    You realize that the NYTimes article was an opinion piece?
    So it isn't grounded by facts, but by observations and even then they didn't go as far as saying "victory" is close, but a "sustainable stability."
    So we spend $750 billion, so far, at the cost of 3,500 and counting American lives, and going on five years to get "sustainable stability."
    And for how much longer? The only thing the writers can muster is to keep going on into 2008, which is simply a political calculation, which is what happened in 2004 and also in 2006.
    And here's a question posed by the writers, a question they didn't answer, but maybe Old_Tony can give it a shot...
     
  7. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Brookings is considered to be the most liberal of the big 3 think tanks in D.C. But yes it is an opinion piece. I'm glad the soldiers finally feel they are making progress. Props to Patraeus.
    Don't know if the American people are open to a few more years of this though. I think the horses have already left the barn.
     
  8. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Is the liberal media trying to fuck with conservatives?
     
  9. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Doesn't help that the goals that were established three years ago are now no where near what they are today. The administration talked such a big game you'd think the goal was getting to Canton. They haven't even scored a TD yet.
     
  10. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    BTW, those two writers in the NYT aren't exactly opponents of the war. They aren't Billy Kristol, but they're closer to him than they are Arianna Huffington.
     
  11. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    Gosh Old_Tony, you mean to tell me the war wasn't "won," the "mission" wasn't "accomplished" way back in 2003? I guess we'll have to "stay the course" now until we win. I mean those Iraqis love us, it's only a matter of time before the security forces and the government get the situation under control. And since they love us so much, any day now, the Sunnis and the Shi'a will forget their 1100 year fight. We'll be forevermore remembered as heroes! And to top it all off, Iraq will become an example for the rest of the region. I mean, its obvious that al-Qaeda is already dying, the Taliban is retreating, Iran is stopping its nuclear weapons program, and all is becoming well in the Middle East. Our operation for "Iraqi freedom" is going so well!
     
  12. Boomer7

    Boomer7 Active Member

    Remember, Pollack was one of the liberal hawks who pushed for this war, no matter how much he might have criticized its execution in recent years. He's got a dog in this hunt.
     
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