End game in Iraq ...?
958807
Yes it's the disaster that most people with any knowledge of the Middle EAst forecast.\nWhen you bomb a country back to the stone age after over twenty years of war and sanctions causing the deaths of millions of people and impoverishing the survivors it should be no surprise that you end up with a lawless society.
1118651
The war in Iraq will end when the new Iraqi government can maintain what we have built for them. It does no good to pull out if the Iraqi Army and governement isnt ready to shoulder the load. If we leave before that time then we will have to come back and clean up the mess again. If we had eliminated the problem in 1991 then we wouldn't be here now. But we listened to the infinite wisdom of the United Nations.
724969
I'm leaning in this direction too.  I think we should become more deadly and finish the fight before we rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.  Maybe build and fight was a useful tactic before the beehive burst.  We should let the Iraqi's rebuild and kill the fanatics first.  If we use our resources correctly, then cannot another country train the Iraqi army while we rampage?
1022228
I think the general public of Iraq want this fighting to end more than we do!  Just remember that people are people, just with cultural differences.  If all people treated each other with respect the communication would flow freely and maybe we could learn to understand each other.
1151746
I opposed going in. However,\n\nIf we leave now, chaos will result. Kurds vs. Shiites vs. Sunnis vs. Al Qaeda. It may be that civil war is inevitable anyway. If the US pulls out before the (hopefully) democratic government of Iraq can raise a reliable, well-trained army to protect itself and the common Joe Iraqi, the troops who have dies really will have died for next to nothing - especially while Saddam is still alive. No, Bush stepped our foot into this. Its too soon to wipe it off.\n\nThe bigger problem is knowing when it will be okay to leave. Our fearless President has failed entirely to define the criteria for "victory." Of course, this leave him (and the US) the option of staying on indefinitely.
650098
Soon is the hopefull answer Bush and Blair have announced plans to have all US and British military resources withdrawn from Iraq by 2010. Hopefully even sooner.\n\nWe should withdraw now but gradually handing over control to Iraqi security forces as we go.
98358
There have been many other signs of the day of judgment so we could very well be nearing the end of times.\n\nThe issue that is of concern is the priorities of our government.  Somehow all the important social programs that I want my taxes to go to have been cut in order to increase spending on an illegal and immoral war that has already cost the lives of 30,000 Iraqi civilians.\n\nFolks, did you hear that? 30,000 civilians! That's not including armed insurgents.  And that's the number that our president is willing to admit to.  God only knows how much more have actually died on the hands of this butcher of Baghdad Bush (like father like son).  How many people died on September 11th?  3,000.  So to go and fight terrorism and avenge the death of these 3,000 people, we go and kill 10 times as many?  Who's the real terrorist here??\n\nStatistically, if you added up all the countries' defense budgets, the U.S. defense would comprise 80% of that and all the other countries combined are only 20%.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't have a military, but our military budget comprising 80% of the entire world's while people in our own backyards are dying of starvation or lack of medical insurance??\n\nThe other thing that boils my blood is the fact that both Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney come from energy backgrounds (Arbusto and Halliburton).  How can it be that as soon as we take over Iraq which was under embargo for 12 years the demand for oil goes up, yet the energy companies score record profits ????\n\nIs this what you want your taxes to pay for?  For an empirical armed nation that is hijacked by corrupt right-wing neo-con energy blood-suckers?  I say we should be able to have a say regarding what our taxes are being spent on.  I personally will not pay taxes this year because I don't want my hard-earned money going to support this sham.\n\nThe ball is in your court.  What are you gonna do??
728628
it all goes back to -\n\nDo they people of Iraq want what we're selling???? It doesnt seem like they do!
665489
When thier mission has been accomplished. Often the end result of a war is not known till many years after the fact. We should have ended this the first time we dealt with Iraq in the 90's. We prematurely withdrew then, and it is imperative that we stick this one throught to the end...whenever that may be. Support our troops! They are the very life-blood of this country! Let them know that thier efforts are not in vain and that they are very much needed and appreciated!!! For those of you who fear for the loss of American lives...yes, weep for them, mourn them...but it was a choice they made when they enlisted, so support the decision that they have made and support them!
702542
Honestly, whether the U.S. military leaves or not, Iraq is bound to have a bloody next 5-10 or even 20 years.  And for what?\n\nFOR WHAT???
1100290
Yes, there are plans. They may be put into effect much sooner than anyone expects if the insurgents get their act together, stop working factionally and get themselves coordinated. \n\nAmerica has a very loose hold on Iraq. It can be thrown very easily and that will happen when the American people finally drop their support for this corrupt and dishonest war on the peoples of the Middle East.
1187508
This will not end anytime soon - e.g. 5-10 years.  In fact, it may never "end".  Even IF it stabilizes, we will most certainly have a presence there.  Look at Korea, Germany and many other countries were we still have bases (WWII ended 60 years ago, Korea a little less than that).\n\nYo pablo-- lighten up.  Typical rightie jack-@ss comment-  \n\nIn relative numbers, 2500 is small compared to previous wars.  I'm sure if you ask the family of the fallen (or could ask the dead), 1 is too great a loss of life for this ill conceived and executed conflict.\n\nOh, let's not forget that we will be paying for this for generations to come.\n\nOh- one more-- Iraq did NOT attack us nor did they take part in 9/11.  We went there under the false pretense that Sadamm had WMD's
1150733
When it is done. Don't you people realize this is not a movie and it doesn't get resolved in 2 hours and 5 minutes? When we ended WWII, it took almost 10 years to get both Germany and Japan running on their own again.\n\nAnd for those of you who think what's happening in Iraq is new or unique, you are wrong! At the end of WWII in Germany, there was a long fight with militant Nazi's who still wanted to fight the war. They bombed civilians who helped the allies, assassinated members of the new German government, and tried to terrorize the country as a whole. This went on through the end of the 1940's. They called themselves, "The Werewolves"\n\nHere is a great website detailing the parallels between post-war Germany and Iraq:\n\nhttp://www.talkingproud.us/International090103.html
743287
Just about all wars see major shifts in goals and tactics at some point making the original goals and tactics obsolete.  If we leave Iraq tomorrow the result would be a major power struggle resulting in a winner.  that winner will be the badest of the bunch and most likely hate the west.  We will leave him the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world.  He will spend that oil wealth on exporting terror with the best weapons money can buy.  We are part of this world we better have a force there!!
516523
Loss?  Hardly.\nIs there an offical Iraqi government? Yep, it was voted in today.\nIs the Iraqi army coming along? Yep, the Iraqi military will be in charge of 75% of Iraq by the end of July.\n\nHow much "land" do the rebels hold? None, although they are fighting in five cities in the country the size of California.\n\nI think the U.S. will be out of Iraq by 2009. The Iraqi military will probably be incharge of over 90% of Iraq within 2008.\n\nTerrorist cells are being split by Afganistan, Iraq, Sudan and Somallia.  They can't reinforce any one area well (because their recuits would rather fight in an area closest to them) and their money and weapons are drying up.
849044
Do not.\n\nI do not want to concede a victory to terrorists. We can eventually withdraw a majority of our troops, but only when Iraq is positioned to handle their own security.\n\nEven then, I think Iraq would be a strategic location for an American military installation to keep an eye on oil shipping channels, keep Iran in check, and generally have a presence in the middle east.
987850
Killing in Iraq will end about the same time killings in the rest of the world will end - when God wipes evil from the earth.\n\nAs for Vietnam, yes some of us remember the lessons learned there.  That's why we're not leaving until the job is finished this time.  We will gradually pull out as the new government in Iraq gradually learns to stand on it's own figurative two feet.