We definitely need to get all of the surrounding countries together to sit down and hash out a plan as to how we are going to handle Iraq and get it back on track. As it stands now I think we are the only calvary to save it! That can't last long. I mean our men and women are getting worn out going between Iraq and Afghanistan. Something needs to be done and fast.

General Eaton, Your solutions will have to be passed on to the next president and administration because this one certainly is not listening.

Sounds like all wishfull thinking to me.

I certainly agree with the writer. America has come to be known as a shoot first country. There no longer is any diplomacy and that's what's going to get us into the most trouble. Our founding fathers would be rolling over in there graves if they knew half the mess that our federal government has made of this country. I can certainly understand what Michelle Obama was saying when she made that remark that offended everyone. Support the troops, not the occupation!

I am not sure America can recover. We are losing our
influence around the world militarily and economically.
You name it and we are in trouble. It seems
as though everything leads to Iraq and how the war
has done some serious damage to America. How do
you fix 6 years of damage? Definitely not in the first
term of a new president.

"Where's the Calvary?" Who cares - this administration won't listen to them anyway. It only hears what it WANTS to hear - and the good General and Ambassador did just that.

And how does one propose to 'gainfully employ' angry Arab men when this country cannot 'gainfully employ' angry American men (and women)?

This "war" was entered without a strategic plan and we continue to – as Melanie Griffith's character in Working Girl said at the end of the movie – "make the rest up as we go along". It's a little hard to have diplomatic talks and expect others to help when there is no plan to follow, when the rules and playbook change on a literal daily basis.

Hopefully, come January when a new administration is in place, these issues will realistically be addressed and the efforts necessary to actually have a cohesive alliance will begin. Until then, we'll just continue to stumble along ... and hopefully not too many more lives will be lost as a result of this administration's continual missteps.

You made a key point about getting angry Arab men off the streets gainfully employed, and "We need a reinvigorated Provincial Reconstruction Team program – new life to an idea that worked very well for the French in Algeria. In the words of one commander, “I don’t need more combat troops, I need agriculture and water experts.” Yet Commerce, Transportation, Education, Treasury and the rest of the President’s cabinet have been AWOL in this war."

True words that hit home fairly hard. As a small town American, I am just now realizing how badly this "war" was organized from the beginning. Reading your words just confirms what I already felt. My fear is that it was organized so badly form the onset that is is going to be an impossibility to get out of there at all. Meanwhile, my grandchildren and great grandchildren will be paying the the money back that we are borrowing from China and the treasury.

So many screw ups, so little time.

Sounds to me like Major General Paul Eaton is stating the same things that Barack Obama has stated.

Clearly, the Iraq government is taking advantage. With over 100 billion in cash in the bank, why is America paying the salaries of 100,000 reconstruction workers?

It's time to press the diplomatic surge and bring the troops home.

Excellent points General. But the fact that you are making them when the war is entering it's 6th year illustrates the fact that there is no cavalry, and there never was. And at this late date, "President" W and his Buds ain't lookin for one. This administration has never had any concept of the need for or use of diplomacy anywhere, so expecting them to pick up on it now is a waste of time. Just look at their "diplomatic" attempts toward the problems in Israel and the West Bank. That lasted all of five minutes. Because of the current "administration's" stupidity this country will be stuck in Iraq and Afganistan (remember that one?) for a very long time and the next administration will bear the brunt of George Bush' failures.

you get what you vote for america...

Anderson none of this is surprising with this Admin. I'm so sick of it. The soldiers and marines need help, they need a president who really cares about there well being and getting them home safely. Not one who thinks they can continue fighting forever who messed up rotations, then coming home and waiting months and months for there checks...president bush should be ashamed of himself.

Three "I"s for the administration's prosecution of this phony and immoral war : indictment , impeachment , and imprisonment. Lock 'em all up.

impeach bush and cheney, strip them of there finances and put them in jail where they can't do any more harm to this country and the world and get our troops out of there.

You will never win hearts and minds by bombing the hell out of the population, starting with 'shock and awe' in 2003 and continuing today. You destroyed Falluja and will never recover those mostly Sunni hearts and minds who in vast numbers would have lost loved ones in the massacre. Now you are destroying Sadr City and other southern populations and so will forever lose those too. One minute you hail a regional leader as your friend, the next you persecute the same. You have no credibility left in Iraq and around the broader globe. You have lost support and trust from some of your most established allies. If ever three words summarised it all perfectly, they are 'you have lost'.

Unfortunately, this war was not properly planned and we are still waiting for someone in this administration to come forward and admit the lies and mistakes that lead us to the war in the first place. We cannot win this war, plain and simple. Regardless of all the progress (if any) portrayed by the news and the administration, there are too many players involved in this conflict.
What we haven't understood is the fact that Iraqis were better before the war. Yes, there were under a dictatorship. Yes, Saddam Hussein wasn't the nicest guy around; however, He kept the country under control. Who will keep Shiites and Sunnis from killing each other? Captain America?
When an administration doesn't have a national agenda or a way to resolve domestic issues, it directs the public attention elsewhere. That's what this administration did. Education, health care and economic situation of this country is worst now than when Mr. Bush took office.
However, I am a big believer that this was the choice of the American people when they voted for Mr. Bush (I didn't). Next time, instead of complaining, make an intelligent decision at the voting polls. Thank God, a few more months and this nightmare will be over.....

where is the cavalry in Iraq?!? gainfully employ angry Arab men?!?

Where is the help going to come from here at home? If even 1% of the $$ spent over there had been kept here at home all the "bitter" people Obama refered to might be able to actually care about overseas issues. Fix OUR economy then we can be a nation builder oversees.

I served oversees, in Afghanistan, and trust me when I say that the troops are much more concerned about coming home to help their own families then they are making sure that they help angry Arab men become gainfully employed.

This is silly. The agencies of government are all working very hard to rebuild Iraq, schools, hospitals and infrastructure have been rebuilt. Trade and development agencies are working hard to develop the economy and create jobs. Please don't post this poor journalism, The Major may have served his country well and I don't want to take away from that, but he has not taken even a quick glance at the websites of any of the US's trade or development agencies to see the massive efforts at work in Iraq.

All the critics of this administration's Iraq policy will get their opportunity to prove themselves right but they need to keep in mind that if it gets worse on their watch they must take full responsibility and let the critics bash them 24/7 without offering excuses.

The comment "America has come to be known as a shoot first country. " can not be more true. I think this is the worst disadvantage of being a super military power. Possessing the most number of lethal weapons has blinded us and gotten us into what I call a 'video game mentality.' But guess what, real life is not like easy.
Multi-lateral dialogue is the best weapon to use in the middle east. It may hurt a few EGOs but has proven over time to have long lasting and much desired results. Military should be the last resort and is only appropriate for cases such as the Third Reich.

I was in the Cavalry
We are everywhere
Perhaps you should explain what you mean
I think it's just poor planning and bad Leadership that led us to where we are today
Really though

I'll tell you where the cavalry is... they are at bases all around the word waiting for orders to deploy from their Commander in Chief but when he wanted to commit the forces needed to get the job done the cut and run liberals and the media who is in bed with them cried and whined and second guessed everything the President did. The President got on national television after 9/11 and said the war on terror would be long and tough but the media and the dems expected this things to be mopped up overnight and when they weren't they personally attacked the President, the military, and pulled their support for the US and backed the terrorists. When the President announced the surge last year Harry "we lost: Reid attacked the President, Pelosi attacked the idea, and the other cut and run Dems did the same thing. Jack Murtha and Joe Biden took the time to consistently attack the troops too (Murtha – "muderous thugs", Biden – "our troops are terrorizing women and children") So don't ask where the cavalry is. Despite everything and the shameful treasonous conduct by the Dems in this, the President has had the gut to stay the course, take the attack to the terrorists on their soil, and much to the dismay of the Dems, has NOT allowed an attack to happen here. Looks to me like Barack or Hillary first would not have the guts to do what this President did (like their Dem brother Bill showed he would not do when faced with a terrorist act) and second they would conduct the operation by the results of polls and not by their convictions!!!

Most Americans that are fed up with this administration would normally get a little excited when a high ranking military man speaks out about the unconscionable ineptitude of the leadership in this country especially when it concerns the war. Now i see a mere seven responses to what he wrote and most of those seem to want to analyze what he wrote rather than deal why he wrote it.

General Eaton, I'm glad you are out of Iraq. Better be here badmouthing our president then doing a lousy job there.
You like so many readers, choose to hear and report only the bad aspects of the war. Probably your grand father had the same opinion when Hitler went into Poland.
You would rather have the IED detonate on our streets rather then Iraq
It doesn't matter what our president decided to choose, there are always people like you, pointing fingers.
Saddam left us no choice, but to go to war, or coward ourselves in some military office, and hope everything is going to be OK.
He never came clean, and decided to play games. NOBODY at that time could bet their life that Iraq doesn't have weapons of mass destruction.

There is no cavalry to come to the rescue. The militay does it all because, quite bluntly, the military has all the resources - manpower, budget, etc. The military wants agriculture and water experts? Then shift some of its budget to the Agriculture Department, etc. so that they can hire/train/supervise such programs. State Department FSOs sent to Iraq complain that all they can do is sit around desks in the 'Green Zone' because everywhere else is so violent they need military protection – and the military doesn't want to provide it. (Not even Blackwater can fill the gap). The U.S. DoDhas more Public Affairs officers than the State Department has Foreign Service Officers (and they have to cover the entire planet). the U.S. Air Force alone has more Arabic speakers than the State Department.

The *entire* State Department foreign service officer corps is under 7,000 people (after several years of expansion). Divide that by 140+ nations that they need to cover, plus stateside duties, and you'll see why - even though Iraq has the largest US Embassy staff in the world - the military still dwarfs it. Employees of Departments like Agriculture, Education, etc. are not equipped nor trained nor compensated for operating in a combat zone. You can't just order a GS-10 accountan or education specialist t to pack his /her bags and jump into the middle of a war, particularly when there isn't enough military to protect him/her. They didn't sign up for that, often wouldn't qualify for that, and probably couldn't contribute meaningfully anyway.

Cavalry? The only horse we've got is the U.S. military. No one else is trained or has the resources to both provide security and reconstruct at the same time - no matter how many "cost plus" contracts we throw out. As for the idea that "worked well for the French in Algeria", just ask yourself: In the end, how did that turn out for the French?

Where is the Cavalry indeed? When IS the hill where our God, Jesus H. Christ, was crucified and died and was raised for our sins? That is the question our overly-secular Congress needs to ask itself, and answer! If we are to conquer Iraq completely, our soldiers will need more weapons and more powerful bombs to get the job done and protect our Freedoms!

There are ways to effectively fight an insurgency, many of them do not use bombs or bullets. This, America, is a thinking man's war- so strap in for the long haul and get creative, because bullets alone will not win this one.

It seems like we learned nothing from Vietnam.... I never dreamed after coming home from that horrible "war" that America would be duped into another action that is daily maiming and killing our young soldiers, all for the whim of a pitiful president... I was brought up in a military family, and my dad instilled in me a love for my country, but when I had to tell him goodby to leave for Vietnam, I wish he had sent me on my way to Canada instead. The policy makers need to be the ones that should have to go to Iraq and ride the Humvees.... in terror that a improvosed munition is going to go off any minute. We need to be out of Iraq!!!!

General Eaton,
It is good to see upper echelon people stating the truths instead of hiding behind their pensions, scared of offending someone higher up.
frank

Very good point General Eaton. Unfortunately the current President only lives in a Cold War/WWII frame of mind and he does not even understand that or we would not have jumped into this quagmire in the first place. The US was never a strong a colonial power in the same sense as France so we have no understanding of or interest in dealing with the locals except under our our terms.

My view is that the U.S. shouldn't be in Iraq in the first place. Saddam at least kept the peace between the Sunnis and the Shiites. The U.S. should just extract itself completely from Iraq and let the insurgencies fight it out between themselves. And, who cares about Iran – so far they haven't threatened anyone. Let the Iranians fight with the insurgencies.
There is no need for U.S. military involvement unless national security is "directly" threatened.

WE DID NOT ALIENATE! Ther rest of the world is not pulling there weight!

Send video games over there and get the teens addicted to them. Busy doing nothing is better than busy fighting. We could have won an all out war but doing police action within a country of many sects is dumber than the average bush.

Things in Iraq will only get better once the occupation ends. Bush can spin it anyway he likes but the fact remains Iraq is under US occupation. Decisions about Iraqs' future continue to be made in Washington. The US needs to disengage from Iraq.

Do Americans know that the people of Iraq have somehow managed to live in ME for thousands of years without American 'help'? Why are Americans so arrogant as to presume Iraqis cannot manage their own affairs?

Your Stupid Government , ruined this country by unlawfully attacking it ... you americans really are starting to annoy me ...

Canada

I hear a lot of complaining about this administration, but no well-thought solutions being offered. Since everyone blogging seems to be an expert strategist and political prodigy-slash-prophet, I'm sure you can craft some masterful road map to peace in Iraq. I 'm confident you will account for all contingencies that may (the prophet's role in this fledgling debacle) arise.

By not standing behind your FREELY ELECTED leaders, you inhibit the their influence over those above mentioned allies.

Thanks, "so-called American's" for creating a scenario where our troops must go to war behind a headless President, created by his own people. Since we're quoting television...

"Cold enough world without gettin' gone against by your own." -Deadwood

At this point I would be surprised if Bush came out with a sensible plan on anything much less Iraq. The last 8 years have only proved that he likes to play cowboy with a shoot first never ask questions mentality. We should et the Iraqis figure it out for themselves at this point – it is their country not ours and we should have never gone there to begin with. As Ben Franklin said, "Guests like fish begin to smell after 3 days" – after 5 years there is really a stench from our occupation. We need to hand over the country to its citizens and come home and not feel like we were appointed policeman of the world.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

"Every interested player –- and that includes all border countries, Israel and Egypt –- needs a seat at the table."

Strange statement. Neither of those are "border countries" with Iraq. Then again, Eaton is no doubt aware that Israel has been involved with the Kurds in northern Iraq for decades, and regional Sunni powers like Egypt most likely had a hand in arming Iraqi Sunnis.

Felix wrote:

"WE DID NOT ALIENATE! The rest of the world is not pulling their weight!"

The rest of the world is not obligated to "pull their weight." Most countries are more than willing to let the US stew in Iraq. A wise decision on their part, I would say.

“Every interested player –- and that includes all border countries, Israel and Egypt –- needs a seat at the table.”

Quick correction on my part - he was not including Israel and Egypt with border countries. My bad.

My comment on the involvement of those two nations in Iraq still stands.

Was this war based on 9-11? why does China have more American cash than America? Why is Hydrogen Fuel invent-able and not invented yet? Why is Greed, Power and Money the leading reason of leaders today? And WHO THE HELL CAME UP WITH NAFTA??? Those people were the real demise of America. I WANT A HERO.

a bit closer atttention might go a long way.... for us all.

OK ... who's next in line ... if we oust the Pres./ Vice Pres. (incompetent/treasonous) .... what's the next step in an election year... we could have turned Afganistan into a garden by now, with women trained to run and maintain backhoes/dozers/well drilling equip/etc.... those $billions a month could have done a lot of good, but there's a culture of corruption at home that prevents American "Quality" from reaching the Mid-East..... what's the underlying cause? Voter apathy?. I'm a native Texan (our original thought was .... George is a "Goober" let him run for national office ... get him out of Texas)..... that backfired.
So, let's bring the best Military in the world home....let the Mid-East collapse.(it will anyway)... and take care of business here.

Isn't the monumental incompetence of this Administration Impeachable? Until we get off our Butts and march on 1600 pennsylvania Avenue in numbers that overwhelm the city, we're screwed by this Administration!
Simple as that!

I propose a National Amnesty Program; for every Senator, Congress Person, and all of their Aides....... renounce every back-room deal, bribe, etc. and all is forgiven..... IF, everyone will show up for work and deal with the Nation's pressing issues in good faith....if not .... mandatory prison time.

obviously, Felix is not very educated. I read a poll that only 21% approve of this war. Now I know what percent he belongs in. Obama '08!

Star Ship Troopers may be the solution to government problems.

if even half the money we spent militarily in iraq had been and would be spent on economic stability both abroad and at home ... no insurgencies, no terrorists, would be threatening us ... we have a lazy excuse for a president who unfortunately has and continues to embarrass us ... january 2009 will not come soon enough ... i only hope whoever replaces the current court-jester will at least have a work ethic ...

The general is absolutely correct. The Bush Administration started all this mess and then left it up to the military to solve it. They miscalculated everything from DAY-1. The whole administration especially Rice has done zero. Their grade is zero!!

“WE DID NOT ALIENATE! The rest of the world is not pulling their weight!”

"The rest of the world is not obligated to “pull their weight.” Most countries are more than willing to let the US stew in Iraq. A wise decision on their part, I would say."

To Felix: You want other countries to help clean up the mess we made, even though a vast majority of them didn't want anything to do with the invasion? Typical American attitude.

Does the legacy of the children of the "greatest generation" strir a murmur in the heart of corporate media?

When you have an intellectually challenged administration, what do you expect.
It was the dumbest idea imaginable to go into Iraq in the first place so why would you expect any kind of push to get the government working.
First, there will never be a viable democracy in Iraq as we know democracy and I doubt if there can be any kind of democracy in Iraq for it has been ruled by kings, warlords, tribes, religious leaders, dictators, gangsters for the last 6 thousand years and we have an administration is going to GIVE THEM A DEMOCRACY.
There has never been a country that was given A DEMOCRACY and there never will be a country that can be given a democracy.
The only two powers that a country can be given is a dictatorship and military rule period.
Anyone with an ounce of brains should know that.
A democracy has to be wanted by the people so bad they will spend their blood to get it.

If we are going to slap hands at war then don't send our troops in to start with.Either go in to win as quickly as possible or quit threatening to do something and not do it.
One day history will show we had the firepower when others didn't and didn't use it. You can be sure that one day 911 will be considered a wake up call that we went to sleep on.
At the same time,how would we like another country using an invading force to make us change our way of life?

I can always count on CNN to provide the DNC's version of events. Thanks so much.

Thank you.
Absolutely.
We need a diplomatic surg.....
With everyone at the table....

These are our sons, husbands, brothers..I suggest that we all vote. Vote wisely, lets bring them all home and end this crazy no win situation. Perhaps we should also focus on the vetrans who have come home and are wounded and not receiving the help they deserve from our goverment.

The President's biggest mistake was in taking the advice of a political operative and NOT cleansing the entire Administration of entrenched Clintonistas in late January 2001. Then there is the problem of the State Department, generally acting as a sovereign entity opposed to the President for far too long. That particular war must be concluded one way or the other before the US can deal effectively with the rest of the world.

It is a delusional retiree that muses the Cavalry is a Political force. Clearly if you have been "In the zone" it was in the one of the large camp locations that have everything handed to them. The real Cavalry is not political and is pushed to remote locations involved in OIF I style fighting. They are a regiment of Troops fully mission capable to execute the important balance of proper force and "Hearts and Minds". I witnessed no Retired Generals coming out on Missions with the CAV during OIF III or V, but I did see a number of one-four star generals including the one being slammed in the responses. As for the political piece, future changes are inevtible but be careful what you wish for. I sense a lot of vicarious anger by those who repsonded to the article. Few of which, I am sure, have seen our Troops die for their fellow Soldiers in the heat of Battle and fewer still understanding the freedoms all now enjoy. I have also yet to see further attacks on America. Our Governamental agencies are working overtime and then some to protect all. Sounds to me like someone is bitter that he is no longer in the fight and has become a puppet of liberal media.

We were stupid enough to vote for him (twice, even). We deserve whatever humiliation and shame Bush brings on us. Although I guess that's not an entirely fair statement as MOST of us voted against him the first time around. But America is a twisted mockery of what democracy is supposed to be and, surprise surprise, our votes meant nothing.

Learn from your mistakes and vote McCain into an assisted living complex; not the White House. Just listen to his speeches; he's completely senile and changes his stance on any given issue more often than I change my socks.

And tell him to stop calling us "my friends" in all his speeches. It makes me sick to my stomach just hearing it.

bottom line is our boys and girls over their are caught up in a "big" mess. Who is right who and WHY!!!!

General Eaton,

Thank you for your comments. It is something that has needed to be said for a long time, but unfortunately htis administration is almost a lost cause. Hopefully the people of this great nation will elect someone in November who can figure out a sound exit strategy, as well as a way to continue to diplomatically support the new Iraqi government and find solutions for the problems in the Middle East. Democracy in Iraq is something that would be great, but the path this administration has chosen has lead us into a disaster zone.

As a soldier's girlfriend, I feel that there is no concern for the true strategic planning of this war (nor for more than a military solution) and that the soldiers, as you explained, do have the entire burden. A war involves the entire country: during WWII, to help feed the troops the American people had "Victory Gardens" and women entered the workforce to take over jobs vacated by the boys overseas. We can complain all we want to, but it's time we finally do something to make a change. Vote in someone who will either seriously fix the strategy of this war or preferably end it, and send in other departments who can help with the reconstruction period. It's time the rest of the government, not just our men and women in uniform, stepped up to the plate. And more than that, it's time they be allowed to.

Most anti war critics have been saying this for years. It is not an issue of the military, it is a failure of the WH, Dept. of State and policy makers to achieve a political solution. And every time this criticism has been leveled, Bush, Cheany, and others will make war speeches with the military as a back drop, or some VFW in the middle of nowhere and claim war detractors as defeatist, cut and runner's, helping to support terrorism etc.
And the Media eats it up.

The fundamental issue is that IRAQ IS NOT OUR COUNTRY and we have no right to be there! Any tactical or even strategic changes that we do now at best only postpones the inevitable withdrawal. We need to admit this was wrong from the beginning, pull our troops out and pay war restitution to Iraq for destroying their country (it will be cheaper than the $Trillions we're spending on the futile and immoral military solution). Over time we may be able to restore our place in the world and maybe the Iraqis will eventually forgive us like the Vietnamese etc.

Finally we need to prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld etc for war crimes, including lying to congress and the American people and breaking US and international laws on torture, wiretaps, etc. We need to cleanse our collective souls from this menace just like Japan and Germany did after WW2.

Poor Walter, so confused and so wrong. It was W's boys that claimed the entire war would cost 1B$. It was W and his boys that ignored the militray when they wanted 300,000 men. He tried to do it with half, as in half ass. No liberal or democratic mandate existed. He had a strangle hold on congreess, remember? Just like every other blunder his owners have had him do, it was a lie for $$$, and lots of it from our pockets and the Iraqi oil fields. There never was any intention of winning this war, just to hold the oil fields. An second example was N.O. after they blundered the storm rescue. There was no intention of rebuilding, not that it was a bright idea anyway. But he has always taken the dishonest route. Even when it was not needed. The land those poor blacks and working class whites owned in N.O. will be claimed by the government and sold to developers for peanuts, just as planned.

I've been a Marine 17 years and I've had it! I'm tired of being used for all the wrong reasons! I wish I had a chance to ask DICK CHENEY one qustion in front of a thousand Marines and a rolling camera how much money he has made off this war and all the lives of all my brothers and sisters deaths....

Almost forgot they media is owned and sensored by they same people who on the congress!

This country needs a revolution!

This "war" has fallen due, in a large part to, the misunderstanding of the key people who are involved. Vali Masr has very good points in his book "The Shia Revival". Some of which are "The Sunni-Shia conflict is at once a struggle for the soul of Islam-a great war of competing theologies and conceptions of sacred history-and a manifestation of the kind of tribal wars of ethnicities and identities, so seemingly archaic at times, yet so surprisingly vital, with which humanity has become so familiar." and "It is, paradoxically, a very old, very modern conflict"

There seems to be little, if any, international support for the "democratization" of the peoples of the Middle East.. Also keep in mind that this region has been involved in many, more serious battles, in the last 7,000 years.

Two major comments

This is not a war, it is a big old Government project, and as someone whose been around Government projects for thirty years, the media doesn't get it. These projects NEVER END..There's just too much money to be made.

Point 2: We plainly do not have the talent to end this thing, We don"t have the diplomatic chops we used to. we don't have the will. and we don't have the players.. In short, this war will continue to destroy young men and women and make large amounts of cash for an assortment of war profiteers ro4r some time to come. No one in the current political process has the cojones to stand up and DO SOMETHING about. Fear runs Washington so don't expect anything to happen in 09 either. How the blazes did we win WW 11 anyway?

I agree with everything the general has said here today. With America
saddled with the most incompetent commander-in-chief in our modern history, combined with a congress and senate that for the last 10 years has become our national shame – a total disgrace – To find ourselves rudderless during these most difficult of times comes as no suprise.

I admire Maj. Gen. Eaton; he speaks complete truth....but perhaps a poor choice of words for a title. The Cavalry, which includes my son, IS there. The problem is not the cavalry but the inept, corrupt, hell-bent-for-leather faux cowboy mentality that got us into this mess to begin with. Our soldiers are simply doing their jobs. They have no choice; they go where they are ordered and we support THEM even if we don't believe in the mission. Why Dubya has remained in office and hasn't been impeached remains a mystery. (can anyone find him an intern?) Sadly, though, I don't think America will really speak with one voice and demand an end to the war unless the body count goes up into the tens or hundreds daily.

This is the most acute and unadulterated flash of truth that I have ever seen make it through a major news outlet.

Right on, Major General Eaton.

Right on, Anderson Cooper.

And right on, CNN.com, for adding this to your top stories.

Because, sometimes, it is not acceptable to simply show two political sides of a story, two different sets of propaganda. Sometimes, there is a real ground truth, and you have to let that shine through.

iraj did not attack your country they were at war with the taliban your leaders [unelected ones at that] created this shit storm to serve the the powers to be in there need for greed and power this was no mistake there plan is working perfectly,there useing your men and women to acheive this goal. they are war criminals in every sence of the word. long after lennons death THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING. if you take a look at what bush is saying your country has learned nothing,from veitnam only the media is controled by government more now, my heart goes out to the people of your conntry

Annie, get a life and take a breath. Shayne, give up your passport and move to China. Both of you would probably never dare take up up a weapon to protect your country, yet you, like many of your liberal counterparts, have little solutions to the real problems at hand. If you really knew anything about whats happening on the ground in Iraq, you would be amazed: we are winning this war. Forget the statistics that prove that, ask a soldier who as actually been in combat – they will tell you. But that is one of the problems, right? You don't know anyone who has been in combat because you really don't associate with folks like that. You don't really care about the soldier who gladly spends 18 hours in the field with a weapon protecting you. You have a disdain for folks like that because of some sub conscious self loathing that you have. Check it out: we are winning and have been for a while. As long as the 99.9% of this country who don't care to pick up a weapon fund the .1% of us who volunteer to fight, we will win and you can continue to drink your latte's. We are winning, we will win, and we will all, including you, will be better off for it.

Why not let them pay for their own reconstruction?

Oil is over $100 dollars a barrel, so Iraq should have enough resources to rebuilt itself and no one should be asking for more handouts.

The President began this war and he must finish it. We have over 100,000 soldiers on the ground. Why not let all of them come down on the terrorist and take all of them out?

Walter, your post just demonstrated the false pretenses we used to conduct this war against Iraq and the proxy war against Iran. Saddam Hussein and the leadership in Iran had NOTHING to do with 9/11. So the idea that we should be patient about Iraq because we were told it would be a long war against terrorism is fallacious. We aren't fighting a war against terror right now. We are making no progress in Afghanistan (where the focus of our military and diplomatic efforts should have gone in the first place) and not effectively implementing a solution to help pave the way to peace in Iraq. Every American should agree that our goal should be to bring Peace to the middle east. I understand that we disagree on how to accomplish that goal, but it should also be equally universally recognized that we cannot impose a peace militarily on groups of people that have centuries of hatred and violence directed at each other. The only viable solution would be to carve Iraq into three separate and semi-autonomous zones with smaller central government that focuses only on issues that would affect all three territories. That combined with an equal sharing of oil revenues would be the fastest way to bring the peace we desire. That way our Armed Forces can concentrate on what the constitution says their duty should be, to protect the United States of America.

Seriously what do you expect? Bush/Rove/Cheney executed the war to gain the "political capital" to guarantee a second term, end of story. The same political capital Bush said his father squandered in Gulf War 1. Their vision was power and perhaps oil, but not justice or security. Why would General Eaton think these people in our white house have any interest at all in Iraqis or the lives of our soldiers?

Well, I am here in Iraq as part of this master plan surge and I see that nothing will change until we leave. As long as we are here there will be problems. Al Sadr is another "Master of Puppets" that will play the card when he feels it works in his favor and raise hell when it is not. It will not end. There is no happy ending in sight. There will be a constant flow of "angry Arab men" coming here to fight for what they think is right. We have opened this country wide open to angry Arab men and their cowardly ways of fighting the coalition's occupation. How many millions of people have we displaced from this country? And the majority of the ones that are left either want to be left alone, or stab us in the back. Piss poor planning, yes things have changed, but nothing is stable here. Sadr city is s stones throw away from what most of the reporters get to see at the IZ (Green Zone). There are plenty of people in that city that are waiting for their moment. What is the "goal" we were aiming for when we came in and invaded? What was the plan? What can we offer these people now, they have seen what we are cpapable of. They are tired and frustrated. Look at Korea, we are still there, guess I will tell my children to get ready for Baghdad Intl High School.

Over 4,000 lives later what are we really doing? We are the one's taking this burden full on, the sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and children of America. I have transported VIP's, Top Brass, State Oficials, Senators, Presidential Candidates, etc through and around Iraq, and it is sad to know that these are the people who are in charge. That they are so close physically but so far from where we need them to be as a whole mentally.

Hi all,

I do not think American's care enough to bother to do anything about this. Mostly because, we can't. It doesn't matter what we, the people, want... the Government does what it wants to do. We tried voting in a democratic congress, and nothing changed.

One thing that is becoming clear to my generation – you can't make change in America anymore. Our country is not a democracy anymore, it's a "Corporate-ocracy".

America is broken. I think this is how Rome fell...

No matter how long we stay in Iraq, it will crumble the moment we leave, just like South Vietnam. Further, time is not on our side. The next administration is going to have to start laying the groundwork for the post-occupation Middle East, whether it includes getting permission to base troops in Saudi Arbia and Kuwait, or something else. My hunch is that thise two kingdoms would rejoice at direct American support, because I don't think they would put up much resistance on their own when the impoverished Sunnis start looking for oil.

Iraq is our problem. Not the surrounding nations. We went in and screwed up. Is now our responsibility to make it peaceful. Not another nations.

I'm glad to read stories like this only to be reminded how one sided CNN is, and will always be.

Something you forgot to mention in this, he works for Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign as an advisor. Nice job, now how about you be semi fair and let some advisors for John McCain and Barack Obama get an article put up with no mention they advice for their respected campaign so it seems like they are get "observers" in this election and not one sided.

Are we interested to end this war or keep killing people in the name of terrorist/Soulders/Insergent etc etc. ....They are enjoying and playing with innocent lives. When innocent soldiers and children and women are killed(whatever maybe the reason, whoever may be the killer), they don't care. .....Civilized people are killing civilized people in the name of enemy/soldiers/terrorist/......Maybe, this is the Begining of the End of our Great Civilization(EGC)
War is now five years and we lost 4000+ US and 100000+ Iraqi lives and 40000+ US and 500000+ Iraqi civilized people became disable and that too just kill or remove Saddam Hussain from power-totally mess mathematics

The United States was established as the result of an insurgency against Great Britain. A rag-tag army wore down the world's most powerful army until they left. That's what will happen in Iraq.

Meanwhile, back in the good ole USA we're going down the toilet. Jobs are disappearing, education and heath care are unaffordable and China is taking us over one Treasury Bill at a time. George Bush has wrecked this country.

We need to declare victory and tell the Iraqis that they have six months to put together the country they want. We've given them a golden opportunity create a free and prosperous nation, and we've paid dearly. It's time for us to go now.

Wow, what amazingly diverse and well thought out comments. A bunch of arm chair quarter-backs throwing in their two-cents about a war they have never experienced. I briefly met MG Eaton when General Petraeus was taking over the position he failed at. I must say that it is not very common to see a General not man up and take responsibility for something he is charged with and blame it on "higher ups" But I guess he won the hearts and minds of a media looking for a hard to find high ranking Officer to criticize the administration. Well, they found him and by my count this is the third major story they used him for. All I have to say to all the "bloggers" who commented is go hug a tree and let the true American hero’s spend their sleepless nights protecting our peace...sleep tight.

People! Have you not been paying attention? This isn’t a war in the eyes of the businessmen who run our country and elect our officials. It’s an opportunity to make money, lots of money. That’s what business types do. These are people who can fire 50,000 workers and never bat an eye. Or, they can kill millions of innocents all in the name of profit.

When “Oil” men fight a war in an “Oil county” the result will always be big profits for “Big Oil”. Stage magicians fool us by using something call “misdirection”. Politicians do the something. And for good reason: It works every time.

In anawer to mark about who said:

" Please don’t post this poor journalism, The Major may have served his country well and I don’t want to take away from that, but he has not taken even a quick glance at the websites of any of the US’s trade or development agencies to see the massive efforts at work in Iraq."

First you need to do a bit more research about what is credible. Maj. General Paul Eaton is not just a "Major", he is a 2 star general who was former commander of Iraqi Armed Forces and their development command. He was incharge of the development effort.

Why would a general who has been in Iraq in a command position need to look to the propaganda that is on some of the contractor company's who are sucking our ecomomy dry to know what is going on?

Do you really think that what is on thos websites is the reality in Iraq?

The problem in our country is poeple like you vote yet you don't even try to understand what is going on to make an informed vote.
Very Sad!

This is really pretty simple. Until we can stop the flow of weapons coming in from Iran, this war will never be over. If the insurgency has no weapons to wage war, then there is no war. Take, for example, the end of World War II. After the war was officially over, our occupying forces were still taking sniper fire as late 2 years after the war. Eventually it stopped because they confiscated most of the weapons. Since this is not going to happen in Iraq, it's time to start bringing the troops home.

I think by now, all countries realize the draft dodger administration is clueless when it comes to war.
The war cowards broadcast senseless phrases like "Bring 'em on" and "The insurgency has turned the corner", yet five years after starting this war on false pretexts, those insurgents show they can turn it on and off, as they did early this month.
A superpower that has fought five years against a few lightly armed people in a tiny country should do what they do best, as they did in Viet Nam. Get out the white flags and helicopters, and run. Reagan did it in Lebanon, Clinton in Somalia.
They lost this war when they reached Baghdad in 2003 and were unable to stop all the looting. That's when they found out they lost this war.

It must be pretty to think so General...

But your demands and stipulations have never been met in any war the US (or any other country) has ever engaged in...

Diplomacy and resources have always been in short supply...

What is your assessment of Munich (job well done Neville "Peace in Our Time" Chamberlain)?

Patton complained about the lack of gasoline for his vehicles, and this was when we had the Nazis on the ropes.

Yes, just wave your magic diplomatic wand and centuries of endemic hostility will simply evaporate.

In all convential understanding, the war was won when the government of Saddam fell and his army was destroyed. We then proceeded with the CPA, a good idea that was horribly executed. We then turned the country over to a native government. The "war" is over and has been for awhile. We won. The current "insurgency" can not be won militarily unless we adopt the policies of Stalin or any other dictator and kill indiscriminately. It is a political struggle and MG Eaton is correct, it needs a political solution. To conceive that "winning" this "war" equals a stable democracy Iraq built on our own image is naive and unattainable. If a democracy can survive here, which is doubtful, it must be from the people. Only institutions which have broad popular support can survive. The withdrawal and redepolyment of some troops to Afghanistan where the real battle is must begin now. The cracks are showing in our Army and the "war" is over.

Quote...."We need to get angry Arab men off the street, gainfully employed. " What about our own country??????

To Peter Naggy...

You have to be one of the last reamining idiots out there who still does doesn't see he badly this president duped us.

Actually there were 2 groups of folks who knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq all along .

1. Cheny and Bush and all their other facist friends in the industrial military complex who are the businesses making off with all our national reasouces and treasure and maintaining this war that spills the blood of our sons and daughters for nothing.

2. The UN inspectors who were in Iraq and kept telling us they just needed a little more time to prove what they believed .. that there were no WMD's! Surprise! They were right.

Contrary to the lie Bush keeps repeating, Saddam did NOT kick our inspectors out of Irag. Bush did so we could illegally invade a soverign nation and enrich his corporate facist buddies.

Remember what that great military man President Eisenhour said in his farewell speach:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. "

Alas, that military industrial complex IS controlling our government!

Vote for change. We can take America back. We can save this country for our children!

Plain and simple Iraq is what it is, to elaborate, Maybe we shouldn't have invaded Iraq initially but failure is not an option. A troop withdrawl would be a failure. Imagine in 2 years when we have to go back into the middle east to a even more dangerous and resilient iraq and afghanistan oh and a NUCLEAR Iran. I am tired of people saying lets get out of Iraq, i'm tired of this war, lets leave.... If you want this war over grab a rifle and finish it. That is the only right and responsible way

Jorge,

Great Post. Just want to add one more thing. Saddam was also our buffer with Iran. They would not be touting their nuclear capabilities and enticing GW and DC for another war for oil.

George w is "missing in action" as he was during his Viet Nam service
Cheny is a meglomaniac and Rice is incompetent-
If Petraeous or Crocker had any backbone they would be telling the President this war is a fools folly and we must bring the boys home.

I'm stationed in Iraq on a one-year tour. I truly now believe our President has grown weary or even bored with this war. He knows he cannot win it...or maybe he doesn't know what to think. He knows only what his filtered people tell him since he refuses to watch all the news himself. I believe his heart is not in this war anymore since it is too tough for him...yet no matter what, here we are...we have to continue on, even without direction, without a clear goal, with our hands tied most of the time as insurgents attack us first, while we only fight back minimally so the paper-thin IA can take the lead. So we continue to stand by, become targets and die, while our President only pays attention to it anymore when he feels like it. I am ashamed to have him as my commander in chief...but yet, I will still be brave and try to protect and serve with those I am deployed with, even though this war have lost the vision and has no leadership to simply be blunt honest and truthful...instead of hiding behind political words and asking for continued "patience" because they don't have any answers for this so-called war anymore.

I am betting that not very many of u can believe what Bush has done in 7 years. The ramifications of his massive failures will resonate beyond your lifetimes. Sobering thought now isn't it. And to top it off, u all voted that fool back in, u all let the republicans scare u, and from the outside looking in, I am not so sure that your electorate isn't dumb enough to do it again. Hard to feel sorry for u lot.

Under-equipped? The U.S. Army has just completed the fielding of new MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicles) kits in record time. New body armor and technologies have been fielded to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines thus saving lives and ensuring mission success. The military is better equipped and protected than we were five years ago. Although our military makes great sacrifices we are not over-burdened and not fighting alone in Iraq. The Iraqi Army is starting to take charge and is making improvements. The American people are impatient and want instant results. Building an Army and a countries infrastructure takes time and money. If you are buying into the promise from Democrats that they will pull troops out after elected you are naive. We are here to stay for the long haul. To this day we continue to have a military presence in Germany and Japan. If anything Democrats will scale back troop numbers and funding and we will have to make due with what we have.

[QUOTE]My view is that the U.S. shouldn’t be in Iraq in the first place. Saddam at least kept the peace between the Sunnis and the Shiites. The U.S. should just extract itself completely from Iraq and let the insurgencies fight it out between themselves. And, who cares about Iran – so far they haven’t threatened anyone. Let the Iranians fight with the insurgencies.
There is no need for U.S. military involvement unless national security is “directly” threatened. [/QUOTE]

Dan Wheldon, you are clueless my friend. Its the Iranians that are backing the insurgency. And the Iranians HAVE threatened to blow up the little satan "Israel" and then the big satan "USA".

Not only that, but they just installed 6000 new centrifuges designed for creating weapon grade uranium.

The fact that the democrats and liberals have so handcuffed our military and are so hell bent on appeasement and isolationism makes me sick.

I guess we are willing to let Israel get wiped out by a suicidal jihadist regime that believes that 12 Imam is returning from a well to bring forth an Islamic sharia law utopia....

WAKE UP.

I am a frustrated soldier currently serving in Iraq. I agree with your statement sir. We have about 30 people in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to the 6,500 combat troops in our area.

We also need to take the Military Transition Team (MiTT) burden off our officer corps. These teams consist of 13 Captains imbedded with the Iraqi military, which makes little to no gain. The MiTTs are poorly trained and equiped. The risk the teams are under are not worth the gains they are making.

Also Sir, did you express your feelings when you were here in Iraq on active duty? If so, was their any reaction to this?

Where is the cavalry?
There is never going to be a cavalry, because we have no intention of ending this war or leaving Iraq, not now and not 50 year from now.

The Iraqi people should be the ones calling for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all American troops. The illegal occupation of the US in Iraq will eventually lead to displacement their people and the exploitation of their riches and culture. After all, look what democracy did to the Hawaiians. They are at the bottom of the social and economic ladder in their own native lands after the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom since 1894.

USA destroyed Iraq and it is the only basic truth. The whole country looks like one big slum and a pile of ruins, 80 % unemployment, malnutried children, huge poverty everywhere, bitter, desperate people without perspectives for better life, It is just present Iraq ruled by proUSA collaborators who as the only persons in Iraq draw private profits from US invasion ( profits to their pockets ) and collaboration with US officials.
Yes, it is just as naziGermany invasion during II world war- the same time of plundering illegal invasion, the occupying wars with huge number of massacre, illegal camps and war crimes Many countries looked like present Iraq – insurgency, pile of ruins. This history was repeated second time. The role of Germany nazis played USA officials, members of congress and US troops: massacres, war crimes, illegal camps ( 65000 people is jailed by USA and government of Iraqi collaborators )Can you imagine that nazis could stabilize Europe during II world war. They made it and it looked it just as situation in present Iraq. It is time for USA to stop to continue further war crimes and destabilization of Iraq and to leave Iraq at last.

Sir, I am here, experiencing the hopelessness that comes from 15 hour days in the hot sun. Eating dry, KBR meals, and showering in the Cadillac’s with my flip-flops fully affixed. This Administration missed directed its fire entirely – seeking the low-hanging fruit, an easy notch in the belt. While countries like Iran, sit on the sideline and continue to erode our resources, human and financial by infusing their resources, human and financial into areas like AF and IZ where we are bogged and going nowhere fast. Sadly, no one wants to admit it. Long term, Saudi Arabia is the hinge point in the Middle East – around it all else centers. Will it be the counter-weight to a growing Iranian hegemony of the area? With our super-sized defense package, maybe. How long before we have a nuclear Arabian peninsula… how would Pakistan react, then India – and what about the Central Asian states, where security is lax and the borders porous? And ultimately what about the GC states? The Middle East is not our lane, never was. We entered with an exceptionally poor understanding of the culture, thinking this was an easy win… 5 years later and a debt that will outlive myself and children’s children… we were wrong. It’s simply beyond our capability and we need to leave.

People call for or say, "peace, peace," where there is no peace. I know that we Americans and indeed people throughout the world are frustrated about the situation and bloodshed in Iraq, but we have to remember that it is human nature not to work together for the good of all people and to fight among ourselves. Look at ourselves.

How likely do you think we could get the responders to this blog to work together on any small task, agree on the procedures to implement it, and manage to take a voluntary collection to finance it without falling short? How quickly could we make it happen?

Now expand that perception to a more difficult challenge that includes reconciling peoples with centuries or millenia of mutual hatred and bloodshed with grudges or desires for vengenance that are as fresh as yesterday.

That is Iraq and any of a number of other conflicts throughout the world today, my fellow Americans and citizen of the World.

Should we have gone into Iraq? Well, we were already over there containing Saddam Hussein's Iraq after his previous invasion and armed robbery of his neighbor Kuwait in 1991. We were attacked at 911 by other parties causing tremendous casualties in 2001, and our President and many American citizens agreed with pre-emptive action to limit the effectiveness and opportunities for future attacks by our avowed enemies. Some enemies took notice, like Libya.

Undoubtedly, Bush and more so Rumfield were arrogant by the decisions and means through which they executed Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We did not have enough combat troops. We lacked sufficient civil affairs troops and resources to bring relatively quick stability to both areas. I agree that Bush made the right decision, but his methods and communication have been flawed. Diplomacy is often overstated as I alluded at the beginning.

We shall have to discuss this more later because I have probably exceeded my post limit. Until next time . . .

This is what the American public does not get from Washington and the "main line" press- a disclosure of the lack of effort on the diplomatic side to get an effective Iraq government "up and running". "Operation Iraqi Freedom" has not succeeded because this administration did not have the will and/or capability to ensure a functioning society (i.e. not only government but also the intrastructure) after we disposed Saddam. One of those responsible for this failure is Condaleeza Rice – and people are touting her as a potential Vice Presidential candidate? As Charley Brown would say "..Auugh!".

I don't know what to think anymore – I'm not a general and neither is anyone else here who commented, so I'll just have to file the general's comments away and watch what happens.

Anderson, you are a smart man, you were trained by the CIA, you should know why General Petraeus wont ask for more help, he is a Bush man. This war was never about freedom or even oil. This war was set forth to preoccupy the American people (induced spread of terrorism by our state). How else will they scare you into believing terrorism to reduce your freedoms or weaken the dollar by printing to many of them to support this war effort. Come on cooper, be honest about what you see and let the truth reveal itself.

You start a war by lying to Congress, the American people, the UN and the world. It was simply an act of revenge by a petty President. One whose intellectual capacity appears to be just about equal to Homer Simpson's.

For his handlers, it was an extremely serious attempt control a major segment of the world's oil. Incidently, getting exceedingly wealthy in the process. They have no desire for the Cavalry; no matter what form it might take. The status quo suits them just fine.

As to defeating terrorism; Al Qaeda has killed approx 4,000 americans since the war was started, 5 years plus.
However according to CDC stats for 2003 -2005 there were 35,896 shooting deaths, just 3 years! Seems to me you might want to change your thinking about who is more dangerous to americans.

I'm not really sure what the proposed solution is. To get a bunch a bunch of countries together to talk? What will that do? Israel and Palestine have been talking for years. How's that going? How are you actually going to have a great dialog with Iran? Further, what exactly do you even need from the countries? The bottom line is that they have their own problems are only going to look to exploit the situation in Iraq, either by directly taking things from it or installing a non-democratic puppet government at both the local and federal levels. I think people use the word diplomacy without actually knowing what it means or having a plan. Having 5-10 people at a table chatting is not going to solve this problem, no more than just bombing the crap out of Iraq is going to do this either. The best coarse of action is to hold democratic elections in the country and then have America play a back-up role to their actions against insurgents.

While I respect the great sacrifice our brothers/sisters sailors and marines are doing in this war...what happen to you mentioning the Airmen and Sailors that are also making these sacrifices? I am refering to your line at the end of your second paragraph.

Thanks

Most people in the Green Zone want us to stay. Most people outside the Green Zone want us to get out. The Green Zone is a very small dot on the map of Iraq. Why do we not just do what they want?

I cannot believe the comments on this posts. We take the thoughts of a has-been General who is no longer in touch with what is really happening on the ground anywhere other than his living room as the gospel. Treasonist wimps get on here and speak poorly of our President (administraition) because that is all they can do! Too pathetic to do something about helping anyone but thierselves.

Marine for 17 years my butt, If you were a marine, you would never say the things you said! Liars, and wimps. Hiding behind your computers.

We are not failing in Iraq. We are in for the long run. It looks like it always does, you want instant gratification, most liberals do. Well, there is no instant grateification in war! You must plan and execute with extreme precision. I think that seeing a change in strategy as poor planning just a lack of good judgement on your own behalf. The plan is working, and changes to the plan must be made in order to do what works, not say, "there was no plan".......... Just ignorant......

You people need to grow up and take your blinders off. I am a veteran, I have seen the world. I have fought for your freedom. Americans are unaware of what the world is really like, they see the world when it is convienient to them...... Our goverment shields you from the real world, so you can continue your everyday life without fear! The Sheep of America sleep in peace at night because they feel safe! Thank your president, thank your soldiers and veterans! BE grateful not hateful!

General Eaton, go back to your grapenuts, and cigars with your old Army buddies, and stay out of the war. You are finished, you no longer get the intel, or know what is really happening. You are using your previous rank to spread your opinion in order to feel important again. Sir, let it go.

Like most of todays generals, Eaton is a clueless, politically correct robot, promoted for having exactly those traits.. for if he had any gonads at all, he would have left the military during the clinton drawdown years, when all the remaining non-pc officers left! but he enjoyed working on his golf game while attending "war colleges" way too much, and stayed in. Having spent 20 years operational without a staff tour, and done my share in the quagmire known as iraq, i no full well that you will never change the iraqi's, or their attitude towards americans. Hell, we carpet-bombed them during the first gulf war, killing 10's of thousands of them, and there isn't an iraqi today that hasn't lost a family member or relative by american hands!! and yet these these pc types like eaton expect them to greet us with open arms and break bread with us??!!?? there is only one answer and that is to just get the hell out of iraq! these people don't want to be saved, and certainly not by some american war-monger!

To Walter: You have hit the nail on the head.

I don't know what is wrong with the people of this country but I am sick of it. We send our troops off to fight and then turn on our government when the fight lasts longer than 2 hours. This essentially forces us into a fight with both hands tied behind our back. But I do have a plan. Since the majority of American people are gutless I propose to bring our troops home and never send them abroad again. Most of the gutless people tend to live in heavily populated cities like New York and Los Angeles. The next time one of those places are bombed, which anyone in their right mind knows they will be after we run from Iraq, we do nothing. They have brought it on themselves at this point.

Taken as a whole, it seems that the greatest generation has been followed by the worst. They have continually hurt this country starting with Vietnam and now this. Bush would have had this war won by now had it not been for the traitors here at home pressuring for the war to stop after a month. Hopefully my generation will be able to clean up after our selfish parents and their entitlement culture.

But I know Bush is responsible for everything wrong in the world today.