Discussion Question. Now that the U.S. election is over....

[mark]

...............and if YOU were the Prez, what would your next strategy be for Iraq??

a. Would you have an exit strategy & if you say yes, how soon would it be??
b. Would you set up permanent bases in Iraq like Germany & Korea has??
c. Would you just pull out ( regardless of election outcome ) after the upcoming elections at the end of the month??
d. Would you do something else not mentioned here??

We talked about this extensively before the election. With all the new members getting aboard since Nov......maybe someone has different thoughts now & I'd love to discuss them.

Any takers?? ...............see ya Mark

[acoolmom777]

this has been going on long enough...give them a deadline (for the iraq ppl) to move to the south of the country, set a date...then nuke the north and let God sort them out....
jk...
I will have to think on this one....

a strawberry blond for "prez"....that may work ...lol

[tkcomer]

At my state of the union address, I would announce to the world the United States is going broke. I would then pull ALL troops back home and close ALL overseas bases. I would announce we were starting an energy project to make this country independent of foreign oil, hopefully to be completed in 10 years. Then I would say we will stop trading with dictators. These leaders have been controlling their people with our money for far too long. No longer will our finest die in senseless interventions in foreign countries to protect the assets of big business. Then we need to seal our borders. No more illegals coming into this country and working for a few dollars on the hour and draining our overburdened social services dry. Just so businesses can make a higher profit and shirk their responsibilities. Companies need to understand it is an honor to operate in this country, not a way for a few to get rich while the government picks up the tab for the rest. This would not be easy. It would be hard on all of us for many years. But once this country is out of debt and free from the whims of other countries, life would be a lot better and less stressful.

[acoolmom777]

tk for prez...tk for prez...tk for prez..... :D :D :D :D

[mark]

.................2 things I'm curious about.

How soon would you "bring" the boys home & close those bases...........and.........what would your thoughts be to get the U.S. deficit down & the budget balanced?? ...............see ya Mark

[navywife]

the problem with closing all the bases is YOU WILL put lots of people out of business -Soldiers, Sailors and Civilians ---we will have no where to put them due to all the bases that were closed already in the US --(this is something I know personally) when we are already fighting for billets in the US ports ----NOT ENOUGH POSITIONS ALREADY ---we are over manned in certain areas and under manned in others ---do you realize how many people work overseas and love it ---from the people in this area (NRS Maysville) in the last 3 yrs the people my hubby has put in over 50 % has chosen overseas duties and love them----YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THE PEOPLE FIRST ---we are fighting in wars for the love of our country and we are sending people overseas because THEY CHOSE to go ----not because they are required --when you take the oath for the military it says to defend at time of peace and war---this is not like we are making "YOU" go over there and fight---WHY ????? Because you have the right to join or not to join ----ask the people fighting for the US and they will tell you these people need us -----AND WE WANT TO BE THERE !!!!!Yes there are some that don't want to go ---but "they only signed for education"
Again this is my opinion not anyone eles'

At my state of the union address, I would announce to the world the United States is going broke. I would then pull ALL troops back home and close ALL overseas bases. I would announce we were starting an energy project to make this country independent of foreign oil, hopefully to be completed in 10 years. Then I would say we will stop trading with dictators. These leaders have been controlling their people with our money for far too long. No longer will our finest die in senseless interventions in foreign countries to protect the assets of big business. Then we need to seal our borders. No more illegals coming into this country and working for a few dollars on the hour and draining our overburdened social services dry. Just so businesses can make a higher profit and shirk their responsibilities. Companies need to understand it is an honor to operate in this country, not a way for a few to get rich while the government picks up the tab for the rest. This would not be easy. It would be hard on all of us for many years. But once this country is out of debt and free from the whims of other countries, life would be a lot better and less stressful.

[tkcomer]

Well, if we continue down this path and the country goes bankrupt, what do you think will happen then? The military will be decimated. But not with my plan. The military will still be funded. They will still be trained. They would still be ready. Or would you rather be like the Russians when they went broke? Solders going for months without pay and begging family and friends for food. The Kirsk disaster was directly related to severe cutbacks. We have like a 2.4 trillion budget. The military is consuming around 700 billion. We are 7 trillion is debt. Our forefathers said do not step foot in other countries civil wars. Only trade with friends. Good enough for them, good enough for me. If we had done this 50 years ago we would not be in this mess. The man that won WW II, Eisenhower, said beware of the military complex. Remember, it was our military that gave Osama and the future Taliban the tools, know how, and weapons to defeat the Russians. Look what we got in return. We propped up Saddam. Iran is in the shape it is now because of our propping up a dictator, the Shaw. If we would stop trading with ruthless dictators, companies would have no choice but to come back here. There’s your jobs. People in Africa are dying by the millions because those governments can’t afford guns and butter. So it’s just guns. We have millions without medical insurance in this country and we are spending billions fighting senseless wars. The carriers would still patrol. The subs would still lurk. But if we don’t turn this country around, those mighty vessels will be floating in a harbor rusting.

[acoolmom777]

Well, lets see...I am an Air Force brat of many years. My thoughts on the “bases” differ just a little. I think they should close some of the older bases. A few are in really bad shape. If we were to place our military strategically in the correct places (on bases already here), and bring those areas up to max on men and equipment, there would be no jobs lost and maybe have room for future military employment. I think the only outside people we should have, are special agents deep into places of great importance, so that we can still keep our eyes and ears open. Our country is more self-sufficient then most people think, and if we did create and maintain our own “American” products it would cure the unemployment problem and any economy problem.
Ahhhh…wait… wake up wake up…I so know we are dreaming…lol

[Eddie]

OK, let me appoligize before I start, I'm likely going really make a few people mad with my comments. My view is simple, People from all parts of the middle east hate Americans. Even Isreal, who is supposed to be our friend. It's the way they are raised, it's what their taught in school, and it's all they know! I for one don't think you can force democacy on people, and the people of Iraq, Contrary to what you may have been feed, really don't want democracy. If so they would have had it years ago. Americans wanted freedom, which is why we went to war with England, and why we have defended it in two world wars. If the Iraqis want democracy, let THEM fight for it! No American soldier, regardless if they signed up or not, should die for Iraq's democracy. In the end, regardless if we help them have elections or not, help them write a constitution, help them establish a bill of rights, they will, if given the chance, do exactly what was done on 9/11. Those children you see on TV who run up to the American Soldiers passing out candy are the same ones who would if given a chance will strap a bomb around their waist, walk into a store and blow up 100 of their own just to kill one American.
With that said, if there was a group, who our government was sure wanted to over throw a regiem like Sudam had, then we should fund it. But with capital, not American Lifes.
If I were president, I would bring our military home, and protect our intrest. We have borders that illegal alliens are crossing daily. Let our military guard them. We have gang problems in the bigger cities, let our millitary fight that war. We have elderly Americans and Children who don't have a warm place to live or enough to eat. I say let's take care of our own and forget the middle east.

[mark]

.....................You know Eddie, folks "getting" mad is their own problem. That's what these forums are out there for. I may not agree with you but enjoy what you have to say & believe ALL Americans should speak their piece. If more would speak up, the U.S. would be a much better place.
I do agree with you about a few things.......one being protect our interests. Guarding the borders, snuffing out enemies & anyone else that wants to harm us should be priority one.

However, since we are in Iraq, I believe we should stay ( until elections are over ) for 6-9 months to allow this new gov't to get started. Then, we will know if these people really want freedom or not. Then we can pull out probably because of something you said in your post.... they don't want democracy.

Regardless, this will give them a chance to have a taste of freedom.

What they do with this one & only rare chance is up to them.............see ya Mark