Iraq Withdrawal: Five Difficult Questions

[ProSense]

The World

Iraq Withdrawal: Five Difficult Questions

By BILL MARSH
Published: July 29, 2007

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Here are five questions that any administration — this one, or its successor — will have to answer as part of an exit from Iraq.

How Fast Can the Troops Leave?

Large numbers of American soldiers have left a modern war zone, but never so many from a still-hostile region.

Analysts agree that most would be airlifted, a far safer path than Iraqi roadways. (But many more soldiers would be needed to protect convoys of equipment that can only travel on the ground.)

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Can Departing Soldiers Be Shielded From Attack?

Troops concentrated in convoys that are transporting huge quantities of supplies out of Iraq make tempting targets. In the south, British forces have been attacked by militants as they pull back.

“We’re probably going to get stuck fighting our way out,” said Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, especially in a rapid withdrawal. Mr. Biddle gives the current increase in troop levels a limited chance of successfully stabilizing the country, but it will take perhaps two years, with more casualties in the meantime. Hence the calculation: Withdraw with casualties now, or risk a better exit in a few years? How great is that risk?

Who Stays Behind?

There are up to 100,000 Iraqi contractors, perhaps more, working for the United States. After a pullout, many of them could be at risk from reprisals by anti-American forces.

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So far, few Iraqis — either contractors or refugees — have been allowed to immigrate to the United States. The State Department has said thousands could potentially be resettled here in 2007. According to a bipartisan group of senators seeking special status for Iraqi refugees, only 63 have been admitted this year.

What to Take? What to Leave? What to Destroy?

After more than four years of buildup, the American footprint in Iraq is enormous. There are more than 75 major bases:

Some have their own retail stores, with products from magazines to luxury goods like large-screen televisions for purchase by soldiers. There are grocers, fitness clubs and fast-food outlets, in addition to the usual military infrastructure. Besides bases, there are hundreds of smaller sites for storage, ammunition and fuel.

more

How's the surge working? Facts and figures for May through July 2003-2007

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. It would take a few days to leave.

It took a few days to get it, it'd take a few days to leave if we put our hearts and minds to it.

[Warpy]

2. They can leave very quickly if they blow up the ammo and GO

If they are not airlifted, they'll have to fight their way out.

Leaving with all the equipment intact will cost too many lives. It's STUFF, folks, and much more expendable than more lives, ours and theirs.

Yes, they could use it for another war, but without ammo, that will be very difficult to manage. Besides, I'd lay odds most of them are completely sick of war. After whatever government shakes out, those swords will become plowshares in record time. History has shown this more than once.

The US needs to see this as an expensive lesson and leave Empire to somebody else. We will have enough economic trouble at home to keep us occupied for the foreseeable future.

What we need to do most of all is GET OUT. We should never have gone in, we have stayed far too long, and those folks have suffered enough.

[Major Hogwash]

3. This is the real dialogue the Democratic candidates should be having.

Instead of arguing over haircuts, hairstyles, cleavage, who has the most foreign policy experience, or who has the best YouTube video.

3 months in a war zone is an eternity, and if any of these Democratic candidates will not be honest and admit that it is possible to remove our troops within the 1st 6 months of their term, I will not support them.

It's only 300 miles from Baghdad to Kuwait.

If they will not commit, to removing the troops in the 1st 6 months, then they will not fit, in the White House.

[ProSense]

4. Kick! n/t

[ProSense]

5. Kick! n/t

[ProSense]

6. Vietnam

It took three years to withdraw more than a half million troops from Vietnam with "more than 600,000 armed communist forces" on the ground...Nixon withdrew about 300,000 troops from Vietnam in about a year.

link

[ProudDad]

10. That 'cause

those war criminals nixon and kissinger didn't WANT to withdraw...

[antiimperialist]

7. Well, the Iraqi soccer team captain says leave NOW

If the Chinese invaded us, we wouldn't care about the details and planning of their withdrawal. We would want them out immediately. Or am I wrong?

[Major Hogwash]

8. Where are all of Biden's supporters since Joe said last week it would take longer than 6 months.

Am I the only one who saw the YouTube debate last Monday?

Biden scolded Richardson when he promised to get the troops out of Iraq during the first 6 months of his term when Biden said that it would take much longer than 6 months to remove the troops.

So much for all of Biden's foreign policy experience, huh?

[ProudDad]

9. Ask me if I give a shit

"There are up to 100,000 Iraqi contractors, perhaps more, working for the United States. After a pullout, many of them could be at risk from reprisals by anti-American forces."

Private Mercenaries -- fuck 'em...

[Major Hogwash]

11. Hillary said it would take longer than 6 months, too.

During the YouTube debate, she said we might be able to pull out 1 brigade a month, maybe 1½ brigades, perhaps 2 brigades a month.

But, Hillary clearly doesn't know what the FUCK she was talking about judging from the charts in this article. There are over 20 combat brigades in Iraq today, so what Hillary was really saying was, it will take her over 20 months to get the troops out of Iraq!

And that's unacceptable!!

[Major Hogwash]

12. I can't believe this post didn't get many replies.

Maybe that's because they don't have any answers to these 5 difficult questions.

[Major Hogwash]

13. Does anyone know what Kucinich's position is on this?

I thought more people would want to discuss the Number One issue of the 2008 election.

[maxsolomon]

14. i don't buy that there will be significant attacks on withdrawing troops

the insurgents, jihadis, & militias will be too busy
1. celebrating victory over the great satan
2. killing each other

[lonestarnot]

15. Hog and wash and hog, whichever you prefer.