Does anybody understand we are NEVER leaving Iraq, NEVER

[snooper2]

Never...Never...Never...

Just like we have never left and will never leave...
Afghanistan
Israel
Uzbekistan
Kosovo
Djibouti
Egypt
South Korea
Japan
Diego Garcia
Philippines
Thailand
Honduras
Canada
Ecuador
Qatar
Kuwait
Bahrain
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Kyrgyzstan
Georgia
Germany
Italy
United Kingdom
Bosnia
Herzegovina
Okinawa
Spain
Turkey
Iceland
Serbia
Belgium
Portugal
Netherlands
Greece
Pakistan
India
Singapore
Vietnam
Oman
Greenland
Macedonia
Australia
Romania
Mali
Algeria
Bulgaria
Poland

And all the other countries I missed...

The same reason the B2 Bomber had a part made in EVERY state in the country, the same reason the current Vice President ran one of the largest military contractors in the World.

The military, the industry, and Congress will never let the machine stop.....


Oh yeah, and I just watched "WHY WE FIGHT" last night....
http://sonyclassics.com/whywefight/main.html

[onenote]

1. do we still have troops in vietnam? really?

Interesting list. Any link to back it up?

[snooper2]

5. mulitple sources...

wikipedia, common dreams,

just search for american military presence

[onenote]

8. again. Are you saying we have troops in Vietnam?

I've looked around. Haven't found anything suggesting that is the case. And a good number of the troops in many of the countries you've identified are simply deployed as guards for embassies,etc. By that measure, a lot of those countries have troops deployed in the USA, too.

[snooper2]

12. Sorry, added by going to fast...

I guess we are just planning a new base there...

http://zfacts.com/metaPage/lib/Overseas-Military-Base-Closures.pdf

[Clark2008]

15. Not that I believe or disbelieve you, but find better sources.

Neither of those have stellar track records. They're better than say, Counterpunch, but not without their tin-foil hat moments.

[sakabatou]

2. Because we fucked it up

to the point where it's a quagmire.

[trotsky]

3. You DIDN'T forget Poland!

Well done! ;-)

Nice post.

[Virginia Dare]

4. We did leave Saudi Arabia after 9/11....

and THEN we went into Iraq. Not a coincidence I'm sure.

[snooper2]

6. True, we withdrew troops in 2003

At least according to the State Department...

[AndyTiedye]

7. Of Course the BFEE Has Plans to Leave Iraq…

…the moment the last drop of oil is pumped out of there.

[Louis Cipher]

9. People didn't care who we bombed after 9/11.

They just wanted revenge. I agree, we will never leave Iraq, the security of Iraq is now intertwined with our own security. Iraq is/was nation building in reverse. They ripped down a country beginning with the first Gulf war only to try and rebuild it in our own image. Iraq war has been about what countries fight wars for since the dawn of man, resources, forget all that patriotic 9/11 terrorism bullshit, it's all about the oil.

[Demeter]

10. Found a List of 21 nations With US Bases

http://benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Browse_WorldMap.jsp

It also lists US bases. Other sources guess 737 bases total, most are stateside, though.

Can't tell how old this information is: doesn't include Iraq, for example.

[snooper2]

13. The number I hear is 130 countries with U.S. military presence

The movie "Why We Fight" has a long list that scrolls across the screen but I didn't write it down...

[The2ndWheel]

11. Don't forget America

We wouldn't not be leaving those places if we never didn't leave here.

[Make7]

14. The oil in the Middle East won't last forever.

The American Empire won't last forever.

Never is a very long time.

- Make7

[Skidmore]

16. That doesn't mean we should just roll over and not fight for

some semblance of sanity in the world. We don't need to be in a lot of those places either.

[newportdadde]

17. If you think through it logically we aren't leaving.

If its a Republican controlled Congress and Republican Whitehouse we won't leave period.

If its a Republican controlled Congress and a Democratic Whitewhose we won't leave(fear of seeming weak).

If its a Democratic controlled Congress and a Republican whitehouse we won't leave as Republican President will veto any measure to leave, would need a veto proof majority or a majority willing to pull all funding and that will not happen(fear of seeming week).

If its a Democratic controlled Congress and a Democratic controlled Whitehouse we won't leave from fear of appearing weak, afraid of screwing up withdrawl and then 'owning' the whole mess.

Bottom line is there is just way to much fear to leave from a political perspective and way to much fucking money to make from a corporate perspective for us to ever leave.

Now if the corporations decide to leave then yes we will leave. For instance if they release the hounds(media) and change coverage they could begin pressure for a change.. similar to how they rah rah'd us to get us over there.

[donsu]

18. true - the neo cons will never willingly leave Iraq

nt

[OneBlueSky]

19. not only that . . . but the decision is a bi-partisan one . . .

there's a tacit agreement between BushCo and the "leading" Democrats that our occupation of Iraq will be long-term . . . thus the permanent bases and, most especially, the humongous "embassy" -- otherwise known as the regional base of U.S. operations . . . we'll be there essentially forever . . .

[mdmc]

20. I opposed the war based on this premise

:toast: