What Obama Should Say On Iraq

It seems like Mr Zakaria is suggesting that Iraq can only be held together by a Strong Military, is he implying that Iraq needs another strong man? So the objective is order and stability, not freedom and democracy. So after 5 years and over 4000 dead, the best we can hope for is a muddy solution in Iraq. Can any one tell me out of the wounded 25000 US troops, how many were wounded by the Taliban? So we will keep ???through our friends-negotiating with a state that has armed, trained and funded the militias in Iraq, has a weapon gradable Nuclear programme , which has openly threaten Israel a key US partner on the one hand, and then bomb our only real partner in the regions who???s supply convoys have for almost 7 years kept NATO afloat in Afghanistan. What would be a sustainable, victorious, and clean strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan? Is it not the case that the US is leaving one un finished war and rushing into another one?

IIt seems like Mr Zakaria is suggesting that Iraq can only be held together by a Strong Military, is he implying that Iraq needs another strong man? So the objective is order and stability, not freedom and democracy. So after 5 years and over 4000 dead, the best we can hope for is a muddy solution in Iraq. Can any one tell me out of the wounded 25000 US troops, how many were wounded by the Taliban? So we will keep ???through our friends-negotiating with state that has armed, trained and funded the militias in Iraq, has a weapon gradable Nuclear programme , which has openly threaten Israel a key US partner on the one hand, and then bomb our only real partner in the regions who???s supply convoys have for almost 7 years kept NATO afloat in Afghanistan. What would be a sustainable, victorious, and clean strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan? Is it not the case that the US is leaving one un finished war and rushing into another one?

Last week I talked to my brother who recently returned from Iraq. He and his team were responsible for training Iraqis. Listening to him and watching videos of REAL footage (not from FOX or CNN) I'm not so sure the Democrats are entirely right. I selfishly want the war to end as much as anyone, and will vote for Obama, but I really think Obama needs to not rush into promises he can't keep. The reason I say this is the troops we are training are not ready. They are like children, and we can't compare them to a normal army. Americans stil call all the shots over there, and they don't trust the Iraqi troops at all. Coruption is everywhere, and there are many local players that we don't know about here in th US that are complicating the situation.
John McCain would only fudge up the situation more though. We need a politician who can bring a different style of diplomacy to the table. Bush is too stupid to negotiate anything. Same for McCain. He's too darned proud and arrogant to concede anything.

I liked the comment about finding the muddy middle ground. That is exactly what has to hppen.

Fareed, Why are you such a shill for Dems and Obama? Just because you are both liberals? Bush hatred? What is it? It's certainly not coincidental.

Geez is this guy dating Barrack or what? Biggest blunder? I think our current Congress is the biggest blunder Amercia has ever seen...of course your partisian editorial not withstanding -
what a goof -

You democrates talk out of your ass and mouth at the same time, That's the real reason that Barrack will lose. The American people are not stupid. No matter how much you guys try to bend the truth. You accuse Bush of lying and at the same time your doing the same thing. You twist the truth and think it's all good.
Why is this the biggest military blunder? No weapons of mass distructions, Bush lied?
Bush never lied and even before Bush was President. Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Madeline Albrite, Nancy Pelosi and more agreed that Saddam had WMD and that he was a threat to the region and the USA. There said the same thing Bush is saying today. Are they all liars.
By saying this war is wrong you be little our troops making there time served of no value. That's shameful and wrong.
Thank God for President Mccain.

You democrates talk out of your ass and mouth at the same time, That's the real reason that Barrack will lose. The American people are not stupid. No matter how much you guys try to bend the truth. You accuse Bush of lying and at the same time your doing the same thing. You twist the truth and think it's all good.
Why is this the biggest military blunder? No weapons of mass distructions, Bush lied?
Bush never lied and even before Bush was President. Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Madeline Albrite, Nancy Pelosi and more agreed that Saddam had WMD and that he was a threat to the region and the USA.

Thanks for the Obama PR piece Fareed.

Newsweek needs to come out and admit that they are organizational arm of the Obama campaign.

You all should read the interview with Tehran's top diplomat in Iraq, it's in the Newsweek International edition right on the front page. He makes more sense that all of you put together, including Zakaria.

How come no one has called out the MORON Concerned Canadian? Could it be that his idiotic rant is worthless in this discussion?

I was glad to see at least most of the comments have been reasoned reposte's to an intellegent reading of the situation (also see the interview with the Iranian diplomat elsewhere online. His explanation about how everything is basicly tribal explains a lot about the culture and psyche of the region. It has been so for a thousand years and the Brits and Americans who sit in saffe fortified places like the Green Zone know nothing more now than the idiotic Bremer and his thugs did. We have learned basically, nothing in the last six years when it comes to the tribes (militants to most of the morons running the Bushies and the evildoer incarnate, Cheney. I won't waste anybody's time replying to the post by the moron who ranted about 'Obama the Muslim'.

Wow, that is spot on. However, there has to be a dumbed-down version for those who get their news from the idiot box. (I dare say that is the majority of Americans today)

Centrisim, Triangualation. Anyone who wants to be President has to understand these concepts. We will pull out of Iraq when OBAMA takes the Presidency. However, every President has to listen to those "in charge" of the war before any Military decisions are made.

OBAMA IS ALREADY ACTING LIKE AN EXPERIENCED PRESIDENT.
People need to understand a UNIVERSAL LAW
NOTHING IS CONSTANT
THINGS ARE ALWAYS CHANGING. IT IS PART OF OUR EVOLUTION.

Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim posing as a Christian...thats punishable by death in the Islam world...say to Iran ? ......nothing....Barack Hussein Obama is a radical not qualified to be involved in world politics....he will spell the end of the United States of America as we know it.

Obama is an appaiser! He wants to please everybody. This is unrealistic. He cannot take any real position. This behavior explain why he never vote for or against any important issues in the senate. He is a chameleon that changes whenever in order to cover his bases and please whoever he seems to address at a certain time. He is not a trustworthy man.

Do you really think if all of the people directly responsible for 9-11 were caught the world would be a safe place? Do you really think waiting for the middle east to become the "Paris of the world" is a good idea? The problem, it seems to me is State backed war against the west. Not a police action, but a war.

An Iran Attack Scenario - A Catastrophe: The finishing touches on several contingency plans for attacking Iran.
If the United States attacks Iran either this summer or this fall, the American people had better be prepared for a shock that may perhaps be even greater to the national psyche (and economy) than 9/11. First of all, there will be significant U.S. casualties in the initial invasion. American jets will be shot down and the American pilots who are not killed will be taken prisoner - including female pilots. Iranian Yakhonts 26, Sunburn 22 and Exocet missiles will seek out and strike U.S. naval battle groups bottled up in the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf with very deadly results. American sailors will be killed and U.S. ships will be badly damaged and perhaps sunk. We may even witness the first attack on an American Aircraft carrier since World War II.

That's just the opening act.
http://www.rense.com/general82/debat.htm

This is an interesting speech but it does not discuss the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that the US is currently trying to implement in Iraq, which would make US forces a permanent fixture in the country. The US is not planning a full withdrawal no matter who wins the election and that is an extremely important point that needs to be put across. If Mr. Zakaria gets a chance to see this post, I wish that he would comment on that. Without doing so merely writing speeches for a presidential hopeful is playing more politician than journalist.

Sean Nevins.