Henry10:53AMJul 8th 2008

See, fight and die for their sorry asses, now they demand a time table. Today, would be acceptable. "O" I forgot, we are dependent on oil, we can't withdraw. Lesson for our country, vote people out of office who would have us dependent on other country resources.

TJ12:12PMJul 8th 2008

THANKS TO USA , THEY NOW HAVE A OUNTRY THEY CAN CALL THEIR OWN. NOW, TIME TOM ORDER US ARAOUND.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE TO KEEP GIVING ORDERS?
THEY DESERVE MCCAIN
WE DONT WANT TO BE IN IRAQ, BUT WE ARE NOT GONNA LEAVE AND HAVE THE PLACE DEGENERATE INTO TRIBAL WAR, THEN WE HAVE TO GO BACK
I'D SAY WHEN IT COMES TO IRAQ, LISTEN TO MCCAIN, HE'S THE ONLY WHO GOT IT RIGHT.
THE SURGE WORKED AND MCCAIN WILL PULLOUT WHEN HE CAN SENSE STABILITY.
MALIKI IS JUST LISTENING TO PRESSURE FROM INSURGENTS..
THE OIL MONEY HAS NOT PAID FOR ANYTHING, WE ARE PAYING... SO I WOULD SHUT UP, IF I WERE MALIKI.
THE ONLY THING ARABS KNOW IS TOUGH TALK AND THREATS
WE WILL NOT BE THREATENED BY A MAN WHO HAD A DICTATOR, SADAM HUSSEIN, THROWIMNG GAS BOMBS ON HIS OWN CITIZENS AND DID NOTHING.. WHERE WAS MALIKI THEN??
WE DONT WANT FRIGGING IRAQ. THEY CAN HAVE IT!!
BUT WHEN THE COUNTRY FALLS APART AGAIN, GUESS WHO THEY WILL CALL TO BAIL THEIR *SSES OUT.
USA, UK, FRANCE, CANADA ETC..

TJ, THE CLINTONITE, MAN W/O A PARTY, NOW SUPPORTING MCCAIN. HIS SURGE WORKED..LISTEN TO HIM NOT SHIITE INSURGENT CELL CALLED MALIKI.

Kwaayesnama12:33PMJul 8th 2008

So what the hell are we waiting for??

Vera12:37PMJul 8th 2008

We sound like a bitter spouse holding on to a marriage that is over.

They do not want us and our billions of dollars each week.

So what does Bush do - he holds on for dear life ignoring the fact that this marriage is over.

Henry12:41PMJul 8th 2008

TJ
You make no sense what so ever. Why are we there? No weapons of mass destruction. No threat to the US. So why are we there? It should be known by every country, "Dont Tread On Me". If you screw with us, we will destroy you. You may think we are there for a noble reason. It's OIL, nothing more, nothing less.

Chuck12:41PMJul 8th 2008

Time to get out we found all the weapons of mass destruction.

Time to move on12:47PMJul 8th 2008

On May 1, 2003 George Bush told us that we have accomplished our mission. Five years latter we are still spending our social security funds fighting a war that is over, WHY?

bonbon1:43PMJul 8th 2008

I do not like this war anymore than the next person.

but living near an army base, helps you understand the soldiers positions a little better.

yes we went there for the wrong reasons, I will never say different.

but we are there, and we owe the people there a lot.

and yes we have been there too long, and lives have been lost, and money spent unwisely.

but we started this, and we have to finish it, and we must try to push the Iraq's to be independant.

HILLARY HAD A VERY GOOD PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, BUT TOO MANY OF YOU IGNORED HER IDEAS, BECAUSE SHE WAS A WOMAN. AND BECAUSE WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON WAS HER HUSBAND. AND oBAMA HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL TO DO. BUT YOU CHOOSE HIM, NOT ME.

So if they want a timeline, then they must stand up and take responsibility for themselves, and help develope a timeline, and not expect us to tell them. they must do it, and say.

THANK YOU FOR OUR FREEDOM, WE NEED YOUR IMPUT, YOUR SUPPORT AND THE WORLDS AS A WHOLE, BUT WE ARE READY TO DO THIS. AND PRAY WE HAVE THE STRENGTH TO SUCCEED.

AND THEN EITHER THEY SWIM, OR THEY DROWN. BUT AT LEAST THEY WILL KNOW, AND THEY WILL HAVE TRIED.

AS WE THE PEOPLE OF THIS GREAT NATION MUST DO.

Henry2:04PMJul 8th 2008

Right,hillary had a good plan. Funny no one is asking from the dem or rep side. They all hope idiots like you and hillary go away.

NO-OBAMA2:21PMJul 8th 2008

This is a video someone posted of Gaddafi supporting Obama. He talks a bout campaign contributions.

NO WONDER OBAMA DIDN’T WANT “PUBLIC FINANCING”.

The entire tape is very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSemkPChvHo

Gaddafi basically says OBAMA is lying through his teeth. Nothing he says it true. All of it is to get elected. Oops, getting called a liar by a ruthless dictator. That is just a reflection of how bad Obama is.

bonbon2:33PMJul 8th 2008

staying put, obviously you cannot handle the truth.

and yes Hillary has many very good solid plans, that once made she stuck to, unlike obama, who changes at the drop of a hat.

and whomever he happens to be talking down to, at the time.

pumas are strong, and determined, and once we make up our minds, there is no changing them, Obama could learn a lot from puma's. he already is.

OBAMA-DOES-THE-\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\2:48PMJul 8th 2008

OBAMA MOVES UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT — IT’S THE “HUSTLE”! --- HE WILL DO OR SAY ANYTHING TO GET WHAT HE WANTS. He was sworn into office January 4, 2005. He has spent most of his time in the Senate running for President! If he can’t do his Senate job— he surely can’t lead our nation. Obama has lost credibility with all his lies and his ties to anti-Americans, Marxists and terrorists. READ HIS BOOKS - he hates what this country stands for and will try to desecrate everything to appease his radical “racist” followers. From Obama’s book: “Audacity of Hope”: “I WILL STAND WITH THE MUSLIMS SHOULD THE POLITICAL WINDS SHIFT IN AN UGLY DIRECTION.” You can’t change a tiger’s stripes. He was “selected” by the DNC — not “elected” by the people. Hillary should be in this race.

McCAIN stands behind what he says. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982. John McCain’s reform agenda to reduce federal spending and lower taxes quickly elevated him to statewide office and he was elected to the United States Senate in 1986, after serving two terms in the U.S. House. He will do the best he can for the people of the United States of America. He is ethical, honest, trustworthy and has the ‘experience’ and ‘judgment’ required to lead our country. I admire his willingness to reach across the aisle to get things done. He has proven he loves this country enough to die for her. He has two sons fighting for us now.

JOHN McCAIN FOR PRESIDENT 2008 --- HILLARY 2012.

laura m3:04PMJul 8th 2008

the american people do not want to not want to occupy countries. just how "sovereign" can this government be? with 14 hardened bases, over 1oo,ooo soldiers there, and who knows how many private contracters there? we cannot impose our ideal of democracy there.
all we can do is threaten to go entirely...taking everything. it won't happen. we are stuck. thank you for this war mrs. bush, cheney, rumsfeld.

Henry4:02PMJul 8th 2008

Best plan Hillary every had was to concede. She should stick to it.

Nan5:11PMJul 8th 2008

Has the FBI started to check who sabotaged Obama's plane?

tom5:55PMJul 8th 2008

David knowles writes
"It seems to me that Obama's position on troop withdrawal is more in line with what the "sovereign" Iraqi government has in mind. Then again, perhaps the January 2013 date, and a sustained, smaller force (ala South Korea) would be acceptable."

I do not hear about what has been put before the Iraqi government this spring and which has been so far rejected by them. That is the conditions proposed by the Bu Sh adminstration to the effect that
a. American troops would be immune to Iraqi law/
b. American trooips can arrest and detain at will
c. American air force controls airspace
d. America will maintain 14 permanant bases

tom8:04PMJul 8th 2008

It was well known in the beginning, and it is taken for granted today, at least among those who are somewhyat knowledgeable about world affairs, that the reason we went into Iraq was Oil. It certainly was not to save the Iraqi people because if it was we did it by killing almost two million of them as well as effectively destroying all of their infrastructure and governance. How anyone can say that is something we can be proud of is very telling about where they are coming from. But not only that, we also severely injured our own country. Over two hundred programs were eliminated by Bu Sh in order to pay for the war. McCane will have a hard time finding more programs to eliminate, perhaps his plans for medicare and social security will finish the job.

Splash9:20PMJul 8th 2008

tom -

There you go again. Just like Bush killed our 4,100 troops, he also killed 2,000,000 Iraqis. Once again, you missed all the news that indicates that Radical Muslims, rogue militias and foreign born insurgents all armed with Russian, Chinese and North Korean weaponry imported through Iran and Syria killed our soldiers and most of the 2,000,000 Iraqi people you feel so sorry for.

But suppose we really do want to kill Iraqi's for their oil, well then, we only have 26 million more to go. Start the count down.

Furthermore, had we gone to Iraq for oil, we would have set up a much more lucrative deal than allowing those silly little Iraqi people (that we didn't intend to free) to split it the profits. Turns out we paid market price for the 679 million barrels we bought from them this past April. We bid for their oil on the open market just like everyone else does. What greedy little pigs we are.

The reason we went to Iraq may very well be the unstated reason of keeping your enemies (Iran) closer. I'm telling you, that may have been in the cards long before 9/11 and maybe even before Bush decided to run for president. I know much of the country doesn't want to be there. I don't want to be there. We didn't want to be in Normandy, Okinawa,The Yalu River or Ho Chi Minh trail, but there is where we needed to be strategically. Now, Iraq (as well as Afghanistan and The Persian Gulf) are where we need to be strategically. By accident or by design (you pick, because I don't care), W is a military genius.

Of course, the time table that the Iraqi government is asking for will be anywhere from 3-8 years and will depend on a lot of factors. But the time table will be set by them, not us; it is their place, not ours. We would start leaving tomorrow if they told us to. But they won't, because even they know how stupid an immediate US withdrawal would be.

I'm sure they hope Obama doesn't win. A 16 month pull out would spell disaster for the new government and opportunity for the wolves that lay in wait.


You, along with many O-bots (and H-bots & L-bots), have this insatiable desire to blame W for everything; dead people, high gas prices, bankrupting social security (which had already been turned into IOUs long before Bush won (I'm sorry, stole) the last two elections), Katrina, global warming, Hillary's concession, the plane crash that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd, the bad ending in the season finale of 90210, Gay Richard winning the first season of Survivor, The NY Giants upset of the Patriots last year, the missing gold from Fort Knox, Madonna fucking up A-Rod's marriage and the northern migration of the Tasmanian Fruit Bat.

There. Did I get them all? Surely not.

I'm just surprised you haven't spread your arrogance to the people here. Go on, tell them how you over on the "Obama To Refine Iraq Position", in all your infinite intellectual splendor, you not only told us how you were going to educate us but also what would be happening psychologically inside our minds when we absorbed, understood and morph over (more like barfed over) what the mighty tom had to impart.

Now go away before somebody drops a house on you, too!

Pete10:10PMJul 8th 2008

It is amazing how Democrats can take information and consistently paint such a picture of gloom and doom.

Dave has much more information to say how things are going so well in Iraq.
Like four of the five "surge" brigades have left Iraq. The fifth is scheduled to leave this month. Like U.S. and Iraqi casualties have dropped significantly.
Or the average number of weekly attacks in Iraq has dropped 80% since June 2007 to around 200.
Or a terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul. THE LONDON SUNDAY TIMES called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror."
Or the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks-a big change from a year ago.

All this progress has led Iraqi Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, for the first time, to float the idea of a timetable for withdrawl of American forces.
He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 BILLION of debt owed by Baghdad-an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.

With all this positive news Dave paints an 'Iraq wants to throw us out picture'.

I also noticed Dave you never quoted what al-Maliki said in the UAE. Your source is liberal journalists interpretations of what al-Maliki said that just happen to be "in line" with Obama's position on troop withdrawl, how tidy.

JD2:40AMJul 9th 2008

If the American people could pull their heads out of their butts and think for themselves for just a few moments, they would realize the war had nothing to do with oil, human rights or terror attacks.
What it was is and always will be about is our economy…..yes folks that’s right our economy. Think about it…..before the war we were paying anywhere from 2-3 dollars per gallon (first war under Bush 1). Suddenly Suddam Hussein decides he is going to move away from the dollar standard and only accept Euros as a form of payment. By doing this it would do exactly what has happened right now…..destabilized our economy. Previously the dollar was the standard for worldwide trade payments. Today it has become a combination of both Dollars and Euros. Should the world economy move to all Euros look out, we will be like Japan in the 90’s. A falling economy yet much worse as we are no long the biggest and baddest kid on the block. We now have to contend with the ever growing Chinese and their own quest for supremacy both economically and culturally.
As a nation we are way too wrapped up in our own insignificant lives, to worry about anything beyond our front door. This has placed America on the brink of disaster! We continue to elect politicians that say one thing and do another, as long as they take care of their home area they continue to get re-elected year after year. When was the last time a politician was elected and did what they said they would do? Think about it….name me one and I’ll prove you wrong.
The last time I looked we have three branches of Government, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. If my late junior high Civics’ teacher taught me correctly, the legislative branch makes the laws, not the executive branch. So how can a presidential candidate from any party say they are going to cut taxes or do anything for that matter? It is the Senators and House of Representatives that can and do this. If they decide screw you….as they seem to have been doing for the past 30-40 years, that is exactly what happens. They have the power and ability to fix and correct many of our current and future problems, yet they don’t. Want to know why……simple….it is not in their best interest as a politician. Their primary concern is for them and them only. They are wined and dined by countless lobbyists and special interest groups from within and outside the United States.
Ever decision made within the past half century was determined by what’s in it for me! A politician from anywhere needs the help of his fellow party members / colleagues to even get on the docket to be considered. If they don’t play ball they get buried and thus never re-elected.
But I digress; back to one issue at hand…..fuel prices and the economy. Three things drive the American economy, housing, food and transportation. Yes there are numerous other factors, but these are the big three. If one fails and the other two are running strong, no problem. But if two or all three start to slip then we are headed down a very slippery slope, as we are now.
Let’s look at them one at a time.
Housing; why are we in trouble? It is very simple and can be summed up in one simple word. GREED, yes that’s right greed, greed by bankers and loan officers, housing speculators and builders. Housing was very stable for many years, values appreciated at rates in the 1-3 percent range. Then someone got the bright idea that everyone should have a house. The concept and idea is not bad, just the implementation was bad. Suddenly, banks or anyone with money to lend gave it away to people that under normal conditions would not and could not afford to purchase a home. Simply put, if I need to finance 100% of the purchase price and do not have a good track record, then why am I getting a loan. Because a loan officer can make anywhere from $1000 to $5000 based upon the way it is structured and financed…..greed folks! I move in, do not have any equity in the property (down payment), start to realize I can’t afford all the thing I used to purchase and stop making the payments. Who pays, we do in the form of higher and higher interest. The bank is not going to lose they write it off and then turn around and jack rates up on other services that the working people have to pay. I could go on but do not have the time and space.
Food, this is a simple one. Everyone needs some sort of food to survive. Yet it encompasses a very broad range from restaurants and grocery stores all the way down to the small farmer. As the production costs go so go our wallets. Families will save money by cutting back on eating out, which ultimately has an adverse effect on our economy as other services are cut back or eliminated. It is truly a catch twenty two.
Transportation, again this covers a wide range of areas. However, I will only speak about one, fuel production. Can anyone name me the last time a refinery was constructed within the United States? Why are we so gullible that we do not understand what is happening here? Congress passed the EPA rules and regulations, they provide incentives for just about everything know to man. Why did they hold a hearing to ask an oil company executive about their problem? Why does all the oil from Alaska go to Japan? Is it too hard to have a new modern ‘state of the art’ refinery built on the west coast to meet our fuel needs or even one built along the Gulf coast? Congress with one stroke of a pen could fix this and other problems, yet they won’t and don’t. Why…..money and special interest groups.
It is time for Americans to get up and off the sidelines; we need to get up and in the game before it is over. Just my two cents, I could be wrong, but if you look long, hoard and honestly at what is contained here you may find I’m right. Have a wonderful life America, I’m on the back nine and nearing the 19th hole.