saying i am anti-Dean because i strongly disagree with Dean's view on Iraq is unnecessarily divisive ... the truth is i am very hopeful that Dean's reform efforts will lead to positive changes in the Party ...
it is also not at all clear what the view of the American people is on withdrawal ... nor did you make any legitimate defense of the main argument i made in my post ...
the basic argument was that if 64% of the American people agree with Dean that the continued occupation of Iraq is making us less safe, what arguments are being made to continue the occupation ... nor did i call for "instantaneous mass-exist" (sic) from Iraq ... what i do call for is a recognition that every day we remain there makes us less safe, promotes more insurgency in Iraq, leaves the poor Iraqi people with no infrastructure and no hope and has no hope of succeeding no matter how long we stay ... if time is needed, say less than 6 months, to extricate ourselves safely from this mess, that's fine with me ...
can i assume from your comments you don't think we should just "up and leave"? can i assume you believe that we are training the Iraqis to defend themselves and that this program either is working or it will work? can i assume that you believe the US occupation of Iraq is not the major source of the violence there? can i assume that you believe that even with bush in the WH, we should continue to seek positive military solutions in Iraq?
it's unfortunate you think many people don't agree with my "way out there" (my words) position and that my views of what is happening in Iraq are in an extreme minority ... that is not what i believe ...
on edit: here's a poll i found on withdrawal from an article written two months ago ... note that this was apparently worded as an "immediate" withdrawal ... perhaps the numbers would have been even higher if the question included either an "immediate or near-term" withdrawal which is MY position ...
source:
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=246(Pew Research Center)
"
Support for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq continues to inch up from 36% last October, to 42% in February, and
46% currently."
here's another recent poll:
source:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-12-poll_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA(USA Today/Gallup)
"
Nearly six in 10 Americans say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, a new Gallup Poll finds, the most downbeat view of the war since it began in 2003."
and here's another source:
source:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0317-33.htm(NBC/Wall Street Journal)
"According to a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken after the Iraq elections,
59 percent of the public believes the United States should pull its troops out of Iraq in the next year"