If we can't even close gitmo in 12 months, who thinks we can end a war in 18?

[ShamelessHussy]

[Lost-in-FL]

1. Very valid question. nt

[leftstreet]

2. ouch

K&R

[MNDemNY]

3. Why, all of us Democrats, silly.

He can do anything.

[shadesofgray]

4. K&R

[earth mom]

5. Endless war-that's what this is all about. They will find more excuses and bullshit to keep the war

going forever. :puke:

[Luciferous]

8. Exactly- a year from now they'll come back with some more

bullshit excuses for why we can't end it then. I'm so fucking fed up...

[tridim]

11. That's what BushCo would do. Thankfully Obama isn't BushCo.

[earth mom]

15. Tell that to all the INNOCENT people who will die in Obama's war. nt

[tridim]

27. Obama is ending Bush's wars on innocent people. nt

[earth mom]

33. Make NO mistake, innocent people will DIE in the next couple of years in Obama's Vietnam. nt

[ipaint]

6. Empire in the middle east

IRAQ: The Pentagon Garrisons the Gulf: As Washington Talks Iraq Withdrawal, the Pentagon Builds Up Bases in the Region
Garrisoning the Gulf

Even as it lurches toward a quasi-withdrawal from Iraq, the U.S. military has been hunkering down and hardening its presence elsewhere in the Middle East with little fanfare or press coverage. There has been almost no discussion in this country of a host of possible repercussions that might come from this, ranging from local opposition to the U.S. military's presence to the arming of undemocratic and repressive regimes in the region. With the sole exception of Iran, the U.S. military has fully garrisoned the nations of the Persian Gulf with air bases, naval bases, desert posts, training centers, and a whole host of other facilities, while also building up the military capacity of nearby Jordan.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15479

[babylonsister]

7. Gitmo won't be closed because of rethugs, for starters. Google it,

though there are some Dems who were initially against it.

As for 18 months, I thought that was dumb. Why put a time frame around this?

[ShamelessHussy]

13. right, and do you think they will go away on this issue for some reason?

and, it is not just the reTHUGs who are against the closing of gitmo, google it ;)

as far as the political calculations, i agree, they were weak as well, which is out of character for them, but indicative of the magnitude of the current mess they have us in.

[xiamiam]

9. best question of the night...you and i know it wont happen..and so do they

whoever they happen to be..but i know its not me

[tridim]

10. The closing of Gitmo has been on a political timeline for awhile now.

I get your point, but the comparison is apples and oranges.

[ShamelessHussy]

23. phew, i was starting to worry, there for a minute, thank you for talking me down.

i now see the error in my thinking, and I now see that it is reasonable to assume that the military track will be much more efficient, being separate from the notorious, and endless meddling of those on political track, which every one knows is a much, much, much longer track.

[tridim]

26. Military track with a SMART commander in chief. nt

[Mojambo]

12. I'm very skeptical of this withdrawal

I could easily see it getting pushed back and back as we repeatedly bend to the never quite improving "situation on the ground."

[ShamelessHussy]

24. we will just have to hold their feet to the fire

but i am very skeptical as well

[DebbieCDC]

14. Excellent point

[lapfog_1]

16. Of course

This has nothing to do with anything President Obama said tonight.

What Obama said was that he would establish a deadline for the BEGINNING of winding down our activity (military) in Afghanistan.

Remember when everybody here was clamoring for Bush to set timelines for Iraq?

Well, Obama just did that now.

And that doesn't even mean the war wind down by then, just our part in it.

I think he put the generals in a box. I think he told them "we need to wrap this up, staring in 18 months. What do you need to get it done?" And they told him "30,000 more troops". So that's what he gave them.

[ShamelessHussy]

18. rinse, and repeat

yes, we have all, unfortunately, heard that tune before... just add more troops, rinse & repeat, and now our children's generation are learning what we and our fathers and mothers generation have all heard before.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Good point.

[imdjh]

19. Will you be convinced that we have no prisoners in Guantanamo once the government says we don't?

[ShamelessHussy]

20. trust, but verify...

especially a gov that ran secret prisons and full blown torture chambers around the globe in it's recent history, though i guess it would be quite a challenge to verify what goes on in secret prisons, eh?

[imdjh]

21. We could get Cuba to inspect Guantanamo now and then and report.

[ShamelessHussy]

22. if you say so

[Echo In Light]

28. Exactly...b/c the US military & their contractors & alphabet orgs don't torture anymore, either!

... b/c that's the "official" words, so everyone just knows to accept it, right?

[imdjh]

29. I really was just thinking that Guantanamo isn't exactly around the corner for most people.

So it would be hard to convince many people that nothing is going on there unless the base is closed down and abandoned, and that's not going to happen.

[ShamelessHussy]

30. that why there are organizations like the IRC UN, etc.

but you know what they say about once you lose your good rep...

[L0oniX]

25. ...and how about getting us out of Iraq in 18 months. Yea ...like that is going to happen.

[ShamelessHussy]

31. that would be nice, but I think the plan now is to just not talk much about it anymore in the m$m

the whole, if a tree falls in a forest, adage...

[dana_b]

32. were you reading my thoughts

hmmmmm???? lol

I was thinking that same thing earlier and it just boggles my mind. Three years? We'll be very, very fortunate if they are out of there in three years.