Quote:
Quote by: Zeebadee  Notice that the link made no claim of a total
U.S. withdrawal.
With 14 permanent bases and the largest embassy in the
world (in a country twice the size of Idaho), one
has to wonder about what "logistics and support" are going
to be provided to Iraq. |
One thing is clear, the US government sees a right to stay, and this right is defended by the following military logic, as worded by Ranan R. Lurie:
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Iraq should be treated as an island state without a navy. The "ocean" is a
combination of the desert (almost half of the country) and Iraq's hostile
neighbors. The "navy" in this case is actually the air force because in the
desert, the one who has the more efficient air force is the winner before the
war even begins. In the desert there is no place to hide from marauding planes
or smart bombs.
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United Jerusalem - - Commentary -- 9/6/2002
America feels it must maintain such control generally.
For example, United States Senator George Voinovich used fancy rhetoric to justify bombing the Balkans.
He was quick to remind us that "I have often said that 'there is some good that blows in an ill
wind,' and I consider this war to be an 'ill wind.'"
But no worry, because "the good that is blowing is the opportunity for the United
States and NATO to provide the impetus for a lasting peace to prevail
throughout Southeastern Europe."
For Mr. Voinovich, it is to our virtue that, after we bomb and destroy needed infrastrcuture, "We can [still] provide the reconstruction assistance that righted the economies of the rest of Europe after World War II and which has made them economically prosperous and willing defenders of the rights of all
men and women."
The true motive?
"...In the end, I believe it was prayer and the Holy Spirit that brought
enlightenment to our leaders that the death and destruction in Kosovo
and Serbia must stop. Enough was enough."
[Congressional Record: June 21, 1999 (Senate)]
IRAQ WRAPUP 3-Iraq ready for "final" battle with al Qaeda - PM
Meanwhile, conflict still rages in Iraq, presumably thanks in large part to "prayer and the Holy Spirit":
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BAGHDAD, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces have begun a "decisive" final offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq to push the Sunni Islamist militants out of their last major stronghold in the north, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday.
He said Iraqi soldiers and police were being sent to Mosul, where a massive blast blamed on al Qaeda killed 40 people and wounded 220 on Wednesday, and an operations room had been set up in the city, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad.
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Grandpa h.