Yes We Can...Leave Iraq

Joe Klein, if Friday comes and there is no 30k residual force you might consider that link I have been posting on your threads for about 3 weeks. There is a systematic attempt to get ahead of President Obama by Odierno/Keane/Petraeus to put pressure on him to do it THEIR way. That residual force has been mentioned as Odierno's baby and a way to keep combat troops in the country just by relabeling them. I am not saying its for sure a head fake, but like I said if it happens then I think you might be wanting to give Gareth Porter a call.

"...a bloody war of choice launched thoughtlessly.."

And supported by a certain Joe Klein. No doubt, thoughtlessly.

There is a systematic attempt to get ahead of President Obama by Odierno/Keane/Petraeus to put pressure on him to do it THEIR way.
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you seem to be under the impression that JK isn't part of that effort, but he's been a petraeus groupie (and mouthpiece) from way back...
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and lets face it, 30,000 troops is not a residual force, its a military occupation force for a nation that has been "pacified"
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moreover, the "success" in Iraq has been rented (I was going to say bought, but that implies some kind of permanency), and if/when the US withdrawals its slush funds, the real fun will begin in Iraq. JK knows it, but he doesn't seem to care...

Question, Joe-
One of the many questionable (and by "questionable" I mean criminally stupid, if not stupidly criminal) things that the Bushies did in Iraq was to outsource military functions to contractors like Blackwater. So the question is, if we have a "residual force" of 30,000 actual troops, how many contractors and civilians does that mean will be there to support and/or supplant them?
I know Blackwater can't operate there (under its current name, anyway), but I'd shudder to think of a few thousand mercenaries representing the face of America to a shell-shocked populace. Not to mention the expense.

I'm not so sure I buy leaving up to 50,000 troops in the country as "leaving."

It's a start. But that's a lot of troops and it's still very expensive. I'm going to carp from the left here. I want them all out.

The withdrawal will still leave 30-50,000 U.S. troops in place to continue training the Iraqi military and for special ops.
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Joe Klein:
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Any word on for how long these forces will be deployed, i.e. when will we be done "training" the Iraqi "military"?
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Any word on how much the continued operations will cost, i.e. how much the Treasury will need to borrow above and beyond the 2 trillion dollars in stimulus spending to maintain our presence?
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Any word on the size/cost of military contract personnel still to be deployed in Iraq?

Will they only be stationed near the oil-rigs and puppet palaces?

OT but fyi
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David Shuster is correcting folks on hardball via Twitter. Chris Matthews has got to go. He just brought up the none existent rail line from vegas to LA unprompted after Shuster debunked it just yesterday. What a loon!
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http://twitter.com/Shuster1600

"AP is reporting that the Obama Administration will opt for a 19-month timetable for leaving Iraq."
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Do we have confirmation from a legitimate news source?

"In any case, a dreadful chapter in the history of American policy--a bloody war of choice launched thoughtlessly--seems to be coming to a close."

Yes, let's clone Saddam and put him back in power, intentions unknown (other than his track record).

[If Jihad Joe Klein had been FDR's supreme allied commander, we'd ALL be speaking German and smelling French.]

Mind you, Hitler never attacked America either.

Now back to SKIPPY OBONGO BLAMES BUSH, already in retreat...

SG, saw it....Tweety just dutifully nodded his head the whole time. Seemed to agree w/ Ensign that government spending caused the Great Depression. Any minute now Tweety will again admonish the new President that 40% of the people don't know what's in the stimulus or how it will work! The great mis-informer wringing his hands at the mis-informed public...too rich for words.

"But with the economy in a recession that already has lasted longer than any other in a quarter-century, that was the dominant topic.

The president aimed to drive home several points:

• He inherited the mess, and a quick turnaround is unlikely. Not only did the recession emerge on Bush's watch, the Bush approach wasn't the right one..."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama_speech

When haven't the libs blamed Bush -- for the cowards Pelosi, Reid, Murtha, Frank, and Leahy?

Obama's going to throw some more CRAP on the walls of Congress tonight, hoping that some spastic socialist change sticks?

Audacious, indeed.

American Idol, American Idle.

American Idle, American Idol.

Never fear, all of those withdrawn troops will be relocated to Afghanistan.

About time!

Give Tweety his due: he is a dumbass. After Shuster's take down of Issa you'd think this a**hole would know. But each one of these pidiots lives in his/her own bubble. Likewise with Joe and Mika.

In the question of soveriegnty/self-determination, 30-50K is an adequate force to make sure that Iraqis remain uncomfortable with the notion of NOT remaining a US puppet.
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I shudder to think what a future under McCain would have looked like but Obama strikes me as an admixture of equal parts Bill Clinton and LBJ.

[...] Klein seems to like Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan:...a dreadful chapter in the history of American policy--a bloody war [...]