I registered with a new nick-name for not influencing your choice, and to be free in your decision IHT - must've been banned for a good reason, judging by your first post. how about we try it again?
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After three years in Iraq. IHT - and how many years does a war take?
After thousands of dead and injured soldiers; and still counting. IHT - duh, it's a war.
After billions of dollars spent, not on rebuilding Iraq, but on the war itself; and still counting. IHT - um, you need to get your facts straight. we are spending all kinds of money REBUILDING Iraq. i know of just one single brigade that built 6 police stations in a year, when there were zero when they got there. they also rebuilt/refurbished the school and hospital after they got rid of the insurgents. and thats just in 1 small town, now imagine that ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! that is what is being done, yet you won't hear about it because you don't get your information directly from the people doing it (the military) like i do - you get your information from the press that has an agenda and will distort and bend the truth to fulfill that agenda.
One would pause for a minute and ask oneself with complete honesty;
Shall we get out of Iraq? IHT - no. not until the Iraqi's have taken responsibility for their own security, their own government, their own economy. it's a tough nut to crack when their economy is built on oil and the local nationals don't even want locally manufactured goods! the Iraqi army doesn't want uniforms that are MADE IN IRAQ!! they want their uniforms that were made in Pakistan. they don't want the bricks from the Iraqi brick manufacturing plant in their own damn cities, they want them imported!!
you need to get more information before you spew some BS on here, bro.
the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army ARE standing up and taking over. the Coalition forces are stepping back and letting them be the face of the rebuilding, after extensive training.
but it is hard damn work that the media doesn't want to hear about. they don't want to hear about the years and years of infighting that has gone on LONG before the Coalition forces even stepped foot in Iraq. they don't want to hear about the shia police chief who had to be removed because his police forces (that where there before the war) were terrorizing sunni's in the town, although they were outnumbered 3 to 1. that is, until the Coalition forces showed up and stabilized the area.
the Insurgents are NOT attacking the Coalition forces (except in IEDs) because they get their asses handed to them on a platter. instead, they attack the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army forces to try and promote fear, but IT IS NOT WORKING ANYMORE.
obviously i could go on for days.
i really wish the US citizens could sit in on all the military briefings i get to see - it would surely change their vewpoint on this situation and prove that we are doing good, the situation is getting a lot better (has been for a while now). the information is out there, but it is so damn hard to find because nobody wants to report all the good work being done, that doesn't sell newspapers. only the SENSATIONAL stories of a suicide bomber blowing up a Mosque that kills 40 of his countrymen makes the news.
example of how much things have turned around in under a year.
the town of Tel Afar. when a brigade of 3rd ACR rolled into town, there were no other forces around, other than insurgents. they averaged 7 attacks a day (IEDs, small arms fire, etc)!!! in under a year, when they left and turned their area of operations over to the next unit, they would go for days without being attacked ONCE, and sometimes up to a week without an attack. and who are they attacking at that time? THEMSELVES due to sectarian infighting. in some towns the tribes are mixed with shia and sunni, but in some areas it is ONLY shia and ONLY sunni, so they lob mortars at each other... and sometimes even on the damn soccer fields and playgrounds that the Coalition forces built!! how's that for being humanitarian??
but you won't hear that on the news or the radio or read it in a newspaper. nope, because that's a good thing. non-violence doesn't sell like voilence.
you go ahead and be brainwashed by whoever it is that's doing it - give 'em a pat on the back from me, they're doing a damn good job of it.
then give 'em :sl for being a dumbass that doesn't know the facts.
Consider this as a poll and vote with sincerity;Shall we get out of Iraq?