(Our strong presence in the Middle East endures," Obama said. "And the United States will never waiver in the defense of our allies, our partners and our interests.")

Thank you President Obama, that was well said.

"Our strong presence in the Middle East endures," Obama said. "And the United States will never waiver in the defense of our allies, our partners and our interests.

allies - countries willing to sacrifice their middle and lower class citizen's children for war but not the children from the wealthy or politico elite. Not to mention the middle class which ends up paying the taxes in order to pay for the government/corporate incest and war.

partners - corporations standing ready for wealth redistribution. (haliburton, kbr, bechtel, etc. etc.)

Interest - well, says it all. It is about economic interests and nothing to do with interest in freedom.

For a country and government that fought so hard to end slavery we sure do have a government that defends capitalism. The worst form of economic slavery ever devised by man. We get to put on the chains ourselves and because we put them on ourselves we fail to see our own errors of allowing it by playing in it. Our government utilizes public wealth to go to war to defend the interests of private corporation and their elite masters and not the interests of the American People.

sandtrich As always, you are spot on. He has done much good. Unfortunately he has to follow the voice of his masters in defending the private use of military force for private interests. He will be credited for doing a lot of good things bush couldn't or didn't do.

sandtrich
Not to spill your koolaid but troops are leaving Iraq because of the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement signed during the Bush administration, which stated that "all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011".

patriot_in_nh

sandtrich
Not to spill your koolaid but troops are leaving Iraq because of the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement signed during the Bush administration, which stated that "all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011".

You could only pick one thing? Why is the GOP saying that we are leaving Iraq too soon? He didn't and wouldn't have allowed that war to begin with. The Iraq war was based on absolute fake intel by the Cheney/Haliburton Administration.

Why is it when someone wants to make a "Lumbaughist" dufus statement they mention "kool aid?"

Yes 20 million unemployed but unemployment as a percent has dropped steadily under Obama, after he averted Great Bush Depression and saved the US Auto Industry, now at 8.6%! What are you fools going to say when it's 7.9% come election time? Trending in the wrong direction? Have you seen your clown alternatives lately?

Txmom- Yes, there have been many mistakes by this president and especially the previous ones... but Taking out Bin Laden was NOT one of them. While Pakistan may be an Ally on paper, in reality they are very much our enemy by thier own actions. If they were a TRUE ally, we would never have had to go in there.

To all the GOP / Tea Partiers on this blog:

I challange you to find one thing President Obama has done well. I challange you to this as it seems you are not being very objective in your dislike for the current president. As much as I dis-liked Bush II, I can at least say I think the work he did in Africa to help fight AIDS was awesome.

So, can the right rise to the challange?

3. $1 billion was spent in Libya. This is like starting another mess (Libya) when another bigger one is still occuring (Iraq). $1 billion is pocket change compared to the cost of the Iraq war, but that is still taxpayer money. Furthermore, $1 billion failed to secure anything for US interests. It destabilized Libya and failed to secure any resources for the US. Contrast that with Iraq: after the coalition's invasion, the US secured all of Iraq's oil fields. This means a constant supply of oil resources for the US. The point is that even if Iraq was messy and had little to gain, Libya had absolutely no gain for the US whatsoever

Really? You should google "Ghadaffi Gold".

It took a long time, but Obama is patiently getting us out of the sh*tHole that Cheney's puppet got us into.

Looking back, it took Obama a long time. But the crap was so smelly he needed to move very carefully.

Iraq was such a mess, such a disaster. Clearly, the "Bush Doctrine" is the epitome of "Ugly American"

Bush was an awful, terrible president. Obama is proving to be a smart, thoughtful, curious leader.

To get us out of the mess that Bush created is a stroke of genius.

The jeering comments about Kool-Aid are easier for some Republicans to make than an actual argument.

As an aside, I can only imagine where the United States might be today had the money and effort used to wage war in the Middle-east instead been turned towards the research and development of alternative power sources and the repair of domestic infrastructure. I place the blame for the mis-use of that aforementioned blood and treasure equally on the shoulders of liberal and conservative 'leadership.'

boy the repukes are out today the fox parrots are about as dumb as a brick and cant think of anything for thereselfs so they just parrot the fok talking heads that are complete and utter idiots

The troops leaving Iraq, should they stay in the military, will be diverted to Afghanistan per obama. With the problems in Pakistan and Libya, obama will have to keep our troops in and around the middle east. While bush signed the agreement to exit Iraq by Dec. 2011, obama has yet to stabilize the region with our military making our withdrawl out of Iraq a very risky move. While bush may have started this mess with full support of both parties, obama has clearly failed miserably to bring any decent resolution to it, rather he will blame others for his failures while taking credit for others successes. You may think this is all bush's fault, but obama has done nothing to ease its effects. The next time we start the blame game, lets hold the entire federal government responsible. Its us against them people.

i for one being a decorated vietnam vet was never a supporter of us ever going into iraq. in fact i have always felt it to be a act of criminal behavior by the little bushie regime build upon lies and deceit. i do think the world is better off with no saddam but the cost of life and the huge monetary cost isn't and never will be justified in my eyes. when our nation is engaged in military operations the only winners are huge corporations who swindled any dime they can make and so being the repuke party favors the wealthly they will be against this withdraw. obama is keeping his promise and enough said period. this nation of ours cannot and should not be a police power for the whole world. now you repukes and teapukers can call obama a socialist and blame all of our current problems on him but the truth is he inherited a total mess from little bushie. you know the math shows we could cut every single entitlement to nothing and still be in a mess with the deficit. the only true way to cut the deficit is thru cuts and revenue. revenue is generated in this nation of ours thru taxation and if the top 5 to 10% of our citizens have seen their wealth increase by upwards to 300-400% as the middle class has lost wealth then they should pay more and this includes corporations. when you have better than 250 multimillionaires members of the house and senate the cards are stacked for the wealthly at the expense of the elderly, middle income and the poor. as of this day there isn't one repuke or teapuker who supports any real measure to generate revenue cause they signed a contract with a powerful pac who opposes any increase in taxes on corporations and the elite wealthly. perhaps a revolution isn't out of question for this country of ours is no longer for the people by the people, it is for the wealthly to the wealthly screw the rest of us

Whenever the economy sucks, Americans always hate the sitting president. Look ya doofuses, it's not like the president is some kind of job fairy flitting around the country sprinkling fairy dust on towns across the land. The economy is a reflection of people's willingness to consume, and I don't waste much time thinking about President Obama when I go into Home Depot and decide on a washer and dryer. The only way a president can create jobs is to literally create jobs: expanding government, starting new agencies, and so on. We all know that the U.S. can't affort that right now.

If you think that cutting taxes on the uber-rich is going to magically create jobs, it doesn't work that way. I work in HR and am very close to the upper levels of corporate power, and I can tell you, the only thing that creates a job is demand. Companies aren't going to hire a bunch of desk clerks to sit there and look at each other no matter how profitable they are. They only hire when the current staff can no longer handle the work load. The work load only goes up when new customers are found or existing customers spend more. And no, cutting taxes on the rich won't make them spend more. They already buy everything they want or need, and the extra savings just go into their stock portfolios.

Oh yeah, I forgot, you think one or two of them might use their tax savings to start a business. What business would they start? A restaurant? A landscaping company? Aren't enough of those jobs going begging as it is?

Peter M-533554

And you "volunteer" posters for Obama claim others drink Kool Aid. The only jobs Obama can claim are the jobs he gave his czars from Chicago and those staffers in all the new agencies he wants to have. GET real, no one believes the bull you guys try to spread about the great job he has done. He is a loser and so are all of you.

from one vet to another Larry....true that and well said!!! I laugh every time I hear a Repub and Teabagger yell "deficits" when their own ilk (going back to Raygun in 1980's) have been nothing but deficit builders and off shore makers!!! Cheney said, back when he was VP, that, and I quote, "Deficits don't matter!" Oh, but NOW they do!? I think Truman said it best back in 1948: "The only thing Republicans give a damn about is the almighty dollar!" True then, true now. They don't give a rats a$$ about the average person. All they care about is money...and they can never have enough! They are the most putrid varmint on the planet.

When it comes to Iraq, he brought them home sandritch. That's enough for me.

It took a long time, but Obama is patiently getting us out of the sh*tHole that Cheney's puppet got us into.

Looking back, it took Obama a long time. But the crap was so smelly he needed to move very carefully.

Iraq was such a mess, such a disaster. Clearly, the "Bush Doctrine" is the epitome of "Ugly American"

Bush was an awful, terrible president. Obama is proving to be a smart, thoughtful, curious leader.

To get us out of the mess that Bush created is a stroke of genius.

Gee, I hate to burst your little Obamabubble, but Obama is doing nothing but following the timetable that was set in the Bush administration after long negotiations and signed by Bush while Obama was still voting "present" in the Senate. As far as the "Bush Doctrine" and "Obama Doctrine" - they are the same. Obama found that all his complaints about what Bush was doing vis-a-vis Iraq was as ignorant of facts as his other stances. Obama has pretty much continued every policy set by Bush in Iraq - he has done nothing original in this respect.

In addition, the smelly crap you refer to was recommended by, agreed with, and annually funded by most prominent Democrats from Day One. They prefer to re-write history now, but that is just a natural-born instinct of liars.

MSDNC: Do you know what a "czar" is in terms of American politics? The media took to referring to presidential advisors and department heads as "czars". What makes you think they somehow threaten the balance of power? They're assistants, nothing more. They don't have any real power. And record-setting number of executive orders? What a liar you are. Classic tactic of the right. If you can't win, lie about something and force the other side to waste time checking your false allegations.

Let me try: Rick Perry has statistically had more failures than any Texas governor. Mitt Romney is known to have had more questionable dealings than any Republican presidential candidate ever. Newt Gingrich is widely viewed to have covered more things up than any other former congressman. Are any of those allegations true? I have no idea. But wow, it sure is easy to throw them out there and hope someone picks them up and spreads them as "known facts". I'll borrow from a Herman Cain line. I didn't intend for any of these to be factual statements.

But that's the difference between liberals and conservatives. Liberals check facts. Conservatives just gulp the BS down and regurgitate it to all their friends via chain e-mails.

energizer bunny--I think you misread sandtrich on your point #5. The president has vowed to veto attempts to subvert the automatic spending cuts that are to go into effect due to the failure of the super committee to negotiate a compromise. This is to impose some heavy cuts to defense spending, which many in congress are trying to find a way around. So it is kind of the opposite of vetoing spending cuts.

Total that's 3.5 of the 6 points you agree on, which is pretty good.

yakfitguy "When it comes to Iraq, he brought them home sandritch. That's enough for me."

I presume that you're talking about Bush, since he's the one that negotiated the withdrawal from Iraq by the end of this year. This was the 'Status of Forces' agreement made by Bush and al-Malaki back in 2008.

Of course, Obama TRIED to 'Change' that agreement to keep our forces there, but he was not successful, and Iraq told Obama - "We'll just stick with the agreement that we made with Bush, thank you - please leave by the end of 2011".

Try as you might, it's pretty hard to give Obama any credit without lying about the facts.

But that's the difference between liberals and conservatives. Liberals check facts. Conservatives just gulp the BS down and regurgitate it to all their friends via chain e-mails.

That is BS. Both happen on both sides. Quoting such BS as above shows your obvious bias and ignorance of the matter.

Iraq.

I don't like the idea of President Obama selling or giving Iraq our Fighter Planes.

Iraq will be unstable forever. The President of Iraq has proved to be very unstable as well to his Political Policies, going back and forth with the Terrorist Org. Al Qaida..

Iraq will eventually go back to their old ways--just being the warring country among themselves.

Once we leave, all H will happen---selling or giving Fighter Planes. We OWE them NOTHING---where's our OIL from this Country.

Iraq will give away top Intelligence information to countries like Russia, China Iran, Pakistan, or Afghanistan--the secret intel will be everybody's business.

This is a bad judgement call from President Obama---oh, what webs we weave for ourselves (Obama)---

What did the US get out of this Country---NADA---Their Democracy is slight.

Two groups, those that hate Bush and think all problems are his, and those that hate Obama and think all problems are his. Both groups miss the point, that both Bush, and Obama are worthless.

Neither of them think of anything but themselves and their party. Both fail. Neither is a good president.

We are out of luck with GOP or Dems. Both go to far either left or right. Nothing left for the normal people in the middle.

We were intervening on a brutal dictator who was killing his own people. Instead of declaring war on a country (see:Iraq) we were part of a multi-national effort to put an end to this. Of course, republicans only want to demonize Obama as a war-monger and endless spender while they conveniently get extremely upset whenever anyone brings up what happened between 2001 and 2008. And to Energizer Bunny, who wants to argue that Obama is vetoing spending cuts, you really need help with reading comprehension. Obama threatened to veto any action to STOP the automatic spending cuts that will be result of the supercommittee's failure to come to a consensus. The republicans talk about stopping spending, but once there's any chance of your precious military industrial complex losing any funding, you talk about how it's necessary to spend as much as we do. Can't have it both ways guys.

Stay out of Iraq = Fart in Church

Really poeple...someone already said...the obama-bashers are out today, talking about a war that should NEVER have been started.Our young men and women of the military deserve better.

The troops left Iraq to spend their rotations and Middle Eastern tours in Kuwait. Look further beyond the party lines and take a look at where our US consulate buildings are located as well as the huge US embassy complex within Baghdad. Also, look at the actual numbers of American Government Employees and authorized contractors that will still be located in Iraq? Around 15,000 so far with some subject to change.

Yet all I hear is how President Obama and the Obama administration should take "full credit" in removing US troops from Iraq? There are a lot of things President Obama should receive credit for but it is truly amazing how some here will refuse to accept that key decisions were made way before Obama even thought about running for office. Those who accept the 30 second sound bite from the highlights of his speeches should really research the entire Middle Eastern region and then relook at the American involvement in that area since the 1800s to the present.

Iran is waiting with anticipation and you can be sure that the Al Quds Force, the IRGC, MOIS, and several other Iranian back sections will continue to be providing arms, ammunition, support, training, and money to various insurgents to keep Iraq in choas for years to come. Does anyone see past the typical re-election message and look at the bigger picture? We are not going anywhere nor will we wait for Iraqi permission if US civilians are placed in harms way if the entire country goes kaput. You have simmering long standing issues with the Sunni, Shi'a, and Kurds, not to mention that our own NATO allied country of Turkey conducts operations against Kurds on a daily basis. Nothing has been resolved and all this is a smoke screen that will soon unfold when the Iraqi population sees that the US is no longer present.

To Justified Defiance...

Our country has always seemed to side with Israel as they are an ally in a dangerous area. They will likely always be close to the US, but you seem to be missing a very large point here. There is another group that lives in the country, they're called Palestinians. Obama is for a two-sided resolution which aims to support the intrests of both sides. Since he doesn't support an option to just give Israel everything they want, you feel he's anti-Israeli? You seem to be the one who needs to look at both sides of the equation. I'm sick of hearing right wingers go on an on about Israel without even considering the Palestinian side. I'm guessing that you probably think all Muslims are terrorists. I'm very glad I live far from Texas.

@ OregonPat:

Where are all those "evil" workers within the Military-Industrail-Complex (aka MIC for those who just can't stop watching the documentary "Why We Fight" or better yet "Iraq for Sale") going to go for employment? Let's cut the defense budget to the ground. I am sure that we can accept our unemployment figure then to reach plus 10% maybe even 12%. No need for research and development, we apparently have no more worries once we pull out of Iraq and later on from Afghanistan. All those "over paid" "wealthy" defense contractors should be let go.... All those returning service members need not apply like for instance in the intelligence communities because we have no more money to pay you. Let's revert back to the mid 90s when our intelligence services consisted of message traffic from our European allies.

Iran: nuclear weapons capabilities, increased support for on-going issues in Iraq for de-stablization efforts.

Libya: about to slide into turmoil

Egypt: questionable

Syria: imploding

Yemen: soon will be lost to more hardliners

Afghanistan: still to be determined. Of course 70% of the world's opium comes from Afghanistan, and the once hard line Islamist who use to kill narcotics dealers are openly accepting such sales for money to purchase weapons and support terrorism acts.

We do this every time we have had a prolonged war or military action. We cut our defense to the bone and then let everyone go. Our resources, capabilities, and manpower are gone, but then another crisis comes up and we scramble to fill in the holes that we ourselves created?

Everyone stop what you are doing we no longer need your services, we have no more countries that wish us harm. Everyone grab a coke and let's start singing. Maybe we'll just head to the local "occupy" sit in and wait for our check.

OregonPat,

I care more about you and all the other US citizens than Israel,Iraq,Iran or any other place on the planet.

I live in Texas...Brother

Mac, "employment" is not always the answer. We could put everyone to work drawing circles in the sand with sticks and have 100% employment, but it would be stupid and produce nothing. Keeping the military bloated because it provides employment is stupid. If we spent a fraction of that money building houses, how many could we build? Thousands? A million? Now what if we sold raffle tickets at $10 each and gave away homes to 1,000,000 winners, free and clear? It's a ridiculous example, but it's a valid one, and it would actually better our country.

I'm not saying we should scrap the military. We need it for our defense. But we need to put an end to their blank checks.

Dr Larry said, "... following the timetable that was set in the Bush administration after long negotiations and signed by Bush..."

So, you are saying, Bush had plans to clean up the sh*tHole that he created?

Who gets credit for cleaning the sh*thole that Bush created -- Obama or Bush?

When you think of it, realistically, there is only one nation in the region eager to step in and “take over” the hearts and minds of Iraqis and that’s Iran. They will try anything to undermine the fragile nation with Moqtada al- Sadr and his supporters leading the charge. Let’s hope Iraq is ready to stand up to them, Iraq’s sovereignty must prevail.

I would like to see our troops come home but I’d also like our president to ensure the lives of our soldiers (4700+) lost during the liberation of Iraq were not wasted, so it’s good to read we will maintain a significant presence there. After all, we need Iraq just as much as they need us.

Big Mac:

"The Obama Bashers are out today"? What?

Pres. Obama is the President of the United States at this moment. No one can squash Freedom of Speech. Why else are Americans allowed to vote?---Whatever anyone says on this board, is their true opinion. Each and every American is allowed, also, to voice their thoughts on any President who makes decisions whether they are right or wrong.

Bush started the War after 9/11--Remember. Iraq/Afghanistan was chosen as a place to Start War--to find OSL, and his Al Qaida members; as most people know, All Terrorist Groups will fight the fight together as brothers to bring down America, and other parts of the World.

It is Pres. Obama's decision to end the War.

BTW: American US Military deserve better. Better than what?.

It is an ALL Volunteer US Military Force---they are all aware of getting into any War at any time--Did you not know this?

Do you want the Draft back, so all US citizens over the age of 18 will have to fight a War?---Mandatory Draft. Would you be willing to go under the system of the Draft--no choice?

Get real. No more excuses for an elected President. Any President. post another post that is logical, please.

Please post another one that is a logical observation.

#1.51==sorry for the "double talk re: logical observation---time ran out for a final edit. Thank you.

@Mac

I definitely don't support abandoning all military spending, and I absolutely respect the hell out of our servicemen and women who put their lives on the line to support our country. You're obviously in the military and I understand you have perspectives that I don't have as I have never been in the armed forces. For that, you have my gratitude, and I hope for your well-being if you're still serving or deployed. I may not have made my point well earlier, but I was trying to reference how these broad cuts shouldn't have had to become a reality. We have one side of the political spectrum that is so pro-business and pro-wealthy that they refuse to raise revenues as part of a balanced approach to handle our deficit (yes, cuts to gov't spending will have to be made as well). Had raising revenues been considered by the right, the supercommittee may have been able to find common ground and work out a deal. They didn't. The republicans, as is now usual, only wanted cuts to programs that help the middle class while refusing to slightly raise the percentage we collect from the corporations and wealthy in this country. As a result, we are now facing large cuts across the board, and the President was right in his veto threat to stop the cuts. This shows the consequences of one party refusing to work with the other. Now we all have to suffer as a result. I hope the right wing will realize that they are doing enormous harm to our country by putting their donors and party above the needs of our nation. We need a bipartisan approach, but only the Democrats have been willing to pursue this. The Supercommittee knew that we'd be facing cuts across the board if they couldn't come to an agreement, yet the republican side refused to compromise, and now they're trying to change the rules to avoid any decrease in the programs they support, like the military. Instead of a shared sacrifice, republicans wanted the struggling middle class and the elderly to take the full impact.

"Other nations must not interfere with Iraq after US troops leave"

Or what Mr. President? I gather Iraq is not a free country to do as they please now without us sticking our nose in anymore? Is this what it means for them to have democracy, they have to do as WE say? What if they ask other countries to start businesses there? Or, is that not allowed? Mr. President, Iraq is not our puppet, and you sir, are no marionette to be pulling their strings. So that is what freedom is.

"Our strong presence in the Middle East endures," Obama said. "And the United States will never waiver in the defense of our allies, our partners and our interests."

And those two words "our interests" tells the whole tale.

Biteme-3470275

The troops leaving Iraq, should they stay in the military, will be diverted to Afghanistan per obama. With the problems in Pakistan and Libya, obama will have to keep our troops in and around the middle east. While bush signed the agreement to exit Iraq by Dec. 2011, obama has yet to stabilize the region with our military making our withdrawl out of Iraq a very risky move. While bush may have started this mess with full support of both parties, obama has clearly failed miserably to bring any decent resolution to it, rather he will blame others for his failures while taking credit for others successes. You may think this is all bush's fault, but obama has done nothing to ease its effects. The next time we start the blame game, lets hold the entire federal government responsible. Its us against them people.

While I agree it was both parties who voted (wrongly) to go to war in Iraq, you kinda have to admit it was still Bush and Cheney pushing for it on a bunch of fabricated intelligence.

What I find funny with this comment and a few others, as you mentioned, it was Bush who signed the withdrawal agreement, and this all started back before Obama was President, but blame Obama for pulling out too soon?

To put the situation (the Middle East) in a way many would understand, imagine standing in the middle of a field covered completely in manure. You are asked to walk out of the field without getting your feet dirty. It ain't happening!

Why does anyone think going there was a good idea, and why would anyone think any outsiders (the US) could make religious waring fanatics that have been going at it for thousands of years finally get along?

As bad as Saddam was, Iraq (pre- attack by the US) had the best education, medicine, and was the most advanced of any Middle East nation. Here, we bomb them back to the stone ages and call them barbarians.

I don't get it, you all know the billions of dollars wasted there (Iraq) was a mistake, many complain about our debt, but still want to keep spending billions (if not trillions more) on wars while we are in a pile of sh!t here.

You can't have it both ways.

Why do we Americans love to hate each other so much? I just don't get it! I was born in 1960 and have always been taught that you stand behind your fellow countrymen and your commander in chief through thick and thin. Democrat or Republican, these men are all Americans first! I don't care what any of you say bad about any of them, they all have their weaknesses but, all of them have their hearts in the right place, which is the betterment and safety of our country! What would any of you have done differently on 9-12-2001? What would any of you say Obama should have done differently after he took over from an obviously tired and war distracted George W.?

I would like to think about the things that didn't happen. Like another great depression, or another horrific terrorist attack! Or God forbid a nuclear exchange!

It has always been said, "if you want to argue with someone talk about politics or religion". There are no two people that truly believe the same!

I, for one, choose to always support our President, whether I like him or not. For one party to simply not work with a particular President at all is just like a child taking his toys away and going home because he won't share! REALLY?

If we are going to take this country back to the prominence it had after WWII was over and truly be the worlds leader, we, as Americans MUST stop hating each other and vow to work together through debate and compromise.

We also MUST have the worlds most BAD ASS military, just in case!

"We are leaving now, so dont mess with anything while we are gone"

...kinda goes along with "can we have our stealth drone back please?"

and..." you better not build any nukes... or we'll get really upset"

yes, you can be sure they are listening....and laughing/ strong leadership I'll tell ya, reaally strong.

The only reason the Bush and Cheney administrations got any support was the fact they lied and drummed up fake reports and witnesses to support them. When they felt that wasn't enough, they went so far as to call anyone that didn't support them a coward with a yellow streak running down their spines and then claimed that anyone that didn't support them supported the terrorists.

The republicans now put on a halo and say that Obama is only doing what Bush planned and that the republicans already wanted out of their losing war before Obama took office but tyet they also supplied McCain and his unpatriotic sidekick Palin as their nominated and supported candidates for president even as McCain fully laid out his plan to stay in Iraq for even more than 100 years. The republicans had no intentions to leave Iraq period.

Oh my, all of you Repugnants, Demoncraps, In Depend (Adult Diapers), Scrotums (Tea Baggers) etc. are making me laugh my arse off at all of you.

It will feel like finally being able to take a big sh!t after years of being constipated. In less than 7 months most of us, my men, my women, myself will finally be "Too Old" to ever be involuntarily recalled to Active Duty again after being involved with the "Middle East", Africa, Asia, etc. since the 1980s US Military Training Teams to US Ally Iraq during the Iran Iraq Wars, and rotated to Afghanistan/Pakistan to train the 1980s Pro US Afghan Muhajeen to defeat the USSR 40th Army, Operation Cyclone (and no we did not train Osama Bin Laden, Al Quada, nor the Taliban (I explained that on other Newsvine Topics)).

It will be someone else's f**king turn. With all those self serving Politicians not listening to a darn thing you have to say, even if you are those that live with the locals for years of consecutive tours.

examples:

The Blame the Bush crowd of self serving US Politicians (especially those Legislatures that make the US Laws, and their job to find the money to enforce those US Laws that they created):

Iraq: US Law with US Congressional Appropriationis, 1998 H.R.4655 "Iraqis Liberation Act of 1998", justification Section 2 "Findings", Weapons of Mass Destruction. As we were involved with the hiring training arming of the hundreds of thousands of assassins and insurgents (mostly the uneducated Shiites at Iraq that came from Iran after the massive Unemployment after the Fall of the Shah). They were caught and executed (some even turned each other in for rewards) by President Hussein as Traitors, President Clinton and President Clinton's White House claimed, "Dictator massacres his own People". We were on the ground conducting Target Damage Assessments during Operation Desert Fox.

H.R.4655 Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (scroll down to Section 2 "Findings").

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1057063/posts

After the 9/11 2001 Attacks we are sent to Afghanistan to Overthrow the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban Government for their providing Osama Bin Laden, Al Quada Islamic Sanctuary, and sponsoring with the assistance and support of Fundamentalist Islamic Iran the Islamic Jihadist Training Camps. Half of us were sent north, we (from our previous knowledge from the 1980s Pro US Afghan Muhajeen) are sent into the Afghan Cities to disrupt the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban Government and fight their Militias until the other group with the Northern Alliance could get to us.

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan

http://dougstanton.net/

After the lesser means of H.R. 4655 Failed to Liberate the Iraqis People by Overthrowing President Hussein, US Congress used the Final Option, the US Military, by Declaring War With Iraq with US Law (with US Congressional Appropriations), 2002 Iraqi War Resolution.

Just after the US Law, 2002 Iraqi War Resolution is signed we are sent to Northern Iraq to live with the Kurdistanis (our previous experience during the Iran Iraq Wars) to conduct Operation Hotel California, in preparation for the 2003 US Military Liberation of Iraq.

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/operation-hotel-california-the-clandestine-war.html

Those of us that survived then go on extended R&R, reorganization (replacements for our dead), other deployments to Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, etc.). Refresher Mountain Warfare Training with the German Commandos, refresher mountain warfare training and conditioning with US Ally Turkey, before redeployment to conduct US Military Asymmetric Mountain Warfare. Most of us have been here since General McKiernan, General McChrystal, General Petraeus.

So as I mentioned before wait 20 years, and FOIA (Request thru the Freedom Of Information Act) the Mission Videos (the operators on the ground), the Two Way Video Conferences (C4I helicopter, Afghanistan (Petraeus, and Bagram AFB), JSOC (Admiral McRaven), SOC, Pentagon, CIA (Leon Penetta), White House. (you will see a rare video of me). If you do the FOIA, remember we are one day ahead so that they cannot stonewall you saying that no videos of those dates exist.

I told all of you why before (what President Obama did not do), as well as President Bush's amending the US No Assassination Policy, 2006, to allow the termination of Osama Bin Laden:

Assassination Policy Under International Law

http://hir.harvard.edu/leadership/on-the-offensive

You can talk to my young Brother In Law about being a "Non Combatant" then trained as a "Combatant" and sent to Iraq, while the "US Military Combat Units" were being withdrawn from Iraq. Also laughing I told him Never to get involved with us, as once in never out. At Iraq, the number of US Department of State at the US Embassy Acres Compound is actually 1,000, the rest are US Military:

The U.S. will maintain a significant presence in Iraq, with about 16,000 people working at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Is it a mistake to leave Iraq. After President Obama's 2009 Improved Relations with Iran Policy. Iran has been negotiating with their Allies at Iraq, the Kurdistanis that control the Iraqis Northern Oil Fields, and the Shiites (generation ago came from Iran as Illegal Aliens) that control Southern Iraqis Oil Fields, with the result the Allies of Iran, the Chinese and Russian Federation got the Iraqis Northern and Southern Iraqis Oil Field Contracts, making the Libyan Oil of Strategic Importance to the US European Allies (except the Germans that have their deals with the Russian Federation for Oil and Natural Gas since the later 1980s).

In 2010, the US Ally Turkey Raided the Islamic Jihadist Training Camps at the Automnous Kurdistanis Region, and instead of just finding the Kurdistanis PKK HPG KGK there they found out the hard way that hundreds of thousands of Islamic Jihadists as supported by Iran with Iranian Military Advisers, Iranian Trainers, weapons, ammunition, etc. were there. This Raid caused these hundreds fo thousands of Islamic Jihadists to flee, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group fleeing to Libya to overthrow US Ally Gaddaffi, the Muslim Brotherhood fleeing to Egypt to overthrow the US Ally at Egypt, Al Quada Yemen fleeing to Yemen to overthrow US Ally President of Yemen, members of Al Sheebah fleeing to Somalia, Hamas Foreign Fighters and Hezbollah etc. fleeing to Palestine and Gaza as the "Freedom Floatilla", Al Quada Syria fleeing to Syria, Al Quada Saudi Arabia going to Bahrain, many of the Shiites fleeing to southern Iraq, etc..

LOL all of you thought that the "Arab Spring", Libya, etc. was a coincidence. US Ally Turkey is still continuing the "Raid", except increased to Airstrikes. The Islamic Jihadists Training Camps at Yemen and Pakistan become the Main Islamic Jihadist Training Camps.

General McChrystal attempts to warn the US Public about Iran's involvements at Iraq and Afghanistan based on captured weapons, ammunition, funds, etc.. Because this is against President Obama's 2009 Improved Relations with Iran Policy, General McChrystal gets a Letter of Reprimand from President Obama. When General Petraeus was at Iraq, he said the same thing about Iran's involvement with Iraq, Iraqis Insurgency supplied with weapons, ammunition, funds, etc. from Iran, based on weapons, ammunition, funds, etc. captured at Iran; these weapons supplied to Iran by the Chinese and Russian Federation, exchanged for Iranian Oil.

So all that Iraqis Oil that could have repaid the US for decades is lost to the Chinese and Russian Federation, just like the Mineral Wealth (High Tech Minerals) of here (Afghanistan) that was negotiated by Iran with the Afghan Government and the Chinese.

If most of us were not "Too Old" we would be stuck here (Afghanistan) for decades after 2014. (Sucks to be us, Ok, not us our successors.):

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/08/national/main20117702.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;9

I seriously have to ask, after years of not being at the US, what happened to the US Education System, is that the reason that most of these Newsvine Posts are so uninformed and uneducated? Seriously, that computer you have connected to the internet is not a paperweight.

Before you start the name calling just do the research, and if you say "know it all" (from firsthand experience) sure, that means that you are a "know nothing". Using Factcheck (follow their money) and Wikipedia (Disclaimer of validity of information) do not count as research.

Democrats good, Republicans bad....Republicans good, Democrats bad...Democrats good, Republicans bad...Republicans good, Democrats bad...Democrats good, Republicans bad...

...awaits next talking points

I enjoyed reading your post btw david. Worth the read

We're leaving Iraq? The US is leaving Iraq? How does one nuance the act of leaving? Maybe, in spirit we're leaving, but physically?....................................................Hmmm?........................................ I goddamn well don't believe it.

When Obama was elected into office, everyone wanted him to do it NOW...and do it NOW and NOW...and since he didn't, everyone who never wanted him there in the first place thinks he sucks as President.

That's ok...you can't help it. Apparently you think you can do better?

Can you do any better? I mean, if people that are supposed to at least workwith you when you need to make important decisions in government openly defy you, it's kind of difficult to do what needs to be done.

When people care more about the party than what each politician actually stands for, then things get messed up. You follow blindly because you are a Democrat and always have been or a Republican and always have been or whatever else is out there.

How about looking at the issue and deciding after looking at the man or woman? OH NO....that would make you...GULP...a conservative...or a liberal! Now, you wouldn't actually want to do something RIGHT, would you? That would make you...GULP...conscientious! What would all the other Republicans or all the other Democrats think? OH Lord, how can we go on when everybody's just runnin' in the streets? THINKIN' about things BEFORE they pick a candidate instead of voting for the party!!

ANARCHY!!!

My point is, there is good and bad in all the parties...good and bad in most of the politicians that were VOTED into office...and our President, whom I believe has gotten a rough deal with all the BS out there...he's the one in office now...and he has to do what he can...unfortunately, he tried so hard to make everyone happy, it's hurt others...but he is bringing soldiers home...and he is supposed to protect our allies, just like our allies are supposed to protect us.

Now before you jump on that one, just remember...this is the greatest country in the world. We can take care of ourselves...so we really don't need those other countries defending us, so to speak. But it is a good thing that we have them...just in case...we need to make a point.

So lets try and not be so ridiculous about stuff and just be thankful these troops are coming home. And let's just hope that while we were over there, these Iraqis learned a bit of self defense.

@ Styro:

I never said, keep the military employed to ensure someone is getting paid, but there has been several key programs that got scraped due to demands to reduce the DOD budget that should have not been placed on the side burner. I am not for keeping a "bloated" system flushed with cash but here again the same could be said for social services that allow for fraud and waste. The DOD is not the go to department to start gutting just because we fail to accept some responsibility and won't even look at serious reform on tax regulations and laws. I know a lot of defense contractors who do their job and deploy as much as the servicemember, they are "well paid" because the are paid at the rate rated by the US State Department. People are shocked when you read a report that an individual in Iraq or Afghanistan is getting paid 150K for a year in those countries. People are outraged but fail to look at the whole story. He/she got paid that wage since the government doesn't pay for their health care insurance, the company is responsible if they are wounded, chances are they would be charged for such services. They can not get normal medical assistance and must take all perscriptions prior to deployment. They usually work 12 to 16 hours a day for the entire year. Little to no time off or "R&R" leave. So the contractor is not as evil as the media and stories portray. If you want to get rid of the entire DOD contractor issue then prepare for a draft because those thousands of "contractors" are filling the ranks of personnel when the US cut back it's active divisions after Desert Storm. Not every contract is "bloated" and over-paid. Cut the contractors out and the unemployment numbers go through the roof. When missions close and are no longer needed then yes, the work-force will reduce, but to seek to cut billions to suffice the cries of those who get 1/10th the story is dangerous. To reduce our military in the Middle Eastern region for potential votes is playing a risky game.

Yeah. Isolation will cure the problem. Don't let them become a part of the global community.

President Obama has been tested and is a great leader. Speaking of isolation, in the Louisville Courier

Journal, "Clegg: EU Treaty Veto bad for Britain" . Clegg warned of a danger that Britian "will be

isolated and marginalized within the European Union." And Great Britian has much to answer for, according

to a back issue of The Atlantic Monthly.

Nobody is allowed to mess with other nations except us!

Ignorance is strength.

Freedom is slavery.

God is power.

President Obama has been tested and is a great leader.

This is one of those "black is white" or "freedom is slavery" or "ignorance is brilliance" statements, huh? Because it certainly is bass-ackwards.

@Dr Larry: I was completing the reference to 1984, one of my favorite books, as the OP stated "War is peace."

Dam straight... we're the only country that's allowed to interfere! (Sarcasm, if you couldn't tell)

yeahh, you another one that slept during history class or what? Remember those pesky German's!? Remember Japan!? Iraq has a golden oppurtunity, and those people have a deep history. I'm putting my money on Iraq as a strong intelligent country from here on out!! My prediction is we did exactly what we needed to do strategically, and it will be all the better now. Most of the people posting on here about who did what f'k'd up, most likely have never actually gave themselves to public service to better our country, or anyone elses. So all you do is make fun of people who try to make it a better world, but they fail. Like Martin Luther King Jr., he failed to do what he set out to do! He believed in equal rights for all, not just colored people. But it was twisted and turned into black people wanting special privileges and oppurtunities based on being black! See, he didn't fix a problem, he created a new one. One group of people got a long free ride, til they got up. I think Iraq should be given an "EQUAL" chance to screw up!

Absolutely. They are all just waiting for us to clear out before they open up. This lull in activity isn't because we "won" it is because they are patient. Now that we are gone it should get interesting for the rest of the people there.

Well, actually he interferes with our business too!

if you say so!

Sixty percent of us agree also, Max.

That should go for the USA as well. Let's take care of our poor and aging people here and let them countries take care of their people. Has the president ever stopped and checked our needs here before giving our tax money to those people and bring all of our troops home and just getting the hell out of everyone else's bussiness and take care of the USA first or does he have a clue to what needs to be done????????????????????

I dont think it s up to Obama to stop war and bring all troops back if the congress doesnt go with him, it will be hard for anything to be achieved!

We have Jews and Christians etc.. running the congress, all have different agenda! sometimes they dont get alone with each other! how do you expect anything to be done right? I dont think it s about what the people of USA want! it s about what the congress staff want! they show you one thing and do another thing! to complete their needs not our needs

Obama, if you want to be re-elected again, go visit Israel and make our Jewish people happy because they are not happy until you go visit Israel..

Give them some Missiles and weapons while you re visiting Israel, American Jewish people will appriciate that

"Well, actually he interferes with our business too!"

He definitely had his work cut out for him, with a long way to go for recovery for near disaster.

Great stuff.

MR 392 - The USA is the most powerful country in the world, plain and simple. I'm sorry that whatever country you are from sucks, but ours is the best and always will be! You wish you had a drone that could take out enemies 1000s of miles away. And who said we gave up our drone technology? You think a drone has never crashed before? You are a moron, plain and simple. None of your comments have any basis to them. You are a sad, angry soul.

Unibiased, you need to change your name ot "biased" because you certainly are. Take off those rose colored glasses you wear so you can see clearly.

Pretty sure China could destroy our economy whenever they wanted without even firing a shot.

@MR-392541

Our Military loses everytime when they have to actually "fight" or without their video games? Detest much?

Reverse engineering is nothing new. Fortunately by the time "they" replicate our technology or General Dynamic/McDonnell Douglas/Lockheed's technology we will have a) ability to detect our old stealth technology and b) have created even better stealth technology for OUR aircraft.

Saying the USA is bankrupt morally and financially is pre-mature. Do we have a credit card that is full? Yes. Is it maxed out? Not yet. Can we pay it down before it is maxed? Yes.

If those "other nations" dont FEAR us and do meddle in Iraq, we have enough on the USA Credit Card to charge hundreds of Tomahawk Cruise Missles dont kid yourself.

Lastly.... Detest much?

Pretty sure China could destroy our economy whenever they wanted without even firing a shot

That to the U.S. would be an act of war... They won't because of our 7 active carrier fleets.

@Deryl: They won't any time in the near future. But they still could.

And a war between the US and China would not be pretty. No matter who won, we'd both lose.

Adidas, I detest an america that will not take care of its own business yet continues to strut around the world sticking its nose in everyone elses business. I detest a military that continues to spend with abandon yet is unaccountable for their own actions or idiocy. I detest the american taxpayer -- of which I am one -- who continues to buy into american military supremecy yet says not a word when soldiers voluntarily line up against a wall then are shot by an afghanny colonel with zero outrage from the american poulace. I detest an america which spends with such abandon that they have ammassed a debt which can never be repaid (it's not just federal debt, look at your states and cities and don't forget pensions) and continue with the same policies.

Yes, I detest much.

Don't think that China would just close down the US economy. The two are way too much intertwined, and it would be an act of economic suicide on their side. Despite the bad things people like to say in a tough recession like this, the US economy is still the strongest in the world. We're just not the only strong economy in the world, and maybe that is what people dislike. Well, get over it. We've preached to other countries for decades that our way of life and our economic model is the best in the world, and now we whine because other countries like China and India are emulating us? We've glorified the global economy for many years now because it worked for us, and now there's a hiccup and it's all their fault? Get real, peeps. This economic mess is very ugly precisely because we were so successful in making our model attractive to everyone else. And now when bad things happen in Europe and China and India or the US, it sends bad vibes throughout the whole world economy.

deryl -638200

That to the U.S. would be an act of war... They won't because of our 7 active carrier fleets.

The Air-Craft Carrier fleets can only bully third world nations. They are balanced by China's undetectable stealth cruise missiles - one per carrier!

It is the mutually inter-dependent economies that are the peace motivators. However, China's financial control of the US economy is potentially an arm twister at China's disposal. China also has an overload of unbalanced testosterone...little estrogen wisdom: A Lead lag indicator of War!

War, if it happens, will be at China's discretion and or due to US stupidity or miscalculation...Chinese war philosophy entails wining without firing a shot, if at all possible - US starts needless fights it loses...creates sorrow and hate around the world, people die!

Do those stealth cruise missiles also work against B-2's?

America is so bad and evil that the "wonderful" European Union is begging for an influx of billions of US dollars to ensure that those smaller broke countries do not cause a serious Euro based meltdown. France, Italy, and several other major European countries might also take a hit on their credit rating.

Obviously some of the viners here have a bias against the U.S. El Sid313 made some interesting points concerning the capabilities of the Chinese military vs the US. While the US has several large carrier battle groups, the Chinese have focused a considerable amount of time, money, and resources in building long range anti-ship cruise missiles that are specifically made to take out large US Naval Carriers. But the Chinese Air Force is not as effective as the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Those anti-ship batteries that are based on the coast lines near where the most likely routes taken by a carrier to provide support for Tawian, would be taken out from the air or from our own cruise missiles. It would not be difficult to bring a submarine close and launch them from one of our larger boomer class subs which would give little to no warning for air defense grids to arm and take them out. The Chinese are land based. They have just really begun since 1993 to rebuild a "blue water" navy. The Chinese are just now building amphibious assault ships. The Chinese would need a serious amount of shipping to transport that many troops across the strait to land on Tawian beaches. While in numbers of armed personnel the Chinese look impressive, the US still has a number of capabilities that can "out-do" the Chinese. China would not risk actual armed aggression against the United States. China would be more prone to conduct massive cyber attacks and economic leverage with it holding so much of US debt. You are right, people die in war. A lot of innocent people died both in Iraq and Afghanistan not at the hands of American military personnel but from their former next door neighbor or some wanna be nut who thought that blowing him/herself up and 30 others to kill one police officer made any real sense?

China is not seeking to enter a war with the U.S. right now, when we stop buying cheap Chinese made goods and our inter-dependent business relationship is over, we will see the real China expose it's true head.

BINGO Greg!

.

Shut up Greg. "In my best Peter Griffin to Meg voice". Saddam needed to go regardless of how we went in there. Afganistan should have been the only focal point as it pertained to 911, but Saddam had to be removed and the only country not acting like a vagina at the time was the USA so once again, we had to be the one that beats up the bully on the block. There are a lot of Rose colored glasses being worn by those on the left, just as they were being worn by the right a decade ago. The point is that neither Democrat nor Republican Presidents have done anything to improve the lives of the middle class in this country. The fact is the only ones who are courted are the Super Rich (Rep) or the lowly poor(Dem). As a middle class citizen, i am starting to hate both classes. The poor only drain my resources further and the rich steal everything that is left after the poor remove their hands from my pocket. Screw the Rich and the poor in this country. It's time for the middle to swat each one to the side and get what is owed to us.

greg also believes that Saddam did not invade Kuwait, gas Iranians, or Hitler killed Jews......

Do I agree that we wasted many lives and $ by spending too much time in Iraq, yes; but you have to really have you head up your a$$ to not think something had to be done with Saddam H, greg, we know you will never agree so do not bother to comment...

have a good week

Liberals find it easier to try and re-write history rather than accept the FACT that nearly all prominent Democrats agreed with going into Iraq at the time. There are plenty of quotes out there for you to find to back that statement up.

Here are a few - there are many more:

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002.

"We know that he has stored away secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002.

"My position is very clear: The time has come for decisive action to eliminate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. I'm a co-sponsor of the bipartisan resolution that's presently under consideration in the Senate. Saddam Hussein's regime is a grave threat to America and our allies..."
John Edwards (D, NC), Oct. 7, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force — if necessary — to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002.

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years .... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002.

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do."
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002.

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct. 10, 2002.

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.
Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime .... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction .... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ...."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003.

Dom-462174

Perfect. Neither side is on my side.

Sorry, I guess it will take longer than 4 years to fix what the last guy took 8 years to destroy. The unemployment rate is almost back to pre-Obama. We're out of Iraq. We killed Osama. We helped liberate Libya. We now allow gays in the military. We have deported more illegals this year than Bush ever did. The recession was officially over a long time ago (not our fault relating to Europe's debt crisis that affects us too). All the Right wants to do (from what I've heard) is go back to the Bush-era policies that got us in this mess!!! You think we can fix a 4 Trillion deficit in one term? If you thought that, maybe you were only fooling yourself!

Too bad he hasn't accomplished anything but divide the country!

He's history!

Man, Are you taught this crap in Liberalism 101. Blame everything on the last guy, but only if he was from a different party then you. Have you ever taken responsibility for something you or your party was responsible for?. You tout these very narrow "victories" that you ascribe to Obama like they were parade worthy events and yet you sentence Bush and compare him to the likes of Napoleon. George Bush was exactly the President we needed at the time of 911. A fiscal conservative is exactly what this country needs right NOW. Obama will continue his tax raising ways and his socialist programs that will severly hinder any recovery we may achieve. The health care bill needs to be torn up and re-done. Spending has to be not only capped, but strictly reduced by hundreds of Billions if not trillions. America as well as the entire world needs to have austerity measures placed on them. A reset button of sorts needs to be pressed to eliminate all debt owed and then just start over from scratch. It's not like America isn't owed trillions from all the loans we forgave over the years so for those country holding debt, oh well. better luck next time.

Sometimes I wish it was this point in time and Cain and Palin had won and these Republican babies could see the unemployment record and the automotive industry and the stock market and the state of health care and the depression this country would now be in but their tiny little brains just can't grasp how bad a mess they make every time we listen to them.

Since that didn't happen, I guess we'll just have to live with the nightmare that is Obama...We already see record unemployment, people in poverty, economic disaster and massive home loss under Obama...

No my friend what we see is high unemployment that couldn't be avoided considering the mess GWB and his administration left which would be at least 7 to 8 million more had the GOP won the election. Home losses again were the result of eight years under GWB and poverty is something the Republicans have never seemed to address only being interested in making sure their rich friends are fat and happy.

OK, so Bush drove the economy into the ditch: Obama and the Dems have driven it off a cliff! You're fooling yourself if you think that Obama has done anything, but make things much worse! What about that "laser Focus" on the economy? What about inemployment under 8%?

Do you know that Obama has taken 69 vacation days (more than 2 months worth!), has played 67 rounds of golf and has had 65 Campaign dinners, all in 2011?

Oh and in case you're not aware, Obama has been in office for almost solid years now! And Bush is no longer president!

One more thing... Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are the ones that f**ked up Fanny and Freddie... not Bush

An unbiased American

WE know the unbiased part is not true dear Obama poster. Is the American part true?

Sometimes I wish it was this point in time and Cain and Palin had won and these Republican babies could see the unemployment record and the automotive industry and the stock market and the state of health care and the depression this country would now be in but their tiny little brains just can't grasp how bad a mess they make every time we listen to them.

Well, we see what Obama has done and, frankly, a person picked randomly out of a random phone directory could probably have not done worse.

"Do you know that Obama has taken 69 vacation days (more than 2 months worth!), has played 67 rounds of golf and has had 65 Campaign dinners, all in 2011?"

You don't want to start a debate about the vacation time/golf rounds Obama has taken. You REALLY don't.

"Just about?" '''' we are BKed!

Sorry Zman you're right!

First of all it's "Dictator IN Chief" if you want to use that term.
Second of all, it's not Obama who decided to interfere in the first place. And you know very well, that no matter what he would have said, it would not have made a difference. No president can ever make an official address and use the same words, and voice the same opinion that he has when he's eating dinner with his friends. He was trying to cover as many bases as possible with that statement. Give the guy a break.

tessier NOPE! You really don't get this Guy do you?

Obama sounds like he is in the third grade, scolding his fellow students. Children we must not pull little Peggy's pigtails.

Huh? We (Halliburton and others) have made fortunes on contracts. This has been going on for years. A billion dollar embassy is one good example. This is not a good investment, we invested in Iran in the 50's by "interfering" I mean promoting democracy and look how well that turned out. Mark my words this will one day bite us as most our meddling does.

It is now. They have been assimilated and became part of the borg.

We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.

Ruken:

The Taliban did not get that memo...Oops! they can't read.

You are right, they can't read but they are pretty effective at beaten women to death, beheading unarmed medical-aid personnel, farming & selling opium and heroin into the international drug trade, blowing schools up, teaching young kids to become suicide bombers.... Gosh those Taliban are true defenders of the faith. Keep up the good work, maybe those Taliban, Haqqani Network, IMU members can ensure that Afghanistan and the rest of Central East Asia can maintain in 7th Century standards.

Worldwide thermonuclear war...glad you are not in charge of the button, or else the entire human race would be extinct by now. The biggest problem this country has is the number of idiots whose vote is equal to mine, stop being brainwashed by TV ads, do some research, and think before you vote. We were attacked, so we should have just nuked Afghanistan. If only this were still WWII and we were the only country the had nukes, sadly this is not the case anymore. Drink some more cool aid.

We did not earn our freedom without the help of France, why are people so against helping other people who want the exact same thing. I could see it if they want a dictator, communism, etc., but they want a democracy...wtf. While I think the President is a sellout and has helped out corporate America more then he has helped out the American people, I do agree with helping Syria.

All the dumba$$ comments about Obama, do you not realize that he was bought out and is now on your side? You should really stop hating on him since he is on your side, or is this the act that we are supposed to believe while they work behind the scenes/curtain.

This was my exact thought too wtf?

ok kids...what he meant was...soldiers are trained to take care of themselevs and each other. Civilians are not. This means that if there is trouble of any kind, most likely, w/o protection, unless civilians are good marksmen and women or know hand to hand combat, as I am sure a lot of them aren't, then they can very easily be hurt or even die if someone were to attack.

He did NOT mean it doesn't matter if soldiers come home or not and you KNOW THIS.

WTF you guys? Did you even graduate middle school? I would think not since you have the attitude of a spoiled, angry 7th grader..

Iraq war over, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Gee - Harry Reid said the war was LOST in 2007. Happy about that one?

Obama made the call for our troops to enter Pakistan to kill Osama.

Bush called them back when they had him in their sight (documented in military files) because he didn't want any political issues.

Who REALLY has the bite? Bush only opened his mouth. Obama closed it.

that is so far off from the truth... You obviously do not know crap about foreign affairs... I strongly doubt that you even know what is going on in your own home...

Wow, lots to back up your statement there. I'll try a page from your book.

OMG, you totally don't know anything. You are stupid and I am telling my mom on you!

Am I now playing on a level field?

Elliot, if you prefer we could go back to the foreign policy of fabricating evidence to start illegal wars that we had under Dubya.

Please quit your squabbling. Obama is the weakest President in history, or a close second to Carter. He is an embarrassment every time he opens his mouth; especially on foreign affairs. Not to mention; why is okay for the U.S. to invade at will and for Obama to warn others not too. How about just keeping a close eye on rogue nations nukes and let them fight it out like they've done for centuries before we were even a country. He's a joke.

Bush called them back when they had him in their sight (documented in military files) because he didn't want any political issues.

No - you've got him confused with Bill Clinton. We had Osama dead BEFORE 9-11-2001 but slick Willie was more interested in interns than safety of the world.

Have you posted this statement before, like a while back? I seem to recall having read it elsewhere.

I suppose you figure anyone that doesn't get us into an unnecessary war and commit our servicemen to fight and die instead of using diplomacy and sanctions and planting a little fear of reprisal the minds of rogue countries a weak president but if you're a fan of shock and awe and clueless as to how to manage one of those cowboy adventures once in that rogue country then this president seems weak to you.