Ok, so it's not "thousands weekly." I found more info: UN: Nearly 6,600 Iraqi civilians killed in July, August POSTED: 1:21 p.m. EDT, September 20, 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Violence killed nearly 6,600 Iraqi civilians during July and August, while more than 8,000 were wounded, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq. More than 20,600 Iraqi civilians have died in attacks so far this year, according to UNAMI. The carnage included a string of execution-style slayings, mortar and rocket attacks as well as suicide bombings apparently targeting civilians. Most of the killings detailed in the report released Wednesday happened in Baghdad. The data was based on information provided by Iraq's Ministry of Health and the Baghdad morgue. The report said a reduction in casualties in Baghdad between July and August may reflect "a degree of improved security" as a result of Operation Together Forward -- a security clampdown conducted by U.S. and Iraqi forces in several city neighborhoods. There were 2,884 civilians killed in Baghdad in July. In August, 2,222 people were killed, according to the report. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/20/iraq.main/index.html Now, if that is the situation, with most of the carnage occurring in Baghdad, doesn't it stand to reason that the withdrawal of security from the entire country would naturally engulf those areas outside of Baghdad, not to mention that the death toll in Baghdad would rise as well? Is that "speculation"?
And if we don't cut and run from Iraq today then 3-5 years from now we will have lost 10,000 troops and 5 trillion dollars, Osama will still be in Pakistan and Mullah Omar will still be in Afghanistan and we'll still have the same two options of "cutting and running" or staying the course. LOL, what reputation? Thanks to Bush and the governing republican party America's reputation is no longer a concern, they've tarnished it for generations to come.
Okay. It's noted you're all for cut-and-run and feel that Bush and the GOP have tarnished America's reputation. Since you favor cut and run, the ensuing carnage in Iraq and the chaos in the region once we do so must be A-Okay with you too. If I'm wrong on that point, please advise. Thanks for the post.
^^If there are other deaths, why would the situation not become worse if there were no security at all? You think once we leave the Ba'athists and Shia's are going to shake hands, call it a day, and take up plowshares? Not to mention the foreign fighters and Al Qaeda elements?
Okay. It's noted you're all for cut-and-run and feel that Bush and the GOP have tarnished America's reputation. It has nothing to do with how I feel, the entire world hates, despises and ridicules this country. It's a well known and established fact and only truly sick or ignorant people (like the author) can still believe that we have a reputation to uphold, rightly or wrongly no one in the world sees us as "defenders of freedoms" any more, although many certainly did before Bush came to power. Since you favor cut and run, the ensuing carnage in Iraq and the chaos in the region once we do so must be A-Okay with you too. If I'm wrong on that point, please advise. Did you actually read my previous post, the ensuing carnage is unavoidable whether now or five years from now, except that within the next five years OUR losses (human and financial) will triple or quadruple. And the blood is on the hands of those who started this mess - Bush, his administration, his rubberstamping party and people like the author who voted for them, spinned their agenda and supported their criminal actions.
we are not providing much security. we are targets. all evidence indicates out presence is increasing terrorism. attacks are approaching 900 per week now. we had 15 killed this weekend. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15051776/ A new book by Bob Woodward says that attacks against troops in Iraq are more frequent than the government admits -- roughly 900 each week.
Okay, it's noted that you feel that the "entire world" hates the US and that anyone who believes the US still has a reputation to uphold is either truly sick or ignorant. Okay, it's noted that you feel that the carnage is unavoidable and may increase in the years to come if we don't cut and run, and that Bush is a criminal, as is his administration. So, just so it's clear, since you feel the carnage is unavoidable, we may as well cut and run and get it over with now, is that it?