War in Iraq has been declared lost by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a statement today that the war in Iraq is lost and that it can only be won through political, economic and diplomatic means.

Debating the war is one thing but coming out making statements that it is lost is another.....what kind of message is this sending to the troops on the front line? I'm an Army veteran who has spent 14 months fighting this war and I can tell you that people back in the states rambling comments like that just pissed us off even more.

Don't get me wrong, there's things that could have been done differently in the duration of this war but making comments like that when we still have military men and woman still on the front lines dying for thier countries isn't healthy and downright ignorant.

Totally agree. I also concur, in that the situation has been a little more drawn out than I would have hoped. I want to say THANK YOU for your service and contributions to this country, from my family to you and yours.

The reason things are as bad as they are anyway is because politicians trying to run the war. If they would let the Commanders run things it would be alot smoother. If there was some support here it would help a little too. Its amazing that people who have never been there know whats going on perfectly and act like they can solve it.

You might not like the message but it's the truth. Would you rather he carried on like the Iraqi Information Minister?

Originally posted by Chris McGee
You might not like the message but it's the truth. Would you rather he carried on like the Iraqi Information Minister?

Its not the same situation at all. If politicians stay out of current military affairs and dont tell them how to run a way, commanders are more than able to win such a conflict. The Brits did it in Malaysia during WW2, defeating an insurgency there. It the dickheads on capitol hill would let those in command of the military run the war, they would hand them victory instead of this happy horse-#.

To be perfectly honest, the Iraq Study Group all but said that.

Its time to really face facts.

The ability to win in iraq has been lost. Rummsfeld was a bigger disaster than Macnamara IMHO as a war time SECDEF.

Now we have to concentrate on salvaging what we can. People should have no illusions, Iran will dominate iraq once the US is gone. We just have to get used to that.

Originally posted by FredT
Its time to really face facts.

Right, but in doing so there was no need for this display.

With this statement, he may as well have said "congrats, enemy, on a game well played. See ya in a few years!"

Some things just don’t need to be said.

BTW, as a Nevadan, I apologize to the rest of the nation for sending to Washington this filth. Reid has the worst ethics record in Washington and we are embraced. Trust me, there is strong movement here to be rid of him.


[edit on 21-4-2007 by cavscout]

Originally posted by 19 Kilo
The reason things are as bad as they are anyway is because politicians trying to run the war.

Does this include the Commander in Chief?

Cav,

I agree with you in regards to the public comments. And the Democrats who were shoe ins for 08 seem to be hell bent on handing things back to the GOP

Originally posted by FredT
And the Democrats who were shoe ins for 08 seem to be hell bent on handing things back to the GOP

Yeah, every time they are given an inch they take a mile. They always seem to be their own undoing (not that Republicans are much better these days.)

It is like they thought that by gaining an EXTREMELY small majority the public gave them a blank check to do as they please. Either they are out of touch and believe that the conservative movement is dead or they know that their days in majority are short lived and want to accomplish as much as possible in their short time.

Its almost as if Washington was taken over by a bunch of idealistic students who haven’t yet learned to pace themselves. If they could just simmer down a little they might be able to maintain power.

The war against the insurgents was or is winnable via a military means.
The problem is what happened in Iraq is an example of how not to fight a counter insurgency war. Troops that made up the occupying force put up barriers between themselves and the local population and were ill trained for a counter insurgency war. Military commanders lacked the flexibility needed to fight an adoptive enemy. The Civilian leaders who were/are in charge are removed from reality.

In general the US military is far to inflexible. They are differnt wars but the ghost of Vietnam is very much evident.

Exactly. The US is fighting an ideal here, not an actual force.
The US is still stuck with the tactics of Countries Military vs. Countries Military, you simply cannot fight todays wars like that. Essentially it's the citizens of the country you have to fight... and the only way to win that war is either to coax them onto your side of thinking, or simply commit genocide... which would be a loss anyways.

Originally posted by johnsky
Exactly. The US is fighting an ideal here, not an actual force.
The US is still stuck with the tactics of Countries Military vs. Countries Military, you simply cannot fight todays wars like that.

You are absolutely correct. However, in defense of the military, it is not the small wars like the ones we are in now that have the potential to really bring us down. We are right in training our soldiers to fight "military vs. military" as this is where the true threat lies. Without factoring for nuke terror, the most a civilian militia (or, if you prefer, insurgents) can do is make us look bad and cause dissention in the minds of our people. An actual foreign military, the real threat, can invade and conquer, so our military is geared in the proper direction. We train to fight the enemy that can destroy us, not the one that can send us looking for a band-aid.

[edit on 22-4-2007 by cavscout]

Allahu Akbar! Israel is defeated in Lebanon and now America has admitted defeat in Iraq, with Afghanistan slipping from your grip as well.

Freedom is on the march?

Invade Iran next please...

Originally posted by AbuMusaab
Allahu Akbar! Israel is defeated in Lebanon and now America has admitted defeat in Iraq, with Afghanistan slipping from your grip as well.

Freedom is on the march?

Invade Iran next please...

Praise be to the Lord that he has shown mercy on the enemies of Israel, holding back the just hand of Israel and not letting her kill too many un-Godly heathens.

Praise be to the Lord of the Israelis and the Christians, the one and only true Lord on High, that he has allowed the Americans in Iraq to fight with enough honor that they do not cowardly set bombs on the road to kill innocent women and children as the heathens do, even if this means that we must leave the nation behind to be taken over by the power hungry leaders of a false and parasitic religion.

Peace and goodwill are on the march.


Let's just Iran doesn’t screw it up.


[edit on 22-4-2007 by cavscout]

Your arrogance will allow you to continue to enjoy what you have earned, insha'Allah. Humiliation on the world stage, defeat on the battlefield, and a continued decline in your awful culture.

Originally posted by AbuMusaab
Humiliation on the world stage

Lets be honest here, shall we? All niceties and political correctness aside, we own you. We are on top of the world, for now. We can kill your society or allow it to continue, all with the push of a button. We allow you whatever small amount of power you hold.

defeat on the battlefield

Again, all PC aside, we have, according to your side, killed over 100,000 people and only lost a few thousand. Sounds like a win to me! Problem is, you cant argue differently unless you take responsibility for most of those 100,000 deaths. I was over there, I know who is doing most of the killing, and it aint us.

and a continued decline in your awful culture.

See, that hate will be the downfall of you and your ilk.

I wish nothing but peace upon you. I love you . May the lord take you and hold you.

Peace be with you.


[edit on 22-4-2007 by cavscout]

You own us? You are sinking into depravity. It is a shame, but you have chosen your path. You own nothing.

You said, "We can kill your society or allow it to continue, all with the push of a button."

Technically, you could drop a nuclear bomb, but you do not have the guts. And you don't have any other way to achieve victory. Just like all the other imperialist powers of the past, you will fall. America is still a very young nation. I would compare it to an arrogant teenager who claims to know everything and doesn't listen to the older, wiser folk around him. Sooner or later, he learns the hard way.

Then you said, "Again, all PC aside, we have, according to your side, killed over 100,000 people and only lost a few thousand."

You detemine victory by whoever kills the largest amount of innocents? That is foolish. Victory is achieved when you have accomplished your set goals. You lied about your goals and have achieved neither the original, nor the newly stated.

Our goals are being achieved on a daily basis. And with your humiliatiing withdrawal, the fragile Iraqi puppet regime will collapse, and will leave another mark in the defeat column for the world's most arrogant superpower. A label which you should enjoy while it lasts.

Insha'Allah.

[edit on 22-4-2007 by AbuMusaab]

Let me remind those of you who argue that we need to let our military 'win the war' that first off the military never really wanted to go to war with Iraq because there was no clear objective. There was no WMD and the only "Terror" on which we would "wage" war was that which we created by invading Iraq in the first place.

There is nothing to "win" in Iraq. The Iraqis are only fighting Americans who they perceive to be there solely at the behest of Israel and in that regard to 'win' you will have to kill every last Iraqi (which may be the objective).

Senator Reid was correct in saying that we have 'lost the war' simply because there was no war other than what we created by going there in the first place.

I support our military too and that means helping them get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

Those military soldiers (if any) who still support our Commander In Chief would probably think differently if they had any idea the contempt with which the CIC and his neocon handlers hold the U.S. Soldier.

That said you need to know that the U.S. has no intention of leaving Iraq ever, under any circumstances. The infrastructure being built there means we have long term (read 'forever') plans of occupying Iraq. I would guess that to further that goal we would attack Iran for some fabricated reason and claim we had to use Iraq for a staging area. That is probably why we are building 4 major military bases with airports there.

And do you think we are buildng the largest U.S. Embassy in the world in downtown Bagdad because we ever plan to leave? Guess again.

Johnlear,

While we are probably not ideological friends, I agree with everything you have said (above). However, the neverending US presence in Iraq will just be another target. So they better hope they can defend that better than the Iraqi parliament building.