Official: Obama announced U.S. pulling out all troops from Iraq VIDEO

Originally posted by Mijamija


That's funny and you do have a point! but ATS will never be consistent I'm afraid to say ; )

I like ATS folks because they represent so many varying view points. We got people on here that are total hippie dippy types that think ALL war is wrong, then we got those who are not opposed to war, just opposed to the current wars, then we got people who think the Afghanistan war was ok but not the Iraq war, and then there are those that think the war in Iraq was part of a larger plan to secure US/European interests against nations like China. It all depends on who you talk to, there is no concesus here at ATS we are like a bowl of jellybeans, all different kinds!

and that is why it is so much fun, I love to hear opposing view points it makes me question my own thoughts more deeply. I like my views being challenged because I think it gets me closer to the truth, I have to weigh all possibilities before I come to conclusions about things. I rely on others to expand my point of view, so I can see the "bigger picture".

edit on 21-10-2011 by Mijamija because: (no reason given)

Here is an interesting view from GOP front runner.
Romney Opposes Troop Withdrawal From Iraq

Romney released a campaign statement today attacking Obama for leaving Iraq and blaming him for, essentially, not being able to change the Iraqis’ minds on keeping American troops in their country past 2011:
“President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women. The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government. The American people deserve to hear the recommendations that were made by our military commanders in Iraq.”

thinkprogress.org...

Originally posted by popsmayhem

Originally posted by Rockstrongo37
Wow, he's in no hurry to pull them out untill his popularity is in the crapper, and isn't it also interesting that Iran has been so active and threatoning and he chooses now to pull out the only deterant to an Iranian invasion of Iraq?

The guy is a magician, always a trick up his sleeve
or a card to pull out of his back pocket..

I do not think he pulled them out to *attack* Iran per say
more then he pulled them out now as a political ploy..

You guys maybe on to something. Perhaps, this pull-out is a little bit of both? Still, we all knew this was coming and the President has left it dangling since last year. This could be one of his aces in the hole, or so he thinks come election time?

If things were more positive for him politically at this juncture, would he have followed through on this? That is something I am curious about. As I have said before about Iraq, it is prime strategic real estate. It is smack dab in the middle of the hornet's nest. It gives the US an opportunity to respond on numerous fronts should the need arise with the likes of Syria or even Iran. Lets just wait and see where this goes as the new year approaches . . .

reply to post by Jakes51


Still sitting on afghanistan also a good location.
I wonder if Obama will keep that one up his sleeve
a little longer?

I am all for the troops coming home I think they did a job well done
and took care of what needed to get done especially as far
as a payback/ defense move for 9/11.

What I AM NOT for is Obama using the troops as political pawns.

PR Smokescreen... thats all it is...

the Marines as the Embassy protection will be the official forces stationed there in Iraq

but there will be 40k mercenaries/ independent contractors still remaining active over there...
they need an operations base that is near Iran and the Kurdish territory & accessible to Turkey


i would not be surprised if Batalions of Troops were re-stationed in the Arab Peninsula/Saudi/UAE or wherever there are the Patriot missile bases protecting the Arab Allies from the Iranian Scuds and Anti-Ship missiles the Iranians have at ready


this is as much BS as the Obama peace prize

He's 3 years late on ending the war in Iraq. He said on the campaign trail back in 2007 it was the first thing he was going to do after becoming president. Just one of many promises Obama reneged on.

Politicians, you can't believe anything they say.

Originally posted by Rockstrongo37
Wow, he's in no hurry to pull them out untill his popularity is in the crapper, and isn't it also interesting that Iran has been so active and threatoning and he chooses now to pull out the only deterant to an Iranian invasion of Iraq?

Yep....scary isn't it?

A political conspiracy theorist would say that that the entire middle east war effort and the Arab spring are all leading up to the ultimate land grab for oil/gas/minerals and other natural resources between the last two superpowers, china/russia (possibly) and the western nations(US/EU).

If you talk to the religious folks they will say it is the beginning of the Israel/arab war that will lead to Armageddon.

If you talk to the alien/reptilian folks they will tell you that the middle east region has star gates and secret ancient powers and the westerners are fighting for that stuff, it depends on what one believes I guess.

I like the star gate scenario stuff cause it reads like a movie script ; ) but if anyone of these conspiracy theories are even remotely true I would put my money on the political one. It makes the most sense.

Here is what really tickles me: what if it were all of those conspiracies together!!!!! Boy howdy, humanity is so screwed........

troops are home to "police" then lets hope they join the right side! i hope america all the best, your the front line guys!

Originally posted by St Udio
PR Smokescreen... thats all it is...

the Marines as the Embassy protection will be the official forces stationed there in Iraq

but there will be 40k mercenaries/ independent contractors still remaining active over there...
they need an operations base that is near Iran and the Kurdish territory & accessible to Turkey


i would not be surprised if Batalions of Troops were re-stationed in the Arab Peninsula/Saudi/UAE or wherever there are the Patriot missile bases protecting the Arab Allies from the Iranian Scuds and Anti-Ship missiles the Iranians have at ready


this is as much BS as the Obama peace prize

Yep, I am glad to see that the ATS fellas/gals are paying attention to strategy. Sometimes I think many people overlook strategic clues. Just looking at a map of the mid east can tell people alot. The Iraqis will need to keep the Kurds and Turks from killing each other cause The US/EU will want to move troops/equipment from Europe down through Turkey to get into the Iran/Iraq area if there is conflict in the future.

I remember when the Iraq war popped off in 03 my dads guys were supposed to go into Iraq via turkey and at the last minute my dads guys in the 101st were sent back, cause turkey wouldn't cooperate if I remember correctly
(not sure on that one, but i know it was something like that, if there are any former screaming eagles on ATS , maybe y'all will remember)

but my husbands guys were slated to leave and because of the turkey issue, their orders were pushed back. I remember it took them forever to get their equipment because it had been sent ahead via turkey and then it had to be re directed and it took forever to get to SWA and when it finally got there my husbands foot locker had been stolen and it was already time for my husbands unit to come home!!!!

It is a heck of alot easier to get our equipment/troops over there via turkey without making our ships go all the way around the Arabian peninsula! And you know we can't move stuff through israel without starting major tensions.

I heard from many people in the Coalition military said that the Iraqi military is a joke and cannot fight efficiently against insurgents so Iran and Al-Qaeda going to take over Iraq completely and turned into a radical Islamic country. I mean the War in Iraq achieved in overthrow Saddam Hussein but was swarmed in by insurgents.

Obama foes blast Iraq withdrawal amid Iran worries
www.google.com...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's conservative critics on Friday blasted his announcement that all US troops will leave Iraq by year's end, citing worries US archnemesis Iran will fill the vacuum.
Republican Senator John McCain, Obama's rival for the White House in 2008, described the news as a "consequential failure" for Obama as well as Iraq's leaders after talks broke down on leaving a small US force beyond December 31.
"This decision will be viewed as a strategic victory for our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime, which has worked relentlessly to ensure a full withdrawal of US troops from Iraq," he said.
Frederick Kagan, widely seen as the intellectual architect of the 2007 US troop "surge" credited in Washington with pulling Iraq from the brink of civil war, echoed the charge.

Now why is Mcain against the Iraq war withdrawl. Bush is actually the one who set a 2010 with drawl date.

It seems all these guys are a bunch of talking heads.

Looks like the war with Iran will begin soon.

I'm sure it's a coincidence that he's hoping to get re elected. This couldn't be a ploy to get votes. Look! I kept my campaign promise!

"U.S. Troop Withdrawal Motivated by Iraqi Insistence, Not U.S. Choice "

Don't give Obama his A+ just yet. This move is quite sudden has been rumored for about a week now. Obama has been trying to sell a troop extension to the Iraqis.

The troops aren’t being withdrawn because the U.S. wants them out. They’re leaving because the Iraqi government refused to let them stay.

Obama campaigned on ending the war in Iraq but had instead spent the past few months trying to extend it. A 2008 security deal between Washington and Baghdad called for all American forces to leave Iraq by the end of the year, but the White House -- anxious about growing Iranian influence and Iraq’s continuing political and security challenges -- publicly and privately tried to sell the Iraqis on a troop extension. As recently as last week, the White House was trying to persuade the Iraqis to allow 2,000-3,000 troops to stay beyond the end of the year.

Clearly we have overstayed our welcome. No Surprise

"We have serious security problems in this country and serious political problems," he said in an interview late last month at his heavily guarded compound in Baghdad. "Keeping Americans in Iraq longer isn't the answer to the problems of Iraq. It may be an answer to the problems of the U.S., but it's definitely not the solution to the problems of my country."

Shiite leaders -- including many from Maliki’s own Dawa Party -- were even more strongly opposed, with followers of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatening renewed violence if any American troops stayed past the end of the year. The Sadr threat was deeply alarming to Iraqis just beginning to rebuild their lives and their country after the bloody sectarian strife which ravaged Iraq for the past eight and a half years.

How about this. The embassy will serve as a Weapons Mart for the Iraqis.

The hundreds of U.S. troops who will be left behind to guard the mammoth American embassy in Baghdad and its consulates in Erbil and Basra -- and to man an embassy office dedicated to weapons sales to the Iraqis -- will have limited diplomatic immunity. Even so, American civilian officials will primarily be guarded by private security contractors, not U.S. troops. The State Department has talked of hiring as many as 8,000 such guards.

Obama’s Iraq remarks glossed over America's unpopularity in Iraq and his own administration’s failed efforts to sell the Iraqis on a troop extension.

www.nationaljournal.com...

Remember this side of the story when Obama tries to spike another ball in the end zone. Sometimes those balls bounce back right in your face.

Another link to the story can be found here. This was front page news for about 5 minutes before getting buried among other less important announcements.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in US history.

He said overnight all US troops would be withdrawn from the country by the end of the year.

Mr Obama's statement ended months of wrangling over whether the US would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011.

He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to keep several thousand US forces in Iraq as a training force and a hedge against meddling from Iran or other outside forces.

Instead, Mr Obama spoke of a promise kept, a new day for a self-reliant Iraq, and a focus on building up the economy of the United States instead of a land far away.

"I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Mr Obama said.

"After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
Another link to the story can be found here. This was front page news for about 5 minutes before getting buried among other less important announcements.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in US history.

He said overnight all US troops would be withdrawn from the country by the end of the year.

Mr Obama's statement ended months of wrangling over whether the US would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011.

He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations with Iraq over whether to keep several thousand US forces in Iraq as a training force and a hedge against meddling from Iran or other outside forces.

Instead, Mr Obama spoke of a promise kept, a new day for a self-reliant Iraq, and a focus on building up the economy of the United States instead of a land far away.

"I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Mr Obama said.

"After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

edit on 21/10/2011 by Dark Ghost because: added extract

That was a great read. I have been going through different sources they all
have a little bit different of a twist.
I'm looking for the uk's guardian version

reply to post by popsmayhem


What I see happening here is, President Obama is pulling troops back to the US so that these troops can help the protesters at OWS and other major cities. The troops will then destroy Queen Elizabeths bloodline. Obama I believe is a Benevolent. I will watch things as they unfold, but I am pretty sure this is how it's going to go.

This thread makes me laugh we were suppose to be out of Iraq years ago...What happened? Obamas announcements are becoming more and more ridiculous.

reply to post by Zarxx


Wrong. The troops are pulling out, most already in Kuwait, are preparing for their next mission possibly in Dec or very early 2012. Iran/Syria?

Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by Zarxx

 

Wrong. The troops are pulling out, most already in Kuwait, are preparing for their next mission possibly in Dec or very early 2012. Iran/Syria?

Well some of the troops will be helping OWS, etc... But yes you are correct, Iran is probably their next target.

Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by Zarxx

 

Wrong. The troops are pulling out, most already in Kuwait, are preparing for their next mission possibly in Dec or very early 2012. Iran/Syria?

And if you had read my post, it state's that Obama is going to kill Queen Elizabeths bloodline