Topic: " Iraq Study Group: Change Iraq strategy now"

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/06/iraq.study.group/index.html

Gee, I sure wish someone had said this sooner....

Ya no kidding. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the west wing right about now. Cheney must be royally pissed. George I'm sure is even more confused than ever. And I can hear George senior saying 'Pleeeez don't make me clean up any more of your messes.'

But of course the big question remains, will anything substantive actually come of it (the report) ? There are going to be a lot of needless deaths between now and whenever.

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"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it." Mark Twain

First and foremost, there should be another study commissioned on the last 60+ years of failed foreign policy and outright manipulation of the region. If we cannot come to grips with the realities therein and modify extensively, the situation in the ME will never improve. The western world is essentially the catalyst for what the area has become. Not going to happen, I know.

Then, we desperately need to put what has traditionally been in the hands of the military back into their hands and get all the contractors, mercenaries and other profiteers out of the Iraqi nation. For those who have not see it, "Iraq for Sale" paints a scary picture of where warfare is heading. Download and watch if you haven't seen it.

On Iraq, I tend to be of the opinion that we will actually see troop increases, perhaps on a large scale, before any sort of "withdrawal", which I'm sure many of you know will never be total if the reports of "permanent bases" have any merit.

I do agree that we desperately need to bring Syria and Iran to the table. Cut the shit with Ahmedinijad already. Make nice. You might not like the idea of them having influence in Iraq (they already do) but in the long run they can help calm the area and save countless thousands of lives. Might pay a little more for our precious oil, but hey, we still have Afghanistan and control of the worlds opium market and a pipeline to look forward to, for now anyways. Cut your losses while you can, you know?

During this time though, I really wish the Democrats would grow some testicular fortitude and move for impeachment as well as massive investigations into certain weapons dealers and their lobbyists in Washington and certain unnamed contractors who have been fleecing the US citizens of billions. Again, not going to happen, as the Democrats are primarily in their pockets as well. We will, IMO, be a militaristic nation until the last breath.

Once the "decider" and his cronies are out of the way, maybe we can get a real investigation into 9/11 as well. Whole 'nother can of worms there.

Sorry for the lack of cohesion, slumber beckons.

Ram