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The U.S. Army's official history of the Iraq war shows military chiefs made mistake after mistake in the early months of the conflict.

-cont

Previous experience "should have indicated that many more troops would be needed for the post-Saddam era in Iraq," historians wrote in the report, "On Point II: Transition to a New Campaign."

"The coalition's inability to prevent looting, to secure Iraq's borders and to guard the vast number of munitions dumps in the early months after Saddam's overthrow are indicative of the shortage," the study found.

About 150,000 U.S. and allied troops were in Iraq after the invasion, at a time when war planners were assuming that Iraq's government would remain functional after Hussein's ouster and that there would be no mass insurgency.

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Previous experience "should have indicated that many more troops would be needed for the post-Saddam era in Iraq," historians wrote in the report, "On Point II: Transition to a New Campaign."

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All this suggests that Shiite-dominated Iran is waging a proxy war against the United States to secure a dominant role in majority-Shiite Iraq, which has supplanted Lebanon as Tehran's top priority in the Middle East.

"The stakes are much higher in Iraq, where there is a Shiite majority, oil, the shrine cities and borders with Saudi Arabia," said analyst Farid al-Khazen, a Christian Lebanese lawmaker whose party is allied with Hezbollah.

"The big story is Iraq, and the Americans unwittingly opened it up for the Iranians" by their invasion in 2003, al-Khazen said.

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2) The liberation of Iraq from tyranny will also allow the flourishing of Christianity

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3) Iraq under Saddam Hussein did indeed possess WMD, namely chemical weapons. He used them to kill tens of thousands of his own people. He had them. What he did with them we don't, as the general public, know at this time.

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7) We have already saved thousands of Iraqi lives by removing their own persecutor...Hussein and his henchmen. It is funny how "liberals" are so quick to condemn the war in Iraq and demand our withdrawal when to do so prematurely would only invite another dictator into power and persecution of his own people. I thought liberals were for freedom (to the point of licence), or is it only their definition of freedom (do as I say and you won't get in trouble...oh, by the way, we've passed a few dozen more laws to curtail your freedom but we, the elite left, don't have to obey those laws).

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8) Continue the mission. We are winning freedom for Iraq and therefore for America, Israel and the free world. Our troops are sacrificing for not only our freedom and liberty but the freedom and liberty of millions of others.

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ORIGINAL: rlj
Is it freedom when US contractors kill Iraqi civilians over and over with no due process since they have full immunity? I believe that is how it was under Saddam.

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I thought that a person could only be killed once, but I guess in your liberal mind the over and over part helps to inflate numbers above reality.

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ORIGINAL: rcd33b
The potential of a nuclear threat from Iran is in and of itself grounds for action against Iran, to allow Iran to continue down the saber rattling trail it is going, without consequenses is naive and ridiculous.

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ORIGINAL: rcjames

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ORIGINAL: rlj
Is it freedom when US contractors kill Iraqi civilians over and over with no due process since they have full immunity? I believe that is how it was under Saddam.

I thought that a person could only be killed once, but I guess in your liberal mind the over and over part helps to inflate numbers above reality.

Thsnks
RC

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ORIGINAL: rlj
Please show where he killed 10s of thousands of Iraqis by chemical weapons. He did use chemical weapons against the Iranians where possibly this number would be accurate.

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Saddam Hussein is the first world leader in modern times to have brutally used chemical weapons against his own people. His goals were to systematically terrorize and exterminate the Kurdish population in northern Iraq, to silence his critics, and to test the effectiveness of his chemical and biological weapons. Hussein launched chemical attacks against 40 Kurdish villages and thousands of innocent civilians in 1987-88, using them as testing grounds. The worst of these attacks devastated the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988.

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And the story gets murkier: immediately after the battle the United States Defense Intelligence Agency investigated and produced a classified report, which it circulated within the intelligence community on a need-to-know basis. That study asserted that it was Iranian gas that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas.

The agency did find that each side used gas against the other in the battle around Halabja. The condition of the dead Kurds' bodies, however, indicated they had been killed with a blood agent -- that is, a cyanide-based gas -- which Iran was known to use. The Iraqis, who are thought to have used mustard gas in the battle, are not known to have possessed blood agents at the time.

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ORIGINAL: rlj

Ah, just Halabja. Well a few things that are wrong from your sources:

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First of all during the Iran Iraq war the Kurdistan region was rebelling so it wasn't a case of "systematically" for the sake of doing it. Next thing the article is wrong about is he was "testing" them. Saddam used chemical weapons in the Iran war as early as 1983 and it was a regular part of their arsenal. They were gauging their effectiveness I agree but they were all in use previously except maybe the sarin. Lastly the CIA for a decade claimed that hydrogen cyanide was the main chemical that caused the deaths which wasn't produced by Iraq but by Iran. Oh coincidentally the CIA changed its tune in the late '90s when we started trumpeting the cause for war with Iraq.

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The agency did find that each side used gas against the other in the battle around Halabja. The condition of the dead Kurds' bodies, however, indicated they had been killed with a blood agent -- that is, a cyanide-based gas -- which Iran was known to use. The Iraqis, who are thought to have used mustard gas in the battle, are not known to have possessed blood agents at the time.

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Lastly Saddam was never tried for Halabja even though it was by far the worst of his alleged chemical killings of the Kurds. While they had many other things why not try him for what in the western world should have been considered a "slam dunk" unless it wasn't?

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You need to look up the Al-Anfal campaign that Saddam launched.

And if the Kurds were rebelling against Saddam, why would Iran kill them? Wouldn't they be an asset to Iran?

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In my mind this does not disprove Saddam's guilt in the matter. There are many or could be many reasons why this could not or did not occur.

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Based on most studies I can find on the matter the main chemicals found were mustard gas, tubin and sarin. These chemicals have been found in survivors and in the soil in Halabja. Whether hydrogen cyanide was a part of it also is hard to conclude, but either way definitly does not point to Iran alone.

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ORIGINAL: rlj

It was a battlefield also. The PKK also operates in Iran. I'm familiar with the Al-Anfal campaign because it was important that the Iraqi's suppress that rebellion to prevent an Iranian victory. I followed the war as it happened. I do remember hearing of the rebellion but don't remember the exact name at the time.

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Mrs. Graves' World History class at Flagler Palm Coast High School is working on a memorial project. They are collecting one little green plastic army man figure for each of the fallen troops in the Iraqi War. It was a lesson started after reading about a class doing something similar for holocaust survivors in Tennessee. This was designed to give the students a better concept of the numbers lost in the war. Also, a way to memorialize them. Each student was allowed to donate one figure, and then they had to get donations of the rest as a way of getting community involvement.

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ORIGINAL: rcjames

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ORIGINAL: rlj
Is it freedom when US contractors kill Iraqi civilians over and over with no due process since they have full immunity? I believe that is how it was under Saddam.

I thought that a person could only be killed once, but I guess in your liberal mind the over and over part helps to inflate numbers above reality.

Thsnks
RC

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A senior Iraqi government official said this weekend the enclave should revert to Iraqi control by the end of the year. “We think that by the end of 2008 all the zones in Baghdad should be integrated into the city,” said Ali Dabbagh, the government’s spokesman.

“The American soldiers should be based in agreed camps outside the cities and population areas.

“By the end of the year, there will be no green zone,” he added. “The separation by huge walls makes people feel angry.” Dabbagh acknowledged that getting rid of the green zone would be a huge undertaking, given the thousands of American soldiers, private contractors and foreign workers who live inside. He said the concrete walls that divide it from the rest of the city would be taken down slowly, “depending on the threat and circumstances”.

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ORIGINAL: rlj

This says it all:

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A senior Iraqi government official said this weekend the enclave should revert to Iraqi control by the end of the year. “We think that by the end of 2008 all the zones in Baghdad should be integrated into the city,” said Ali Dabbagh, the government’s spokesman.

“The American soldiers should be based in agreed camps outside the cities and population areas.

“By the end of the year, there will be no green zone,” he added. “The separation by huge walls makes people feel angry.” Dabbagh acknowledged that getting rid of the green zone would be a huge undertaking, given the thousands of American soldiers, private contractors and foreign workers who live inside. He said the concrete walls that divide it from the rest of the city would be taken down slowly, “depending on the threat and circumstances”.

I'm pretty impressed. I had absolutely no idea that Iraq wanted to be a sovereign nation. I always just thought they wanted to be a colony or state or satellite of the US because we're so superior to everyone else in the world. So much for Manifest Destiny in Iraq. : (

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4322520.ece

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ORIGINAL: Goodwill

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind. I lost my job this past year. When Clinton was president I was secure and prosperous, but in the last year we had to close our operations. I was forced out of the place where I had worked for 34 years.



Not a single government program was there to help me.



Just so you know I lost both my sons fighting for their country. I lost them in Iraq and for what? So that Bush's oil buddies can get rich? My pain is indescribable.



I simply have nothing left. How can Bush call himself a Christian when he neglects people like me? I am a senior citizen with various medical problems. I'm not in a position where I can begin a new career, all because of President Bush.



Mr. Bush, I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a compassionate man!! I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a Christian. If I had any money left, I would donate it all to the Democratic Party.



If Al Gore had been elected in 2000 I would still have a job, a home and most importantly, a family.





Regards,



Saddam Huessein

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ORIGINAL: yustme

quote:

ORIGINAL: Goodwill

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind. I lost my job this past year. When Clinton was president I was secure and prosperous, but in the last year we had to close our operations. I was forced out of the place where I had worked for 34 years.



Not a single government program was there to help me.



Just so you know I lost both my sons fighting for their country. I lost them in Iraq and for what? So that Bush's oil buddies can get rich? My pain is indescribable.



I simply have nothing left. How can Bush call himself a Christian when he neglects people like me? I am a senior citizen with various medical problems. I'm not in a position where I can begin a new career, all because of President Bush.



Mr. Bush, I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a compassionate man!! I dare you to look me in the face and tell me you are a Christian. If I had any money left, I would donate it all to the Democratic Party.



If Al Gore had been elected in 2000 I would still have a job, a home and most importantly, a family.





Regards,



Saddam Huessein

My heart goes out to you and I'm so sorry for your loss.
When Clinton was in ,our business was so bad we had to pay many of our bills on credit card.We're struggling to get them paid off.
I support Bush 100%.Do I agree with everything he does?NO! But at least they always know they can find him at all times.When he's in our oval office at least he's not "intertaining" another woman.
And BTW,our business is doing better than it did the whole time Clinton was in.

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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

Divorce lawyers see it in the breakup of youthful marriages as long, multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan fuel alienation and mistrust. Domestic violence experts see it in the scuffles that often precede a soldier's departure or sour a briefly joyous homecoming.

Teresa Moss, a counselor at Fort Campbell's Lincoln Elementary School, hears it in the voices of deployed soldiers' children as they meet in groups to share accounts of nightmares, bedwetting and heartache.

"They listen to each other. They hear that they aren't the only ones not able to sleep, having their teachers yell at them," Moss said.

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ORIGINAL: rlj

I read this very sobering story about the impact of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and it's imact on military families:

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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

Divorce lawyers see it in the breakup of youthful marriages as long, multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan fuel alienation and mistrust. Domestic violence experts see it in the scuffles that often precede a soldier's departure or sour a briefly joyous homecoming.

Teresa Moss, a counselor at Fort Campbell's Lincoln Elementary School, hears it in the voices of deployed soldiers' children as they meet in groups to share accounts of nightmares, bedwetting and heartache.

"They listen to each other. They hear that they aren't the only ones not able to sleep, having their teachers yell at them," Moss said.

My heart goes out to them but since this is Crosswalk I realize I should just ignore it because "this is what they signed up for". [&o]

What pro-war Crosswalk readers say the troops signed up for

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ORIGINAL: jkdjr25

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ORIGINAL: rlj

I read this very sobering story about the impact of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and it's imact on military families:

quote:

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

Divorce lawyers see it in the breakup of youthful marriages as long, multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan fuel alienation and mistrust. Domestic violence experts see it in the scuffles that often precede a soldier's departure or sour a briefly joyous homecoming.

Teresa Moss, a counselor at Fort Campbell's Lincoln Elementary School, hears it in the voices of deployed soldiers' children as they meet in groups to share accounts of nightmares, bedwetting and heartache.

"They listen to each other. They hear that they aren't the only ones not able to sleep, having their teachers yell at them," Moss said.

My heart goes out to them but since this is Crosswalk I realize I should just ignore it because "this is what they signed up for". [&o]

What pro-war Crosswalk readers say the troops signed up for

Of course you should just ignore it. Those soldiers should just man up and do what they signed on to do. Who cares if some of them are jumping off of roofs with a backpack full of tools strapped on so they can get injured and not have to go back to a meatgrinder. Those guys are just weaklings and not worthy of the Bush Imperial Army.

Personally I remain against the Iraq War and pray for the day it ends so our troops can begin healing properly.

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ORIGINAL: SovereignIsHe

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ORIGINAL: jkdjr25

quote:

ORIGINAL: rlj

I read this very sobering story about the impact of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and it's imact on military families:

quote:

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Far from the combat zones, the strains and separations of no-end-in-sight wars are taking an ever-growing toll on military families despite the armed services' earnest efforts to help.

Divorce lawyers see it in the breakup of youthful marriages as long, multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan fuel alienation and mistrust. Domestic violence experts see it in the scuffles that often precede a soldier's departure or sour a briefly joyous homecoming.

Teresa Moss, a counselor at Fort Campbell's Lincoln Elementary School, hears it in the voices of deployed soldiers' children as they meet in groups to share accounts of nightmares, bedwetting and heartache.

"They listen to each other. They hear that they aren't the only ones not able to sleep, having their teachers yell at them," Moss said.

My heart goes out to them but since this is Crosswalk I realize I should just ignore it because "this is what they signed up for". [&o]

What pro-war Crosswalk readers say the troops signed up for

Of course you should just ignore it. Those soldiers should just man up and do what they signed on to do. Who cares if some of them are jumping off of roofs with a backpack full of tools strapped on so they can get injured and not have to go back to a meatgrinder. Those guys are just weaklings and not worthy of the Bush Imperial Army.

Personally I remain against the Iraq War and pray for the day it ends so our troops can begin healing properly.

You believe they shouldn't honor the agreement they made when they joined the military?

I don't support the war in Iraq....

John

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You believe they shouldn't honor the agreement they made when they joined the military?