Republicans are scum!

[DJ V Lawrence]

DJ, you can find part of my answer within Bach's. The thing I see most is that the "blue bloods" would like to see a little more of a blood and guts approach to Iraq, they need that country to get back to the business of OIL. That's not the Bush agenda though. He wants the country liberated then be able to handle itself as a sovereign nation with no dictatorship. This displeases hard rightwingers because they are of the belief that you kill'em all and let God sort them out.

I understand now. Thanx. I alwayz thought it was just "liberal" and "conservative" and that was that. Then I heard that Rush Limbaugh rant against conservatives and was like "WTF, is he liberal now?" Thanx for clearing that up.

Do U agree more with Bush or the "blue bloods" approach?

When the war started, both sides wanted that type of quick and sure victory, but once we got in there we made the mistake of using the Dems. favorite tool, DIPLOMACY, and wasted time , and let insurgents get a foothold in the country, and the result is what you see now. That is about to change after the holidays, I'll bet you.

Our foriegn relations are VERY weak compared to how they were at the end of 2001. We blatantly defied the U.N., took an aggressive approach, and rushed into the war in Iraq with a "either you're with us, or against us" approach. In terms of the first few months, combat operations were going quite well. It was expected however that there would be an insurgancy and the rebuilding process would take a long time. It was also expected that if we left Iraq as it was, terrorist cells would have a LOT to work with to gain new recruits to turn anti-Americans into possible new terrorists. There wasn't enough adequate planning on a rebuilding process that had quick results for a better quality of life for Iraqis after Sadaam's reign, and now because of that, there may be more insurgances being created as much as we're able to kill or dismantle.

Now here's where our foriegn policy (diplomacy) comes into play. Iraq wasn't the only country Bush labeled in the Axis of Evil. He also mentioned Iran and North Korea, and I'm sure both countries are watching Iraq very closely. We know we need allies to get Iran and North Korea to end their nuclear programs in a peaceful manner (since we all know that military action would be foolish when we're already fighting two wars, would cost American lives that could have been prevented, and would turn more countries against us.) Now, those allies remember what we did with the U.N. in late 2002-early 2003, and now we want their help to rebuild Iraq, help negotiate with Iran, and sanction North Korea because THEY defied the U.N.? How are other nations going to take us seriously, especially since they have their own politics and elections to worry about? Who's going to enforce the U.N. sanctions 100% if it's not the U.S.?

[TJones]

DJ, you have to keep in mind that Iraq was in "The Axis of Evil" because of Saddam, now that he is gone, it is no longer that. It is a country that is afraid to have free thinkers. It is a country that has been led around by the nose for so long by a Tyrant, that they are just having a real hard time knowing any other way and they are learning now. I believe Iraq will be able to stand on it's own, they just need us to show them the way for just awhile longer.

[DJ V Lawrence]

DJ, you have to keep in mind that Iraq was in "The Axis of Evil" because of Saddam, now that he is gone, it is no longer that.

I think that was what Bush assumed. For now, however, it's much more of a direct threat than Iran or North Korea. I can't think of the last time an American was killed in either country, but look at the amount that have died in Iraq just this past month. And remember where Al-Zaqawi, Al-Qaida's #2, was killed. It will remain an "Axis of Evil" and a threat to America until Iraq is rebuilt and our troops are no longer in combat operations there (and we don't know how long it will take for that to happen successfully)

It is a country that is afraid to have free thinkers. It is a country that has been led around by the nose for so long by a Tyrant, that they are just having a real hard time knowing any other way and they are learning now. I believe Iraq will be able to stand on it's own, they just need us to show them the way for just awhile longer.

We succeeded in bringing the tyrant down, but we haven't had a chance to show Iraq something positive yet because of the insurgancy, and as a result, a slower rebuilding process than expected. I agree with you that Iraq will eventually be able to stand on it's own. That's our new mission; there's just no other way out now. The question is what will it take for America to get the job done in a timely manner. Our cabinet and military strategists came up with a great plan for overturning the government, but seemed to not have as good a plan when it came to the insurgancy and urban-warfare.

I think Americans as a whole understand that we have to complete the mission before coming home. I also think we REALLY want our fellow Americans to come home safely, but can't do it without a secure Iraq. That's why you're seeing the low approval ratings on Bush; people know there's no other way out, and they see Bush's administration as the one who called for this war to start without thinking through how to complete the mission once the expected insurgancy would begin. We're STUCK in Iraq, and the only people benefiting until the mission is complete are the terrorists and Halliburton.