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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

paxamicus AT earthlink.net wrote:

> It was McCain who agreed he'd keep us in Iraq for the next thousand  
> years.

It's realistic.  No matter how much we would like to say we would leave 
100%, lock, stock, and barrel, it just wouldn't happen, regardless of 
who is sitting in the Oval Office.  Exclude Iraq and look back at US 
history.  By almost all accounts, we lost the Vietnam war, but more 
importantly, we gave the appearance of losing by retreating 100%.  We 
retreated from Lebanon, and this too, was seen as a defeat.  Whether we 
actually win or lose, I personally think it is more important how the 
action is perceived in the Islamic world. In every other war or conflict 
that we've 'participated' in, we have left a permanent presence.  We are 
still in Korea 50 years later.  We are still in Germany, we are still in 
the Philippines, Guantanamo, etc.
Like it or not, I think McCain was just injecting a dose of reality into 
 the minds of simpletons who think we could just pull out and consider 
the whole thing a bad dream.  I'm pretty sure that Obama and Clinton 
realize that we would be leaving a presence- a base there, too.  I think 
Clinton may have even mentioned it in one the the debates, IIRC.

Aside from all of that, I agree that we should keep a base or two in 
Iraq.  You can look at it as the lesser of two evils...It would show a 
presence, maintain a course of support for the new government(so they 
can't say later we abandoned them) and give the 'insurgents' something 
else to focus on.  It would also keep friendly neighbors like Turkey 
from invading and going after the Kurds.  It would be an increasing 
opportunity for better relations between our cultures.  You can't find 
tolerance and understanding if you are not in close living quarters. 
The most important reason(not to me, but to our government I think), 
however, is to provide a platform for a war against Iran and or China 
and Russia.  It will happen eventually you know.  I hate to think about 
it as it scares me, but it is definitely going to happen, and probably a 
lot sooner than most people think.  When the Bourse starts, if the bombs 
don't fall,  down goes the economy, transportation and all. :)  And of 
course, it only takes one bomb in Iran to start WWIII.  This time, it 
truly will begin as a fight over oil, but will evolve into a fight over 
ideologies.  I might even go so far as to say that I believe that 
invading Iraq was more motivated by those who are preparing for war with 
Iran and China, than those who were looking for oil or Osama or just 
didn't like Hussein.  That's the real perjury and crime.

Bev
--
BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm   NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W    Bev is Earth, Ron is Sky