To my knowledge we haven't caught anyone else trying to blow up anything, or poison us, or anything else of significance. None have been announced anyway. They only needed to do that once to get us involved in an impossible situation!
I thank this administration for nothing.
Most of Europe is socialist. You may not know that since they do have elections from among their elite, from the elite only---like Mexico. Name some big PRIVATE oil companies, pension plan companies, transportation companies, electrical companies, etc., in any of those you mentioned.
As to South America, I don't know what to say to you. That is a sad place for most people. Germany has a bigger problem with the old East Germany group than they can handle. What do I say about Japan: they have the same amount of natural resources that they had before WWll---none.
Wouldn't brag about those.

I'm too tired. But I will point out that the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the phrase "tired mantra" is "Stay the Course".

Actually, Scott made some good points, but you both seem to ignore the fact that our military is getting increasingly worn out by this prolonged conflict, and there's still no end in sight. As Mudcat said, the troops on the ground will continue to do whatever they are called on to do, but we are paying the price with the blood of our finest young men and women. Sometimes, that's necessary, but it should only be done when absolutely necessary. That was not the case with the invasion of Iraq.

Afghanistan was a different matter. It was a direct response to 9/11, and it was viewed as justified by the entire world. (Even those "damned liberals"!) Compare the results of the war in Afghanistan with the current results in Iraq. The question now is how we can fix the mess in Iraq, at least in terms of extracting our troops from it. Rhetoric is not the answer. Blaming Bush is not the answer, neither is blaming the liberals. We need a workable plan. As JeffC mentioned, part of the plan will undoubtedly be diplomacy, both with allies and with countries we don't like. Part of it will probably include further use of force against our enemies. If so, then let's do it. But don't piss away the lives of our troops in some half-baked adventure, and then be too stubborn to admit it's not working.

Afghanistan is a perfect illustration of the problem we face. Yes, there was widespread support for our efforts in Afghanistan, but much of that support has evaporated and those supporters have turned to critics and naysayers. Why? Because the insurgents in that country have learned the lesson from Iraq: increase the violence and the will of the West falters. Our lack of resolution is not limited to Iraq. It is endemic and THAT is what will cause us to lose this fight. And yes, the lack of resolution is strongest within the liberal/Democratic camp. Them's are the facts. Sorry alanrc.

It's not a lack of resolve that caused the mess in Iraq. It's the almost total lack of planning for what to do after Saddam fell. This was criminal negligence on the part of the administration.

When you surround yourself with suck-ups and yes-men and turn a deaf ear to those who disagree, you end up with the emperor's new clothes being a little drafty. For those of you who are not good with analogies, that means that you end up with a game plan that is not based in reality and is doomed to fail. The military planners did a good job of planning the take-down of Saddam's regime, but Bush and Rumsfeld deluded themselves into thinking that the post-war occupation would be a piece of cake.

Self-delusion was also at the root of the decision to invade Iraq in the first place. I don't believe that Bush deliberately lied to the American people about the WMD. I do believe that he wanted to invade Iraq for personal or political reasons, and he selectively ignored information that did not support his intentions.

Trey, at this point, you are the one deluding yourself if you think all we need is more resolve to turn things around in Iraq. The situation in Iraq is steadily worsening, despite our best efforts. We are not fighting terrorism by being there. To the contrary, we are encouraging more Moslems to become terrorists every day.

You still haven't addressed the issue of what to do about the drain on our military. They can't keep this up indefinitely, unless we make a very large increase in funding and manning levels. What's your plan?

Well, Alan, since you ask.... Hey, I'm not claiming to have some perfect plan. I'm talking in generalities and about principles. I am not an expert on this subject, do not have detailed knowledge of the situation in Iraq, and no training or education about military tactics and strategy.

So, in a way, I agree with some of my critics that those who don't have military experience can't really opine on certain subjects.

However, since you do ask, I will answer. First, I think you are wrong about lack of resolve. I'm not saying our military has a lack of resolve. It's the politicians and people back home who have that problem. The military suffers the consequences.

True, resolve won't solve the problems caused by our lack of planning, but let's get real: no amount of planning could have anticipated or successfully handled the mess that is Iraq. I still honestly, truly believe, based on my own limited knowledge and worldview, that our unwillingness to be tougher on insurgents and the calls for immediate or proximate withdrawal have hurt us more than anything. It has sent a signal to the terrorists that their tactics are working and given them encouragement to ratchet up the attacks. At the same time, our politically imposed reticence has given a signal to militias and the like that they can do what they want without much fear of reprisal.

Don't you remember firefights where insurgents would shoot at us from a mosque? When we tried to return fire, oh, it was the evil Americans shooting at a mosque! So, we backed down, or at least throttled back our responses. We lose; terrorists win.

They hide behind the sanctity of religion and civilians. The Israelis know all about this dynamic.

So, I would send in more troops, take control, be tough bastards, acknowledge our mistakes but not dwell on them, and assert control and send the signal that violence and mayhem will not be tolerated.

That's the only language these thugs understand. If you don't understand or believe that, then you're not going to win, period.

All I can say about the military is from personal and family experience serving under JFK, LBJ, INAC, Ford, Carter (unwillingly) and Reagan is that the troops on the ground will do whatever they have to do to accomplish their mission and the dedicated ones (read volunteers here) are not influenced by the silly politics of Congress. They respect their Commander-in-Chief and follow his orders.

If the liberal scum in Congress forces a withdrawal fom Iraq, then I promise you that a few in the military (and CIA) will stay and the death toll among the terrorists will rise above the 7,000 we already got. This way we can get them quickly and quietly (knives, poison gas, drones, etc.) without the network news snooping around looking for a human rights violation story.

You all do know terroists are trying to kill us all - don't you?

meow

Yeah, six tried to do me in yesterday! We need to start the draft immediately up to 20 million, then invade every "terrorist" country, kill them all (remember the crusades) set up a democracy (right) and come home gloriously----50 years later with our tail between our legs.
Where do we get these deep thinkers??