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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (13186)	1/1/2007 3:58:43 AM
From: Seeker of Truth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217646

Happy New Year, Tobago Jack. I can't understand why "withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan and leaving them as failed states are not real options." The US public, including most of the very rich capitalists, will demand retreat out of that battlefield. The Democrats will come into power with just such a mandate. They will proclaim the obvious, i.e. that those ARE failed states and the situation is incurable by US might. They will blame it all on mistakes by Bush and Co, which is accurate enough for their purposes. There are just 2 years and 20 days left for this stupid war. As for saving gold, so far oil and real estate outside of the US have done at least as well as gold. I suppose you are judging that when the US dollar's image starts to crack, that the rush will turn to gold rather than oil/non-US. real estate. Why? I'm not saying you are wrong. I just don't understand the rationale. Seeker of Truth

To: TobagoJack who wrote (13186)	1/1/2007 4:29:09 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217646

So what about silver then ?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (13186)	1/1/2007 9:58:48 AM
From: Slagle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217646

Tj, You are putting way too much weight on the long term costs of the war, with regards to war injuries. Even one casualty or crippling permanent injury is one too many, but at the rate things are going I don't see it being a big economic factor as you seem to believe. There have been roughly 1000 deaths per year for the last three years, and that is 3000 too many, but 45,000 die on our highways EVERY YEAR, year after year. And of course all these highway accidents cause a vast number of serious permanent injuries, in fact I don't know any family untouched by highway death or injury. But this has been going on for many decades. As Iraq is likely to be a one time event of limited duration I just don't see it like you do. Our local National Guard unit, nearly 200 men, just returned from a years duty in Iraq and thankfully there was not even a MINOR injury suffered by anyone this tour. They were in the north, north of Mosul somewhere. A few have gone back there already, but to work in the private sector, but in the north where it is safe. Here is what I believe is likely to happen there: The Kurdish area in the north is already pretty secure and has apparently established strong alliances with Israel. Maybe after a last effort this next year the US will draw down to about 40,000 troops total, mostly in the Kurdish region and a contingent left inside the "Green Zone" and of course a force will remain in the three big new bases in the western desert. And soon there will be oil flowing from Mosul to Haifa in the recommissioned pipeline. Slagle