Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (49027)	2/13/2008 11:06:34 AM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 543061

I don't think we can say they never will. How many years do we give them at $100-150 billion per year? Some would say we can't afford not to stay as long as it takes, but that's a pretty big open-ended chit we are signing with such a commitment. Ironically, Obama or Hillary would probably do the same as McCain, just sooner, withdrawing troops to more secure bases and phasing the total troop level down over time. The question is do we do it sooner or later? Anyone who has watched a screwed up Third World country try to get its act together knows how long the odds of success can be.

To: Lane3 who wrote (49027)	2/13/2008 11:17:51 AM
From: Steve Lokness	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 543061

Lane3; There's at least a fair chance that they would given enough time. Whether it's worth the time and effort would be a good question, but it seems to me that in, say, twenty years, they could be functional. I don't think we can say they never will. So do you find it acceptable to stay in Iraq for 20 years to get them to a point they would be able to patrol their own people? There are huge differences between Germany/Japan and Iraq. After WWII we had the support of the entire world - in Iraq increasingly we find ourselves isolated as the rest of the world finds our invasion unethical. ........After WWII, the world became safe as the enemy was defeated. By not understanding the very nature of terrorism, the longer we stay in the ME, the more terrorist we make. It's indeed very unfair this is happening, but they hate us and they want us to leave. ......After WWII, America started to rebuild and the economy did very well. The very nature of the drip, drip, drip cost is slowly bankrupting us. As a soldier, I'm not sure McCain even understands terrorism. He understand terror of course, but if he tries to compare Iraq to Germany, I fear he looks at this through the eyes of a soldier. They aren't soldiers and they aren't armies. steve