Will Bush bug out of Iraq?

As much as I did not support our entry into this war, I have to give Mr. Bush the benefit of the doubt in my hope that he will stick it out and attempt to restore order.

The problem is, though, that the Iraqis may not feel inclined to accept a US anointed puppet government. So where will THAT leave the US? After all the deaths, the millions of dollars spent & the rhetoric ... what if it looks like a totally undesirable outcome? Does the US pack up quietly & leave them to it? I can't see that, personally. Pressure the UN to act as a peace keeping force? I doubt the UN would be delighted to be left holding the bag, either. A big, big mess!

I'm thinking Alawai, if he lives beyond next week, will be comemore and more frank that Bush has done his duty and will ask him to leave.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's an extremely tricky situation, and I dearly hope that this administration is able to adopt a pragmatic enough stance to try various options if our first plans fail. I'm personally not sure what to do, but it would be irresponsible to at least not attempt to rectify the situation.

Steppenwolf

Well, we OWE it to them, don't we? (& I include Australians here, too.) What on earth did ordinary Iraqi citizens Iraqis DO to deserve the devastation of the invasion? The least we should do is repair the damage we've done to their country, so they can get on with their lives. A tall order, I know.

Agreed, again.

If it is true that they are constructing permanent military bases there, that means the Bush people don't ever intend to leave, doesn't it?

Are they? I don't know for sure, either, Edgar. So we could have an ongoing presence, like they had in Germany, Japan & the Philippines? That won't go down at all well with the Iraqis, I'd think.

Nothing but a request from the Iraqi govt would cause Bush to leave before he feels Iraq can handle their security.

What criteria they will use, though, is a good question.

Thinking of daily life in Israel.

And I'm certain they could be "requested" to make a request, Lash. :wink:

Long-term military presence planned

In-Depth Coverage
By Christine Spolar

From the ashes of abandoned Iraqi army bases, U.S. military engineers are overseeing the building of an enhanced system of American bases designed to last for years.

Last year, as troops poured over the Kuwait border to invade Iraq, the U.S. military set up at least 120 forward operating bases. Then came hundreds of expeditionary and temporary bases that were to last between six months and a year for tactical operations while providing soldiers with such comforts as e-mail and Internet access.

Now U.S. engineers are focusing on constructing 14 "enduring bases," long-term encampments for the thousands of American troops expected to serve in Iraq for at least two years. The bases also would be key outposts for Bush administration policy advisers.

As the U.S. scales back its military presence in Saudi Arabia, Iraq provides an option for an administration eager to maintain a robust military presence in the Middle East and intent on a muscular approach to seeding democracy in the region. The number of U.S. military personnel in Iraq, between 105,000 and 110,000, is expected to remain unchanged through 2006, according to military planners.

"Is this a swap for the Saudi bases?" asked Army Brig. Gen. Robert Pollman, chief engineer for base construction in Iraq. "I don't know. ... When we talk about enduring bases here, we're talking about the present operation, not in terms of America's global strategic base. But this makes sense. It makes a lot of logical sense."

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy chief of operations for the coalition in Iraq, said the military engineers are trying to prepare for any eventuality.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2004/040323-enduring-bases.htm

Au1929 asked a similar question here.

Our oil interests are too valuable to cut and run. We will stay and protect those. Most of the military bases we are building there, basically renovations and augmentations of existing Iraqi military bases, are based in oil related cities and locales.

The problem is in emplacing a stooge government that will forgo the will of the Iraqis in favor of our own interests.

In the meantime, we must take matters into our own hands.

The suppression of insurgency will commence shortly in Fallujah and will continue throughout the country as we see fit.

Also, Iraq is too important militarily strategic to give up so easily.

From Iraq we can conduct other Freedom Wars in the Middle East from a centralized location without having to go through the red tape of flyover and thoroughfare diplomacy.

You need to add one more option to the poll. "When the job is finished." Then I can vote.

so when we see live footage of heliocopters airlift the remaing coalition personnel out of the green zone with "insurgents" firing rpg's around the perimeter Bush can declare Mission Accomplished?

Something like that. I remember an add for Oldsmobile "this is not your fathers oldsmobile" Well this is not your fathers war, Vietnam is over even though the democrats want to rehash it.

IMO bush bugged out after that 7th line at that frat rush party years ago......

seriously though how do you define bugged out? We still have troops in Korea...are we bugged out yet?

ditto

Well yeah I gotta agree Iraq is no Vietnam but then Oldsmobile is no Edsel either, right?