Do you think the reconstruction of Iraq is going smoothly?

[Zach R.]

I think it's doing pretty good but it could deffinately be doing better.

[96B]

Well it depends on what you define as "smooth" because people are perishing nearly every day. I am extremely confident that our goals will be met, in the end the Iraqi people will have much more than what they did before the war and our boys can come home. It is not an easy road, but it is a sacrifice that we should be willing to make otherwise we shouldnt have gone to war. Critics love to calculate based on current attacks how many casualties we "should" have by a year from now, but slowly and surely we are eliminating the resistance and rebuilding the country. I actually just got through watching a History Channel special about Sadaam and his sons and their torture tactics and that very much re-enforced my support for this war.

[budanski]

The resistance in Iraq is nothing new. Allied forces faced far worse difficulties in France and Germany after WW II.

Revisionists take note:
After the war, Germans routinely strung up wires to decapitate allied soldiers driving in their jeeps. Several GIs were killed by the wires before the allies began to outfit their jeeps with steel bars in the front to cut through the wires.

As for France, looting was widely prevalent; but it was much less of a concern than the fate of hundreds of "collaborators" - some genuine, others not - who were murdered by their fellow Frenchmen after the war. The oh-so-civilized Frogs used the aftermath of the war not just to murder genuine collaborators, but to settle many old scores.

[gregb]

Interesting that you compare Iraqi resistance to that of a WORLD WAR

[budanski]

What were the requirements for comparison? We have a dictator, mass graves, weapons of war, etc. What am I missing? The Frogs and Huns?

[Kriz]

Budanski the resistance allied forces faced during world war 2 were different in nature, here the resistance comes from a part of the freed people.

Here in Europe the liberated people didn't resist, to the contrary they fought along with allied forces against the nazis. Any resistance you faced came from german forces (and a very small fraction of collaborators).

Overall i don't think you can compare world war 2 to the Iraqi conflict.

[budanski]

How sure are you that the resistance arent the cause of foreign arabs? As I recall many volunteered from outside Iraq. I'm well aware that most are Sunni loyalists to Saddam.

Read my post again:


After the war, Germans routinely strung up wires to decapitate allied soldiers driving in their jeeps...

[Zach R.]

It's only a matter of time before Saint rolls up and decides to ruin the post.

[budanski]

It's only a matter of time before Saint rolls up and decides to ruin the post.
I believe Hood took out the trash.

[usa320]

lol....trash rofl

Yeah, id have to agree that we ARE making progress, and eventually we will have more security. I think a big part is finding Saddam, once we do the crazies will have nothing left to fight for.

[Trident-za]

Yeah, id have to agree that we ARE making progress, and eventually we will have more security. I think a big part is finding Saddam, once we do the crazies will have nothing left to fight for.

I can see I'm about to get criticized for being overly negative.... but the question needs to be asked: how can you be sure that all the "crazies" are fighting FOR Saddam? From what I understand of Islamic fundamentalists (I'm quite sure some of these "crazies" fit into this category), these guys actively hate western countries, especailly the US (the Great Satan?). They are quite possibly fighting for a cause that has little to do with Saddam. If the US president were to vanish suddenely, would all the US soldiers give up? Or are they fighting for a cause which isn't necessarily linked to the person in charge?

I agree that many nutcases are probably very loyal to Saddam, and that way of life. I would be amazed, however, if there aren't plenty of fundamentalists who just hate the US.

[budanski]

Its understandable what the Baathist loyalists are trying to do. They learned that by inflicting as much casualities on american troops, the U.S. won't have the stomach to stay and eventually leave. How else to regain power from the very force that oust you? What the U.S. has learned also is that by pulling out too early, you'll eventually have to come back down the road to fix it. Better to try and get it right this time around.

[Trident-za]

Only 20 people have voted? Don't the rest of you have an opinion?

[Kriz]

Better to try and get it right this time around.

Something BUsh Senior should have done imho.

[Seiyuuki]

Better to try and get it right this time around.

Something BUsh Senior should have done imho.

Bah...Bush Sr. couldn't take Iraq even if he wanted it to...our Arabs allies during the GW1 wouldn't agree to it.

[Zach R.]

Uh, I recall we were pressured into leaving Iraq. Cus I guess we made the case that we were only supposed to remove Saddam from Kuwait. I really don't know because I was only 3 anyway. Oh, did you know that the GW1 ground offensive started on my birthday. Neato huh!

[Seraphim]

Iraqi council declares new holiday


BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 13— In its first public act, Iraq’s newly formed governing council declared April 9, the date of Saddam Hussein’s fall from power, as a national holiday, and wiped out six dates that were celebrated under the old regime.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/900178.asp?vts=071320030540

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/2003/07/13/iraq_council030713

[andrew45c]

no offence yanks but uve ****ed it up in your areas of iraq the towns under brit control r doing much better (apart from that shooting) unfortunately americans dont have the experience and know how of keeping peace and doing police duties.

Americans scare the **** outta the iraqs by walking round town in large patrols with body armour on and weapons all over the place.

Where as the brits walk round in berets with no body armour and minimal weapons.

[theGHOST]

Andrew shut up, how is that the U.S fukked it up. Its just ppl in IRAQ are afraid of change too many extremist that believe that Americans are infidels.

[andrew45c]

ghost theres no point in being patriotic here obviously u love ur country and u dont want to admit its mistakes but some times u have to be big and step back and say ok we going about this the wrong way lets take advice from the voice of experience (brits).

the only reason the iraqs respond badly to U.S is that it seems to them u r trying to run there country whereas british forces step back a lot more and give more and more power to the iraqis.

It aint the U.S forces fault , just maybe if u werent so pround and took other peoples advice when there better at something than u rather than use your own inferior methods. It may seem asif i have sumfin against americans i dont ,brits arent the best at everything either but when out methods fail we take the advice of our betters i just think U.S should try it.

again i have nothing against americans u guys r great so dont make this personal.

[GazB]

Don't bother Andrew... you are either with us or you are against us. It doesn't matter what the facts are America is not to blame... paraphrased speech by an official in the US state department just after an American stae of the art AEGIS cruiser shot down an Iranian airliner in the late 80s. (The stae department official... rather than be punnished was later made president... George Bush snr).