Rep. Donnelly says Iraq situation better

[seriousstan]

Source: indystar

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly returned from a second trip to Iraq in five months encouraged that the mission there is going better and that by 2009 the U.S. military's role could be primarily as trainers and advisers.


"I feel we've made progress, and the other part is I feel we can see an end game in sight," Donnelly, D-Ind., told reporters on a conference call Tuesday from Washington. "It isn't we just keep plugging away in the hopes something will turn out right. Gen. (David) Petraeus is working a plan and we seem to be heading toward a place where the Iraqis can be self-sustaining and we'll have a smaller presence in the background."
Donnelly's findings were in stark contrast to his visit to Iraq last July, when he said the only positive thing that happened in that country since the beginning of the war in March 2003 was the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
Donnelly met with members of Company F of the 151st Infantry, an Indiana National Guard unit from South Bend, who told him that in the past 60 days life in Iraq has gotten safer.
"Things are better than they were in their first few months of deployment," Donnelly said.


Read more: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/LOCAL/712190491

[ixion]

1. It's not about better or worse, it's about legal vs illegal... and the illegal invasion of Iraq

will always be a violation of International Law, no matter how many corrupt pols declare it 'better'. :grr:

[Rockerdem]

2. Now you're arguing a technicality

We've lost the PR battle for the Iraq war, plain and simple. The only thing left is for Democrat congresspersons to declare victory there. Probably next month, the way things are going.

It's no longer a political black mark to praise the Iraq war, let alone fund it. They feel safe doing so. I don't mean to sound so glum or sarcastic, but the press has abandoned the war as a front-page topic; in fact, they are giving favorable treatment to politicians who enable it.

Unless there's a big flare up, it's over. It's on to domestic issues, Obama scandals, or Britney, etc.

[ixion]

3. it's more than a PR battle... we're talking about war crimes

this is my point. As a country, we just told the rest of the world to F**koff. It's not like breaking the Kyoto or something. We're talking about the Geneva Conventions, the Magna Carta, etc. We're talking about a century of negotiations that we've just tossed out the window because little lord pissypants wanted blood and porn and oil.

Even though many won't admit that, it's what we've done. And we'll never -- and I mean NEVER -- regain international standing until we send the war criminals to face justice in the Hague.

[Rockerdem]

4. In theory, fine

But if you think that people like Donnelly (who are "encouraged" by what they saw in Iraq) are going to vote for impeachment, or sending Bush to the Hague, good luck. When the vast majority of US senators vote against the Feingold amendment to bring the troops home, they are giving more than tacit support to the occupation. They're giving it a pat on the back. Or at least put it in the rear-view mirror and are telling the rest of us to do so also. What other way is there to interpret that????

[ixion]

6. In the eyes of the world, Donnelly is a war criminal, then

simple as that. Over here, we can fill ourself with all the delusions that we want, that doesn't make the reality of it any less severe.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

5. Aw. An excuse to permanently OCCUPY, I assume.

What's "better"?

Let's see: there were a million innocent STILL ALIVE before our slaughter without excuse and there was a fairly solid middle class and educators and economy, and there were several million LESS refugees, and there WAS a relatively stable and NON-THREATENING nation,...and there WAS a nation that had some thread of survival.

NOW. How BETTER is IRAQ since we OCCUPIED it?

Comparing Iraq to January 2007 is fucking AWEFUL OF US,...because WE DESTROYED HER!!!!