Joint chiefs chairman says Iraq failure would mean instability (Myers)

[sabra]

http://www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8C7KRPG0.html

Joint chiefs chairman says Iraq failure would mean instability

If U.S. forces were to leave Iraq before it was stabilized, it would create "instant instability" in the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia and possibly Iran, the military's top general said Friday.

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference that the United States must maintain its will to prevail in Iraq, where the terrorist element of the insurgency is led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi of Jordan, the second most-wanted terrorist on the U.S. list after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"If the Zarqawis of the world were allowed to be successful in Iraq in their view, and that would be the start of the caliphate that they envision, the stakes would be huge for the region," Myers said. His use of the term caliphate referred to a single Islamic government run by religious extremists.

"You talk about instability. It would be instant instability in that region, in Saudi Arabia, on down the Gulf states, perhaps Iran, Syria, Turkey," Myers added. "Just economically, it would be instability of the sort that would affect the globe, and then they would keep pressing on, they would continue their movement and it would involve, in my view it would involve terrorist incidents certainly that would expand."

"They would be buoyed by this victory," he added.

[Benhurst]

1. Yeah, like the Bush Crime Family is doing so much to promote

stability in the region now. :puke:

[Barrett808]

2. But if the Zarqawis aren't a significant part of the insurgency...? n/t

[wli]

14. Zarqawi is probably a CIA agent n/t

[Magleetis]

3. What a fool

He thinks there will be a US victory in Iraq. We have already lost.

[Maple]

4. As compared to the stability in the ME now??

and we would have a 'single Islamic government run by religious extremists'?

Like say...Saudi Arabia and Iran?

[maddezmom]

5. ah yes it's so stable now

:eyes:

[BlueJac]

6. Meyers the Bushbot

Sounds like the killers and haters are stepping up the promotion of the war again and again.

[bemildred]

7. Subject - Vietnam II Preflight Check

Undernews
From Harry Mason
Via Wayne and Sandra Holland
3-25-3

1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? -- Check

2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? -- Check

3. Imposing country boundaries drawn by Europeans, not by the locals? -- Check

4. Unshakeable faith in our superior technology? -- Check

5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? -- Check

6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? -- Check

7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? -- Check

8. SecDef pushing a conflict the JCS never wanted? -- Check

9. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? -- Check

10. Corrupt Texan in the White House? -- Check

11. Land war in Asia? -- Check

12. Right-wing unhappy with outcome of previous war? -- Check

13. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? -- Check

14. Soldiers about to be dosed with "our own" chemicals? -- Check

15. Friendly-fire problem ignored instead of solved? -- Check

16. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? -- Check

17. B-52 bombers? -- Check

18. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? -- Check

19. In-fighting among the branches of the military? -- Check

20. Locals who cheer us by day, hate us by night? -- Check

21. Local experts ignored? -- Check

22. Local politicians ignored? -- Check

23. Locals accustomed to conflicts lasting longer than USA has been a
country? -- Check

24. Against advice, Prez won't raise taxes to pay for war? -- Check

25. Blue-water navy ships operating in brown water? -- Check

26. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? -- Check

27. Unpopular war? -- Check

VIETNAM II: YOU ARE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF



Comment

From Pete Wagner
3-25-3

Let me add to the list:

Demoralized troops. - Check

Vulnerable supply lines. - Check

Conventional response to unconventional enemy tactics. - Check

Political quagmire. - Check

Defense industry profits. - Check

Sleazy spineless politicians. - Check

Working class sons dying, while blue bloods watch on TV. - Check

Stupidity. - Check.


From Allison L Ragner

Registration and draft reinstatement proposed -- Check


http://www.rense.com/general36/viet.htm

[KeepItReal]

13. Damn good post

<eom>

[daleo]

16. U.S. badly split on the war, dividing into two camps? - check

Government setting dogs on protesters? - check

[meganmonkey]

19. Wow - that deserves it's own thread

(although if you do that, I recommend leaving out the link or you'll get flamed to all hell and no one will actually read the wonderful post;) )

[bemildred]

24. Eh. There is a lot of stuff like that.

The whole progress of this mess was predicted in the large
before they started off for Baghdad. I just picked this up
on http://iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/tiki-view_articles.php?type=News

which is one of a couple sites I use to keep track of what's going on,
and it is just sooooooo right on. It's even a bunch of the same
incompetent blowhards running things ...

[leftchick]

23. Is this true or what?

check. :(

[bemildred]

25. Deja Vu all over again. nt

[Just Me]

28. Ugh! It's like Vietnam except what took 10 years then took 2 years now.

Ideologues should NEVER, EVER be allowed to serve at the highest levels of our government because "ideologues", by their very nature, are anti-democracy,...they expel the thoughts, analysis, ideas of those who complete the cooperative, holistic nature of democracy.

[bemildred]

30. "Vietnam on crack" as we say. nt

[Amonester]

33. Torture of detainees without landing charges -- Not checked

Raping children in the presence of their parents -- Not checked

So many more wrongdoings and criminal acts -- Not checked.

VIETNAM II: YOU ARE CRASHING IN A DESERT STORM
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNED THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM I


From Amonester Rager

Stating that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to...

[bribri16]

8. Like there is no "instability" now! n/t

[indepat]

9. Thankfully there is no instability now

:sarcasm:

[tabasco]

10. Maybe the dumbasses could have thought of this ...

before expelling the UN inspectors and launching an unjustified war.

Of course, the corporate cabal wants an unending war for unending war profiteering, so it would not have mattered.

Myers has been a complete lackey and Pace won't be any different. Pace is a robot and will do what he is programmed to do. He wouldn't be where he is if he hasn't been backing Rummy's every wish.

OT - but here's a personal story about our next Chairman of the JCS:

I was sitting with General Pace and some others one morning at breakfast. Somebody said the Toronto Blue Jays had just won the World Series the day before and Game 7 had ended with a home run. I stated that the only other time that has happened was in 1960 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Bill Mazeroski. General Pace stated, "that is some of the most useless information you could have in your brain." Maybe he thought I was full of baseball trivia, but I really knew only because I am a Pirates fan.

So, FWIW, Pace isn't much of a baseball fan. That's kind of un-American if you ask me.

[salib]

11. Boy has the BFEE ever been "Played!"

- Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel got rid of the Ba'athists.

- Iran can point to Shiites being in control of most of their border with Iraq.

- Saudi Arabia is not seen as the source of terrorism by the West.

- Saudi Arabia will not be the poster child for totalitarian Islam in the Middle East.

- Israel does not need to be caught up in a foreign quagmire, we are doing that for them.

- Israel is not the primary target for terrorists, we are.

...

[Roland99]

12. Yeah...all of the violence in Iraq is by the "Zarqawis of the world"

What an ASSHOLE!

[Amonester]

34. And, of course, not a single word about ** "protecting" them!

Avoiding attacking suspected terrorist mastermind

<...>

"NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger."

<...>

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601/

Note not even one "reporter" dared to ask that a**hole... why? x(

[daleo]

15. The policy is already a failure

And there is already "instability". So, I guess he is right.

Caliphate - nice use of language that probably pushed some buttons during the middle ages Crusades too.

[NYC]

36. "Caliphate" is coming back into fashion.

A friend of mine said that Rumsfeld recently used the word on television, perhaps with Charlie Rose?

I think it is the new scare tactic.

Anyway, if we didn't want a caliphate, why did we convert Iraq to an Islamic republic?

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. If they were looking for stability they should have left Saddam alone

Everybody knew that messing with Saddam would lead to this, even poppy bush knew this.

[anotherdrew]

18. myers should have thought of that before following a plan doomed to fail

just like we all said it wasn't going to work. We are now in almost exactly the 'worst-case' the anti-war folks said it would be in.

Also - hey Myers, it's unstable now.

He is clearly mouthing the New Domino Theory

Wow... look how those commie's took over the world when we pulled out of viet-nam.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. I think invading and occupying Iraq caused 'isntant instability'

[ninkasi]

21. I guess he's been too busy polling the troops to notice

But if this is one of the things he's worried about...

" "If the Zarqawis of the world were allowed to be successful in Iraq in their view, and that would be the start of the caliphate that they envision, the stakes would be huge for the region," Myers said. His use of the term caliphate referred to a single Islamic government run by religious extremists."

Under Saddam,Iraq was secular, and he pretty much left religion out of government. There was even a stable Christian community. From what I've been reading, the "democratic process" that Smirk babbles about will result in a constitution which makes Islam the basis of law. They can tweak the words around to make it seem more palatable, but it will be an Islamic government, probably run by religious extremists. Like the ones Meyers is afraid will take over if we leave. Like the ones that will take over if we stay. Do these people ever listen to themselves?

[goforit]

22. And US military continuance means "instability", Get our troops HOME!!

[reality based]

26. Domino Theory Redux n/t

[Just Me]

27. WE DESTABILIZED IRAQ!!! Hence, we lost already.

Our continued presence is comparable to a gambling addict who gambles away his possession, his dog, his wife, his kids, his life,...on the 1 in a million possibility he'll get what he wants,...that one win.

Sheesh.

Sometimes, the decision to STOP engaging in one "mission" and choose a totally different approach and direction IS A WIN!!!

[GoBlue]

29. Dear Gen. Myers; We lost the Iraq War to the Iraqis.

Apparently you didn't get the memo.

[Amonester]

35. Actually, the last memo I saw stated the Iranians won it...

Psst! Don't get the mighty General more mixed up than he already is! Tell him to go ask Chalabi if he's still perplexed after reading it... :sarcasm:

[moondust]

31. Years too late.

This was a given that the good ol' boys chose to ignore three years ago when they weren't doing their homework.

Ever heard the term "powder keg", Mr. General?

[freethought]

32. I have a reply for Gen. Myers

DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!
:P