Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[rjs246]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/27/iran.obama/index.html

really?

"Didn't he say that he was after change?" Ahmadinejad asked Iranian judiciary officials in a speech. "Why did he interfere? Why did he utter remarks irrespective of norms and decorum?"

I could see him blaming Bush if he was still in office, but Obama stayed out of it for over a week. Fargin nut job.

It is sort of amazing to witness, isn't it. Obama has made absolutely every effort to stay out of it, to his detriment in a lot of people's eyes, and Ahmadinejad still has the gall to say that he's been interfering. If that's going to be his position, he's basically just daring Obama to flip and take a hard line with them. Ridiculous.

[ice grillin you]

obama could bash the protesters and ah-ma-dinna-jhad would still rip him...like romey said its what they do

[ATV]

It is sort of amazing to witness, isn't it.

It's like the situation with the Right Wingers over here, too. There's no pleasing them.

[ice grillin you]

yay

US withdraws from Iraqi cities despite violence
 
Death squads roamed the streets, slaughtering members of the rival Muslim sect. Bombs rocked Baghdad daily — until thousands of U.S. troops poured in two years ago, establishing neighborhood bases and taking control of the Iraqi capital and other cities.

By Tuesday, all but a small number of American soldiers will have left Baghdad and other urban areas, handing over security to Iraqi soldiers and police still largely untested as an independent fighting force.

State television has been showing a countdown clock with a fluttering Iraqi flag and the words "June 30: National Sovereignty Day."

If the Iraqis can hold down violence, it will show the country is finally on the road to stability. If they fail, Iraq faces new bloodshed, straining a nation still divided along sectarian and ethnic lines.

American commanders insist publicly that they're confident Iraqi forces are up to the task after years of training. Privately, many U.S. officers worry the Iraqis will be overwhelmed if violence surges, having relied for years on the U.S. for everything from firepower to bottled water.

Fears that Iraqi forces can't cope have been rising since a spike in bombings and shootings this month that killed more than 250 people. U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned they expect more violence as insurgents try to stage a show of force in the days surrounding the withdrawal.

"The Americans are pulling out but they haven't accomplished the task that they came for, which is defeating terrorism," said Miriwan Kerim, a 32-year-old watch peddler in Kirkuk. "The security situation is still fragile so the withdrawal will not restore us to square one but to square zero."

President Barack Obama insists there's no turning back. Handing over control of the cities brings him one step closer to fulfilling his campaign pledge to end an unpopular war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Despite public unease, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears eager to see the Americans leave and has urged Iraqis to hold steady against continued violence. Ahead of national elections next year, al-Maliki is portraying himself as the leader who defeated terrorism and ended the U.S. occupation.

He has declared June 30 a national holiday, telling a national television audience Saturday that the U.S. departure will "bolster Iraq's security" and show the world that Iraqis can manage their own affairs.

Many Iraqis are also eager for the U.S. occupation to end, although more than 130,000 American troops remain in the country.

"It is good to see the departure of American troops as the first phase of ending the foreign occupation of our country," said Ibrahim Ali, 26, a teacher from Kut. "Our troops are able to protect Iraqi cities, but they need more training and naval and air support."

Others fear the security forces, especially the police, are still under the influence of Shiite militants and will not enforce the law evenhandedly.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq said government forces had made "incredible" progress and the time was right to turn over responsibility to the Iraqis.

"I believe we are still on the right path," Gen. Ray Odierno said Sunday in an interview with CNN. "I am much more confident than I've ever been in the Iraqi security forces."

The withdrawal, required under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect this year, marks the first major step toward withdrawing all American forces from the country by Dec. 31, 2011. Obama has said all combat troops will be gone by the end of August 2010.

American soldiers will remain in the cities to train and advise Iraqi forces as well as protect U.S. diplomatic missions and provincial reconstruction teams. With only hours to go, U.S. and Iraqi officials were still haggling over numbers and locations.

Combat operations will continue in rural areas but only with permission of the Iraqi government. U.S. troops will return to the cities only if asked.

The absence of tens of thousands of American troops who once lived, fought and patrolled the streets of Baghdad and other cities will be a major challenge for Iraqi forces.

With the deadline approaching, U.S. troops have been packing up their gear and moving to bases outside the cities, such as the giant Camp Victory complex on the western edge of Baghdad or Forward Operating Base Marez on the outskirts of Mosul.

Days before the deadline, streets of Baghdad were crowded with cars and pedestrians as music blared from the shops. Iraqi police and soldiers manned checkpoints, inspecting identity cards and checking vehicles for weapons.

Not a single U.S. soldier could be seen on the streets in many Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods.

That was a far cry from the early years of the U.S. mission, when heavily armed U.S. soldiers, tanks and other armored vehicles rumbled through the streets bearing signs warning Iraqis they could be shot if they came too close.

The withdrawal from the cities marks an end to the U.S. troop surge strategy of 2007, when the U.S. rushed thousands of reinforcements to Iraq to stem fighting between Sunnis and Shiites.

Before the surge, the U.S. tried moving troops out of the cities, handing over security to the Iraqis. American units would patrol Baghdad by day and return to bases outside the city at night, leaving control of the streets to death squads and militias.

The surge changed all that. U.S. soldiers moved out of giant bases and into former schools, clinics and police stations where they lived and worked round-the-clock with their Iraqi partners.

Now, the focus of the U.S. effort will be training and mentoring.

"Our sustained success in Iraq will hinge on how well we replace massive U.S. forces with an effective and lasting U.S. advisory effort and the level of military aid we continue to provide," former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman said.

The U.S. must decide how to deal with crises as its leverage over the Iraqis fades "and Iraqi politics dominate events," Cordesman said.

Sunni lawmaker Mustafa al-Hiti said the drawdown is coming too soon "but the government has made its decision and will shoulder the responsibility of any failure if the security situation unravels."

The Americans will also become more dependent on the Iraqis for tracking insurgents since U.S. troops will not be in key urban areas, raising concerns about increased vulnerability of the Americans.

"We'll be relying a lot on the Iraqis for that situational awareness," said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Stephen Lanza.

Rockets have been fired in recent weeks at the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government headquarters.

In past times a full military response would have been seconds away. Soon it will be up to the Iraqis to respond.

The No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, said if U.S. troops come under fire "they'll defend themselves" but "their job is to support and assist and advise Iraqi security forces."

U.S. commanders plan to assume a low public profile for the first two weeks of July to avoid any perception they're not honoring the agreement.

Most convoys will travel at night — even for the short distance between Camp Victory and Baghdad's protected Green Zone. They will also travel with Iraqi escorts to show they are not operating unilaterally.

In Mosul, U.S. vehicles must be marked with signs to show they are noncombat forces.

One U.S. officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive, acknowledged it will be hard for many American soldiers to let go.

"You have to cut the cord at some point and this is it," he said.

[phillymic2000]

Hopefully the Iraq forces can handle business, so we don't have to go back in there. And we pray

[rjs246]

Hopefully the US forces have left enough infrastructure and security and training in place for the Iraq forces to handle business, so we don't have to go back in there and the country can come out of this with a hope of a peaceful and productive future.

[Rome]

Iran is going to overrun Iraq the moment we leave.  With the Chinese & Russians supporting them financially as business partners (oil) and militarily (strategic positioning in the Gulf region) there's nothing we're going to be able to do to stop them.

Well, unless we get really stupid and start a war over it.  If that happens...

[mpmcgraw]

Irans military is not a threat. At all. Their machines are hopelessly outdated.

Worst case scenario is they supply insurgents again and the genocide begins again. 

[phillymic2000]

Hopefully the US forces have left enough infrastructure and security and training in place for the Iraq forces to handle business, so we don't have to go back in there and the country can come out of this with a hope of a peaceful and productive future.

WTF we should have leveled it and then rebuilt it. We Hoyda footed around thanks to the last president and got a lot more of our boys killed then needed. Iran is proving that the only thing the middle east respects is a big ass whoopin, all the talk in the world will not stop those fools. just a good old fashion foot up the ass. President Obama went over to the middle east and told them we want a new start, he stayed out of the election nonsense until it got real crazy and they continue to talk ish, fargin retards.

[phillymic2000]

Irans military is not a threat. At all. Their machines are hopelessly outdated.

Worst case scenario is they supply insurgents again and the genocide begins again. 

Their machines are much better then what Iraq is left with. If they wanted to they could roll Iraq in about a week.

[Rome]

Irans military is not a threat. At all. Their machines are hopelessly outdated.

Worst case scenario is they supply insurgents again and the genocide begins again. 

LOL

[mpmcgraw]

There is zero chance Iran conventionally attacks Iraq. Zero. I don't care who is president we'd be back there so fast it would make the ayatollahs head spin.

Irans air force is made of f5s and f14s primarily and their battle tank is basically refitted pattons and t-54s from what I understand. If they invaded Iraq in force it would be a slaughtering that would make GW1 look modest. Especially with their human wave attacks. Idiots. 

[ATV]

Hopefully the US forces have left enough infrastructure and security and training in place for the Iraq forces to handle business, so we don't have to go back in there and the country can come out of this with a hope of a peaceful and productive future.

No matter how much infrastructure and training we provided it will come down to whether enough Iraqis buy into the government which we helped install.

I love me some grits, Iran is proving that the only thing the middle east respects is a big ass whoopin, blah blah blah

Thanks, Cooter.

[ATV]

Fox "News" labels this country's attempt to reduce global warming and reduce our dependency on foreign oil "treason"...

[Rome]

Fox News is pro-business and anti-Democratic Party?