Seriously, what are we going to do about Iraq America?

This war stinks DU'ers. I don't mean the loss of lives, that's bad enough. But our government is basing the success of failure of this war on the merits of Iraqi Guardsmen. How realistic is that?

Regardless of who is in the WH, what are we thinking, what do WE want done, when and how?

The politicians will never solve it. Too much partisanship.

a democracy would be nice, but having our boys home alive would be nicer.

supposedly rests with the competence of what are likely to be incompetent, corrupt or heated young men in another country.

All the Kings Men and All the Kings Horses....I think about the only thing I could give myself consolation about should The Chimp win, is that he has to lie in his own pile of feces. But don't kid yourselves those of you on the far left...we can't walk away...we will leave women circumcised under strict Islamic fundamentalist laws (and believe me, it IS going to be the fundamentalists who ultimately get their paws on Iraq). The ways this situation is fucked up number only 1 or 2 ways fewer than the number of stars that are counted in the night sky.

I hate shrub. But Kerry, and in fact no-one, deserves to step into the kind of shitpile this fucking idiot has concocted for the world.

Sometimes world Karma simply gets bad, and while The Chimp may have started the slide into negative Karma, Kerry, and in fact God himself, may well be lucky to pull us out of it.

this war is a fucking nightmare. Once the election is done, we're still left with the same ugliness. Don't mean to be a downer but is anyone else thinking about the days after election? I am and I'm not encouraged.

Kerry is thinking of what happens and as a guide he is surely using his experiences of Vietnam to guide him.

Just by pulling back from places like Fallujah will be a good step. Having German, French and other nation's troops involved should help. They are more likely to get involved with Kerry leading.

Hopefully, the people in Iraq who are the most prone to fighting will relax a bit when Kerry is elected. Kerry's first statements after the election will be telling to those on the ground in Iraq.

Long term, the US needs to get as far away as it can from the whole Middle East, first by not being dependent on their oil and let Muslims have freedom of religion.

Of course, Israel's actions will be as influential as ever. Kerry should, imo, lay down the law to Israel and make them seek real peace.

Peace. What a concept, eh?

We should be so lucky. The geo-politics mixed with religion (at its most primal state) makes this (the Mid-East) a smouldering hotbed. Don't kid yourself. Bush has set the tone for a REAL war, and I sincerely believe it is what he may have wanted all along.

As it stands now, it isn't a 'real' war, it's just an occupation of a small, mostly not quite 21st century, country.

Japan and Germany, now those two put up a fight.

Look, even the stupid piglickers know enough to not invade a country that would put up a real fight. Having said that, I would concur that B*sh has been angling for a 'real' war and if he remains in office he may just get one going.

But let's face it, nukes will be used in a 'real' war, and the next war after will be fought with sticks and stones. Not even the piglickers, when they really think about it, want to see that.

fundamentalist government so it is inevitable. And Kerry will get the blame for losing Iraq. Maybe Bush secretly wants to lose. He may come off better historically if he does.

if they send troops now, Bush will just use the guys freed up from Iraq to invade Syria (or some other place)

Kerry will offer to share the reconstruction contracts and the other nations will know we won't be taking our army out of Iraq just to invade somewhere else

It'll be a whole new ballgame

This just seems crazy to me. The sense of Nationalism needed by the Iraqi's is just not evident except among the rebels / insurgents / etc.

What is going to hold these people together. I really wonder if Zarquawi is an Arafat in the making.

this mess is not worth one more American life. Stabilize it under the UN. Have the US drop all leadership and governing roles. Have we not done enough harm already?

doing harm to people? I thought that was the perogitive of Communists?

some times you had to destroy allot of villiages in order to save them.
If this meant farmers, farm animals and innocent women and children got killed - well it was regrettable but necessary.

Its better if it happens from 30000 feet. That way its not perrsonal.

nationalize Iraqi oil, bring in foreign troops, press for elections

kerry will summon representatives from the already separated nation for dialog. he will show respect to them and allow their voices to be heard. clearly alawi does not represent the people. apologize for illegal invasion, offer restitution, and from there create strategies WITH REAL IRAQIS for stabilization.

That would be the only step in the right direction that I can see. Failing that, an unconditional and immediate withdrawal, join the ICC, and offer the entire Bush administration to The Hague for prosecution. Strip every dime of their personal and family wealth for restitution, and sell the war-profiteers' assets as well.

are fighting this election so hard because the fall of their house of cards is destined to unearth more than just oil from the earth.

I'm serious. We have learned some things from this election. Think about it, we've virtually changed what the politicians say, media outlets put on shows and the changes in the endorsements from leading papers is telling also.

Are we capable of stoping this war? I think so. But first we have to trust our thinking over CIA reports and all the rest of it. So what can we do?

Is our campaign really done when this election is over?

absolutely must prevail. apathy got us here. the energy we have summoned within our ranks is power. in the 70's we only had the youth,it is so much bigger now. we have the power to make america america. respect the world and it will respect you back. we have much to apologize for and holding these "thiefs" accountable will be a step in the right direction.
your comrad
peace out

We need to either reform the democratic party or build another, progressive party from the ground up. We need to reform the American political process. I don't ever want to see another election like this one in my lifetime, or another fascist administration like Bush's. We need to change a lot more than just the suit in the Oval Office.

...in charge of figuring out how to clean up the mess we've made and get our people home in one piece. It won't be overnight, but if we just give the people who know what they're doing the resources to get the job done, they will.

How will the American people get the news out that we want our country back and we want it to say and do what we want? This is greater than terrorism, this is the question that will either assure our identity as Americans or not, as the case may be.

I think our numbers will speak volumes.

We need to escalate the troop numbers in Iraq in addition to bringing in more special forces. Gen. Shinseki said we needed a force of "several hundred thousand" on the ground to police the country. He said it before the war even began. Paul Bremer said we never had enough men on the ground the whole time he was there. What does that tell us needs to be done?

22,000,000 iraqis who do not want us there. never enough guys with guns. guns are not the answer. dialog. alawi is not respected and for the last 20 years was living in england.

The first thing I would do would be to make a speech to the Iraqi people, admit our errors, apologize, and announce our intention to withdraw our armed forces, while leaving behind a generous amount of assistance to help the nation get back on its feet.

The next thing I'd do would be to open negotiations with the leaders of the resistance (you know, all the folks that B/C villify). That's not to say that some of them haven't behaved despicably: that is to say that you negotiate peace treaties with your enemies, not your friends. The purposes of the negotiations would be to arrange a cease fire permitting an orderly withdrawal, to arrange for a real transfer of power and to determine the exact details of the assistance program, and to lay the groundwork for future US-Iraqi relations. I'd insist that one of the fruits of these negotiations be a US-Iraqi nonaggression pact, which would include among its elements a strong antiterror agreement.

And I'd cap it all off by both signing the treaty creating the international criminal tribunal, and prosecuting American war crimes to the fullest. I don't believe we'll regain our credibility with the world community unless we hold the perpetrators of this aggression responsible for their actions.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, once we've brought our army back from the gates of hell, I'd stop by Osama's place in Pakistan, and give him and his friends an all expenses paid trip to an American courtroom. I'd get that alternative energy Manhattan Project up and running. I'd tell the State Department to get back to the business of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace accord. I'd shut down the American gulag and return to the rule of law.

Very few politicians in Washington are going to mention "negotiating with the enemy," nor would they mention "withdrawal" because they would be pounded day and night by the Republican propaganda machine as being unpatriotic and unamerican, and the corporate media will simply just be a megaphone for that machine without challenging the merits of these unfair claims.