Iraqis buying tons of U.S. military surplus items

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-american-junk-20100701,0,6667436.story

Looks like we're really, FINALLY, leaving Iraq.

Promises made...promises kept.

Thank you President Obama :thumbsup:

also not noticed by many here at DU.

:evilfrown:

:evilfrown:

That war was wrong from the beginning to the end and has served no purpose other than creating more enemies and draining our budget. President Obama has kept his word and I commend him for it. Lets just hope they are able to keep to the timetable and get all combat troops out by the end of next year.

go to one of the -istan suffix countries?

We don't do parades much anymore....

"almost all have returned home"

You don't just jump from one deployment to another. In other words, you don't finish a tour in Iraq and then immediately head to Afghanistan. Your unit comes back to the United States and then later down the road (at least a year, I think is the minimum time) you may deploy again.

The pullout in Iraq is happening, as promised, and more troops and assets are being sent to Afghanistan - again as promised. I haven't looked at recent numbers to see for sure, but I believe it's a net troop reduction overall.

whether or not it constitutes a pullout.

BUT, is it not what he said he would do?

Deployment length has been extended in many cases (recall 'stop loss' reports), individuals have been moved to replace injured/killed troops (I have a nephew who went from Korea to Afghanistan with only a month between), etc. Navy units have been affected, with longer deployments and shorter turn-arounds.

:shrug:

PB

That's what's important. Not that we actually leave Iraq, it's important that it happens to the exact letter of the when and how Obama promised during the campaign.

I was in Iraq all of last year and I saw first hand all of the changes and preparations being made for withdraw.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - February 27, 2009 -- President Obama said Friday he plans to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010. Between 35,000 to 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq, he said. They would be withdrawn gradually until all U.S. forces are out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/27/obama.troops/index.html

I hope you picked up on the fact that my post was snark.

You never know around this place.. Cheers!

:toast:

are *some* of the Obama "critics" secretly disappointed when Obama follows through with his promises?

many take great pride in their ignorance.

Thank you for your service and I hope you AND my grandson will avoid further deployments.

:hi:

some sort of liberal utopia. Sad.

even though I think the Iraq war was a huge mistake. I have relatives who have served there and in Afghanistan and I sincerely appreciate their efforts.

BTW, I just had an experience I would like to share with you. I was on a flight from Chicago to DC a couple of days ago and there was young female soldier flying with me in army fatigues boarding just behind me. I was seated in an aisle seat and she was next to me in the other aisle. She had a large overstuffed backpack with a bunch of stuff hanging off of it. As she took it off, it and the stuff banged into my head repeatedly but somehow I did not mind a bit. She realized it and apologized profusely but all I said was "no problem"... and I meant it totally. Considering what she may have gone through and what she may have to go through in the future.. it brought a tear to my eyes. I totally respect those in the military even if the mission is wrong.

She was probably either coming or going from mid-tour leave.

but they are rare, very rare.

Really? Wow.

to it's effective operations.. including the absolute authority of the President. If you dont, then "wow".

And well done to the people of Iraq.

And well done to the people of Iraq.

I'm curious what the Iraqis can do with a Humvee.

They also made great use of "Marston Matting", interlocking metal sheets used for temporay landing strips during the war, that are still being used as fences to this day. You gotta love the resoursefulness of the Filipinos!

:thumbsup: