http://www.qando.net/ - Again, an impressive knowledge of warfare demonstrated by the media

Sen. John McCain, who has repeatedly derided anyone who advocated a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, now suddenly finds himself in a political box as the American-backed Iraqi leadership yesterday raised the prospect of exactly that.

You know, it's pretty sad when you have journalists who can't think beyond the current "gotchya" headline and understand the world of difference between a unilateral announcement of a timeline for withdrawal when a war isn't going well (and the probable effect it would have) and a timeline for withdrawal when you're winning and the country in question believes they are ready to take over the task.

As I said previously:

2 years ago, timetables for withdrawal were a bad idea because there were viable enemies still operating in Iraq.

Today? Not so much. Today we're talking about withdrawal timetables in the wake of victory. Then we were talking about timetables in the face of possible defeat. If you can't get you head around the difference, then I'd suggest you haven't much worthwhile to add to any discussion of the matter.

And I'm seeing a lot of worthless discussion on this faux point.

Today an Iraqi spokesman said:

A deadline should be set for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Iraq, and the pullout could be done by 2011, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday.

But he also said:

Ali al-Dabbagh said any timetable would depend on "conditions and the circumstances that the country would be undergoing." But he said a pullout within "three, four or five" years was possible.

Sounds to me like they're looking for an end-date for successful operations and full transition of the AO to the ISF before they'll commit to a timetable.

And any withdrawal will have a timetable. That's how you phase the operation. What you don't do, if you're in a conflict that can go either way, is announce it. That's what the Democrats insisted on.

If, however you're wrapping up a success, it really doesn't matter. See previous comment of mine if you can't figure that out.

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Silly! They know full well what leaving when the "host" country feels secure enough to handle things themselves is.

And trust me, that’s a word that will never ever be uttered until there’s a way for Obama or the Dem. congress to take 100% credit for it.

The media has an impressive knowledge of warfare- after all they’ve fighting against their one true enemy for 8 years now

Written By: shark
URL: http://

Let’s not forget how Europe does wars.

Usually we wait and wait until the enemy starts attacking, then we let them win a bit, then we fight until we are tired, then we just call the US to come over to clean our mess.

That is what happened in WWI, WWII, and the Balkans.

Does this strategy, as applied to Iraq, sound vaguely familiar of any group in the United States ?

Written By: Neo
URL: http://

As much as I agree with your sentiments, I don’t think John McCain does. He *is* in a box, because agreeing to a timetable would take away one of his biggest platform planks and contrasts with Obama, and he knows it. If he really agreed that an Iraqi-proposed withdrawal timetable was a good thing, he would have pounced on this piece of news yesterday as vindication for his support of the surge. But instead, he waited a full day to make any statement, and when he did, instead of embracing Maliki’s plan, he dismissed it!

Written By: Mark
URL: http://

President Bush, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003: "The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done and then we will leave and we will leave behind a free Iraq."

Written By: Eric Chen
URL: http://

It’s sort of like if you are helping a friend move.
1. You have his living room couch half way out the door and you drop your end and run off because it was getting to hot and sweaty.
or
2. You’ve helped him move all his crap into the U-haul, and you are now sitting around on a cardboard box eating a pizza, when your friend says "Ok, If you could help me get the crap out of the hall closet, you can go home because I can handle the rest."

Written By: ryan
URL: http://

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