Reuters: Iraqi insurgents urge Sunnis to vote, warn Zarqawi

With all due respect, basso, it's ludicrous for you to say that Murtha, or anyone else, wouldn't be thrilled to see progress in Iraq, especially anything to put a wedge between AQ and the insurgents,



Keep D&D Civil.

 

Honestly, I am even sick of reading accusations that Dean and the Democrats want the US to lose. It has just gotten old and I am not at all a fan of Dean's.

 

Agree with Deckard and Mr. Clutch but getting back to the subject matter of this thread. I think this is a good sign but there is still one potential problem. If the Sunnis vote but don't see much progress towards power sharing in the new Iraqi parliament that will lead to greater alienation on their part. The Sunnis came out and voted before for the Constitution, albeit mostly against, so they are definately coming around to seeing that they should participate but if they don't feel it benefits them then will they support the new Iraqi government?

One more thought on this subject. If this election goes off successfully then wouldn't that be the good time to declare victory and leave? We've gotten rid of Saddam, helped write a Constitution and gotten a new government elected. Its true that the Iraqis will still face continued instability but as we are the magnet for foreign fighters like Zarqawi its likely that once a government is formed we may ourselves be an obstacle to stability.

 

WOW.. talk about desperate..

 

If the Sunnis get enough seats to form a bloc with the Kurds, enabling a check on the fundamentalist Shiites, who appear ascendant, that would indeed give us a window to begin withdrawal. The Sunni insurgents would have an incentive to cooperate with the government. We could drastically reduce our troops, and pull back onto bases away from the populated areas, but ready in case of a flare-up. In all likelihood, if any sort of stability could ensue, the government of Iraq would then ask us to leave. The vast majority of Iraqis, in my opinion, don't want us there at all.



Keep D&D Civil.

 

Another charge without merit, or any evidence to back it up. Please stop using charges with no basis in reality, or else provide up evidence to back up your claims.

 

Once the election is done the US needs to start pulling out. We are no longer welcome in the country.

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Poll: Most Iraqis Oppose Troops' Presence

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago

Most Iraqis disapprove of the presence of U.S. forces in their country, yet they are optimistic about Iraq's future and their own personal lives, according to a new poll.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed oppose the presence of troops from the United States and its coalition partners and less than half, 44 percent, say their country is better off now than it was before the war, according to an ABC News poll conducted with Time magazine and other media partners.

But Iraqis are surprisingly upbeat on many fronts, the poll suggests.

Three-quarters say they are confident about the parliamentary elections scheduled for this week. More than two-thirds expect things in their country to get better in the coming months.

Attitudes about Iraq's future were sharply different in the Sunni provinces and other parts of Iraq, however. Only a third in the Sunni regions were optimistic about their country's future. Shiites, who with the Kurds dominate the current parliament, had a much more positive view than the Sunnis of their own personal safety and whether their own lives are going well.

A majority of both the Sunni and Shiite population say they favor a unified country, however.

In other poll findings:

_Two-thirds express confidence in the Iraqi army and in police.

_Half now say the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was wrong, up from 39 percent in February 2004.

_More than six in 10 say they feel safe in their neighborhoods, up from 40 percent in June 2004.

_Six in 10 say local security is good, up from half in February 2004.

But the national concern mentioned most often is security, named by 57 percent.

A fourth of those surveyed, 26 percent, say U.S. forces should leave now, and another 19 percent say troops should leave after those chosen in this week's election take office. The other half say U.S. troops should stay until security is restored, 31 percent, until Iraqi forces can operate independently, 16 percent, or longer, 5 percent.

The poll was conducted by Oxford Research International face-to-face with 1,711 Iraqis age 15 and over from Oct. 8 to Nov. 22. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051212...NKpMJYUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

 

That is really great news. The number one way we're going to see a turnaround in Iraq is if the citizens embrace democracy as a peaceful means to forward a political agenda. This news is wonderful if it's true, especially if the insurgency is ready to go against AQ.

 

These elections are truly outstanding news for Iraq.

I'm not surprised that they're not getting more play in the press or heaven forbid in the liberal enclave that we call the D&D.

 

the elections were the subject of every sunday morning program yesterday, and if you really wanted to know murtha's opnion, you could have watched "face the nation".


we know the iraqi's want democracy, the question is if they are willing to defend their democracy themselves. that's why some argue for a timetable to leave iraq, to put pressure on Iraqis to develop their own forces.

 

That is hilarious.

 

Sad is the word I would use. Civil war is inevitable.

 

BTW - Nice to see the no exit strategy president consider the deaths of 2100 Americans and 30,000 Iraqis as a "down payment" for democracy in the Middle East.

-----------

Bush would go into Iraq again

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- President Bush said in Philadelphia Sept. 11, 2001, changed his view of foreign policy and he would go into Iraq again knowing what he knows today.

"I made a tough decision. And knowing what I know today I'd make the same decision again," Bush said answering a question linking the Iraq war to the search for weapons of mass destruction 2 1/2 years ago. Bush said about 30,000 Iraqis and 2,140 U.S. troops had been killed since the start of the war.

He told the World Affairs Council Iraq was a "down payment" on Democracy in the Middle East.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051212-010940-1675r

 

How much of a down payment has been made? that means the total payment is gonna be like a a few trillion dollars. Bush really ought to avoid the financial metaphors when discussing Iraq.

the down payment is bankrupting the government.

 

Funny how the libs aren't exactly excited about this piece of great news coming from Iraq. Apparently, they only like to trumpet the bad news.

pgabs, did you see the chart released by Treasury Secretary Snow last Thursday? Federal tax receipts are the highest they have been in the history of the United States. We are going to hear much more about this in the coming weeks, as FY2005 draws to a close. Corporate tax receipts are up over 45% since last year.

Bankrupt? That's a lie and far from the truth. Learn the facts.

 

I know the country isn't going bankrupt, I was just going on Bush's quote about down payment.


and last time I checked, when you caculate net income, you deduct expenses from revenues. sure tax receipt may be at an all-time high, what's the government's expenses? but thanks for the pretty chart for one half of the picture. can you please provide the other half.