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Originally Posted by mikey4069
People keep saying how long is it going to take ? We still have troops in germany,japan, south korea and some other countrys . BECAUSE THIS COLORS DONT RUN!!!!!  |
Mikey, I'm not questioning your patriotism, just your understanding of history and world politics.
First, let me point out that we engaged in, ramped up for, staffed, fought and WON World War II in less time than we've been stuck in Iraq! (with a little help, we whooped more forces than Muhammed HAS!) So, the question of "how long will it take" to pacify one little sandbox in the world is a valid one.
We still have troops in Germany and Japan because we BEAT them into submission, and stayed around to help them develop more Democratic political systems, and to make sure they can never cause such problems again. (but mostly for our OWN reasons.... under our OWN terms.)
We still have troops (in harm's way) in South Korea because we DIDN'T win that war! We couldn't/wouldn't fight all of China, so we called that one a DRAW! We stay there because our presence is all that stands between a free South Korea and "National Reunification" of the penninsula under Communist rule. In truth, that "war" is STILL in a fragile state of TRUCE. It has never ended.
We no longer have troops in South Vietnam, because it became clear that the indigenous people did NOT have the will to confront the Communist horde, nor to stand up for their OWN freedom. Just like the Iraqi's are failing to do.
We have troops in many other countries because the legally elected governments WANT us there. We help their economies, and in turn get bases from which to protect our homeland and respond (if needed) to local wars that could endanger world peace and stability. In some cases, we are there to maintain a stalemate between contradicting forces.
We do NOT have forces in any OTHER region of the world besides Iraq/Afghanistan, where they are being sniped at continuously. In the past, we have always SETTLED these wars before establishing a military presence.
You might remember that we could NOT affect a peaceful solution to the civil war in Lebanon in the 80's, so we "cut and run" under a Republican administration. You might also remember that we weren't trying very hard to win, either! We also "cut and run" from Vietnam under a Republican administration. So I find no usefulness to your opinions about Democratic exit strategies! FDR was a Democrat.... and we WON the biggest war ever fought in this world.
Furthermore, and for the record, I "second" everything said by Colin and Useless. I may not "speak" as softly as Colin, but I DO hope we can keep our discussion civil.
Hobo
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