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That’s a four year old story. Not that it’s not an important issue but it mighta been worth mentioning. I love the veiled threat, though: “We’d just like to get to the bottom of this. Now if we can’t, then you may have a problem. And you don’t want that.â€?

Dang, you’re right! I saw “07.17”, and just assumed it was this year. I missed that “03”.

Heck, the story about protecting the ham is more recent than that.

I dunno, Reid – it probably is time for something about Iraq- here’s why.

From the beginning, I’ve been for military action in Iraq. It was needed, regardless of the reality or unreality of any WMD. In my book, this was no different than a thief coming into a convenience store with an ominous protrusion in his pocket and demanding all the cash. If the cashier pulls out a gun and blows him away, only to find that the guy was using a clown-head PEZ dispenser to fake the gun in his pocket, was it wrong to take him down? No, it wasn’t- he made that person believe he was dangerous. In Iraq, Saddam made us believe he was dangerous in the same fashion, so we took him out. I have no regrets, only fools would have them. Also, the rewards of such an attitude have been reaped- look at what happened in Lybia just after we took down Iraq.

Since we broke the country, I’ve been steadfast that it’s our responsibility to try our best to fix it, and pulling out too soon would be the opposite. Too many people have run around for the past few years with the attitude that you could just pack up all the soldiers and come home, and that peace would reign. These people are idiots, I still believe that.

However, here’s what’s happened lately that you’ll find interesting- I’ve decided that it’s time to start pulling our folks out of Iraq anyway. Yeah, you heard right- I think we should leave Iraq, beginning now, in an orderly and dignified fashion.

Why? Very simple- we did what we could to fix it, but we can’t do it without the Iraqi people’s help, and they aren’t willing to provide that help. You cannot make a bunch of people who are completely intent on killing one another stop by throwing money at them- they’ll just use it to buy more bullets. We could throw more money at the problem, fill the streets with soldiers, and stop the killing. The minute we turned our backs, though, they’d go back to shooting each other in the face. They don’t want our help, and they’ve proven it in spades. It’s time to stop wasting our money and even more our soldier’s lives over there trying to help people who just don’t want the help.

Bring em home. We can go back later and mop it up again when the terrorists take over, and maybe next time they’ll grow a brain and appreciate the help.

Todd, I appreciate your opinion. You’re certainly not alone in holding it. But we’ve been told such “premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda”

It’s opinions like yours that are likely making Sec. Chertoff’s gut fearful. But I promise not to turn you in.

In all seriousness, the article I’d started writing was titled “The First Step Is Admission.” You’ve clearly passed that step. Hopefully our elected leaders (and their remaining supporters) will reach that point someday.

But my current guess is that day will not come until January 21, 2009.

Todd, I don’t agree with everything you said. But it’ll do. Welcome to the party.

> That’s a four year old story.

Whew! I was wondering if someone had reset the Matrix.

Todd wrote: It was needed, regardless of the reality or unreality of any WMD.

I don’t understand this reasoning. I, and my Congress, were informed that not only did he have WMD but we knew what and where they were. Now we are told that it was all a mistake but it was needed anyway. Why, exactly?

Also, the rewards of such an attitude have been reaped- look at what happened in Lybia just after we took down Iraq.

Okay, Lybia fell into line. I don’t see how that makes up for the damage done to foreign relations, the bumper crop of poppies in Afghanistan, the resurgence and strengthening of fundamentalism throughout the region, the deaths of countless (literally, nobody knows how to count them) civilians and thousands of US soldiers and, in my opinion the most far reaching issue: the trampling of Constitutional checks and balances by an executive branch run amuck.

Very simple- we did what we could to fix it, but we can’t do it without the Iraqi people’s help, and they aren’t willing to provide that help.

Funny that. We invade a country, blow the hell out of their infrastructure, carefully craft a ‘government’ that ignores generations long cultural rivalries and can’t manage to keep the lights on, sanction torture and extraordinary rendition while going house to house kicking in doors and they aren’t willing to help.

Strange people those Iraqis, they got mad when we blew up their country, imposed our vision of democracy on them and started hauling away their children to undisclosed locations without the protections of either due process or the Geneva Convention.

If our goal was to rid the world of Saddam and his WMD store our job was done in three weeks. Hell, we fought half the world and rebuilt Europe (along with Japan) in less time than it’s taken to pacify Iraq.

We can go back later and mop it up again when the terrorists take over…

I have yet to see any proof that there were ever any more terrorists in Iraq under Saddam than there are in Duluth today. I have no doubt terrorists trained in the desert but I also know they train in Idaho. However, unlike potable water, functioning schools or electricity the bulk of the terrorists came with our occupation. They want us dead and we made it easy for them — why travel halfway around the world when the Great Satan is right down the road.

I wholeheartedly agree that Iraq will continue to deteriorate after we leave. There is a civil war going on in Iraq and both sides are using US troops as human shield but it is sheer hubris to think that there is a damn thing we can do about it.

For now, I’ll settle for my friends coming home intact and gladly leave the Iraqi civil war to the Iraqi’s and the historians.

It would appear I’m not the only one who has been wanting to write about Iraq. I’ll try to get to it this week, and we can have a real discussion. After I lay down my stink bomb of a position.

It may be delayed due to client intervention … plus, I have a feeling there will be something more to write about Michael Vick after Arthur Blank holds his press conference this afternoon.

I have a feeling there will be something more to write about Michael Vick after Arthur Blank holds his press conference this afternoon.

Perhaps, but I’m betting on the exact opposite to be true.

“I’m betting on the exact opposite to be true.”

Wrong!

There’s a reason I don’t gamble much.