Angelina Jolie: Stay in Iraq

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:33am

What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made.

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.


Link

[pab]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:36am

Yes, and we all know that we should always take the advice of actors on international events.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:39am

so Goth, why haven't you joined up to defend your country?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:46am

"so Goth, why haven't you joined up to defend your country?"

I'm passed the age that they will accept.

[Bluemoon]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:47am

A friend of mine, a nationally syndicated columnist, recently returned from Iraq with the same observations as Jolie. Surprised the hell out of him. I've been goading him about about going public with his (so far) private change of view. I sent him the link this morning. Maybe he was Angelina's ghostwriter....

[pab]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:51am

"President Bush made it clear one year ago that the influx of troops was intended to incubate political progress. “A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations,” he said. “America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.” These 18 benchmarks included performing constitutional review, holding provincial elections, disarming militias, and implementing oil revenue legislation.

Virtually none of these benchmarks have been achieved during the potentially brief downturn in violence over the past year. Those that have been achieved do not begin to add up to anything resembling a successful government: “Iraq’s government is at a stalemate,” Mowaffak al Rubaie, Iraqi National Security Advisor, told the Washington Post last month."
Think Again: The Surge Goes On Forever (and the Spinning Never Ends)

[nygrl23]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 9:54am

It's one thing to stay in Iraq for humanitarian purposes, it's another to stay to continue military efforts. All Americans know is that their pockets are being drained for a misguided war.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 10:27pm

all americans also know that only morons make generalizations like that.

yep, that angelina's done absolutely nothing on the world stage whatsoever and hasn't the foreign policy credentials of say, george clooney.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/2/08 at 2:21pm

Let's be honest, any success in Iraq is clearly Hilary Clinton's doing. Thank you, Ms C.

[pab]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:27pm

Sure, things in Iraq are progressing just fine

[nygrl23]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 1:44am

Papa, my dear old fish, go and boil your head!


(what book is that from?)

[pab]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:29am

"Fifty-three people were killed and 125 were wounded in two bomb attacks Thursday evening in a Baghdad commercial district, an Interior Ministry official said. A roadside bomb exploded first, around 7 p.m., in the central Baghdad district of Karrada, killing and wounding a number of people, the Interior Ministry official said.

As others gathered to help the wounded, a suicide bomber amid the crowd detonated an explosive vest, killing and wounding many more, the official said. The majority of causalities occurred during the second attack, the official said."

[pab]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:39pm

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up among U.S. soldiers in central Baghdad on Monday, killing five and wounding three in the worst single attack on U.S. forces in the Iraqi capital in nearly a year.

The U.S. military said in a statement that the blast, which also wounded an Iraqi interpreter, hit the soldiers while they were on foot patrol. Iraqi police said at least nine Iraqis were wounded.

The military blamed the attack on a suicide bomber. Police, citing witness accounts, said the soldiers had been walking in a main street in the upscale Mansour district when a man wearing an explosives vest walked up to them and blew himself up.

The attack was a reminder that while violence is sharply down in the capital since thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers set up patrol bases in neighbourhoods to curb sectarian violence, it is still far from safe."
Suicide bomber kills 5 U.S. soldiers in Iraq

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:44pm

The book is Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

[pab]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 1:51pm

"The violence came as Vice President Dick Cheney and Arizona Sen. John McCain made overlapping visits to the capital, touting recent security gains and promising to uphold a long-term military commitment to the country so long as al-Qaida in Iraq is not defeated.

Explosions also struck earlier Monday not far from Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, shortly after Cheney arrived. Helicopter gunships circled central Baghdad, but no other details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions."
Bomb Kills 39 in Iraqi City of Karbala