Angelina Jolie: Stay in Iraq

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

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

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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....

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.

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

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


(what book is that from?)

"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

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"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

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