Explaining the Current Situation in Iraq

by: Brandon Friedman

Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 04:08:31 AM EDT


Yeah, yeah, I know this is nearly Bush-like in its simplicity and comprehension, but whatever. . . .

* = Muqtada al-Sadr does have relationships with groups inside Iran.  He doesn't hate Iran and Iran doesn't hate him.  However, Sadr's Mahdi Army is much less aligned with Iran than is his opponent Nouri al-Maliki--and Maliki's backers--the ISCI and its armed wing, the Badr Brigade.  That's the point I'm trying to make.  I'm just trying to distinguish their relationships with Iran.
 
Anyone who can figure out a way to include the Fadhila Party, the Sunnis, al Qaeda, the Kurds, and the Baathists in the graphic will be short-listed for the next presidential administration's slot as Secretary of State.
Brandon Friedman :: Explaining the Current Situation in Iraq
Tags: , , , , , , , , (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email

At the risk of sounding like a broken record... (4.00 / 1)
...and a bad one at that, Senator Biden is the only one who has this maze pretty much figured out. But, for some reasons unknown to me, most people around here don't seem to want to pay attention to anything he has to say.

That kind of dismissal - at a place like this, no less - is much harder to explain than the situation in Iraq!


I have a new drinking game (0.00 / 0)
Every time you mention Biden, I take a drink.  Sound fun? ;)

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama

[ Parent ]
Fun, indeed! (0.00 / 0)
Just so long as you don't make them doubles.

[ Parent ]
LOL. I still have the Biden for President (0.00 / 0)
bumper sticker on my car.  

Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible.
~A. Philip Randolph



[ Parent ]
Oh my God! (0.00 / 0)
A Biden supporter - right here at VetVoice?! I can hardly believe it.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering that if you-know-who didn't get any bad press, he wouldn't get any press at all.

Oh, and I wouldn't be too quick to take that bumper sticker off your car...

Cheers!


[ Parent ]
Bush's Chart (0.00 / 0)
It's probably the only way he can understand due to the substance abuse effects on his cognitive processes.

I wonder about Maliki (0.00 / 0)
I wonder how much love there is between Maliki and the US Command in Iraq.  It seems more like mutual contempt, although it seems like they need each other.

I've tried to explain this to friends at work (4.00 / 1)
It goes something like this:

You hardly know me, but what you know, you don't like.
I want to move in with you and live in your house, and pretty much tell you how you should do things.
Instinctively, you say "hell no!"
I give you a hundred billion dollars.
How do you feel about me now?

Iraq will never ask us to leave because there is no incentive to.  All of the money they make from oil they get to keep in private banks worldwide, while the American taxpayer gets to pay 100% of the reconstruction costs.  Of course they love us.

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama


[ Parent ]
As an aside... (4.00 / 1)
by clejeune
I give you a hundred billion dollars.
How do you feel about me now?

It may be off topic a little, but this "billion dollars here and a few billion there" really sucks.  My (and for many vets) TriCare Prime annual payments are expected to more that double in the coming years, and that's just to make up for a "few" billion dollars" of losses.  (But is caring for veterans really a "loss?")  

Bottom line: we're wasting a LOT of money that could be better spent on us.  How foolish I was back in the 1960s to believe I'd get free medical care for life!


[ Parent ]
I think (0.00 / 0)
Reagan was right back in the 80s. We can't seem to comprehend the utter irrationality of Middle East politics. Although, I dont know if we should be beating ourselves up over that. Who can???? Besides them of course.

Shoring up Iran's position (0.00 / 0)
in the Middle East has been the greatest byproduct of this war. Nearly all the Iraqis I worked with regardless of whether they were Sunni or Shia, Arab or Kurd, had a deep-held hatred for Iran. Now, Iran is the leading power in the region without the strong counterbalance that Saddam's Iraq provided.  Sometimes, it seems that no one really thought this thing out beforehand!!!

VetVoice on Social Media
Follow rockrichard on Twitter

VoteVets.org on Facebook
  • VetVoice Recommends

    "The War I Always Wanted,"
    By Brandon Friedman

    "The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic." --Military Times

    "Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature." --Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire

    Buy The War I Always Wanted here.

    "A Time To Lead,"
    By General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark

    "A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration." --General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State

    "This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life." --Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)

    Buy A Time to Lead here.

    "Love My Rifle More Than You,"
    By Kayla Williams

    "Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq." --Booklist

    ". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle." --Publishers Weekly

    ". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq." --Bookmarks Magazine

    Buy Love My Rifle More Than You here.

    "How to Break a Terrorist,"
    By Matthew Alexander

    "...a riveting, fast-paced account that reads like a first-rate thriller." --Publisher's Weekly

    " ...an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the secret intelligence war within a war." --Military.com

    Buy How to Break a Terrorist here.

    Search

    Advanced Search

    RSS Feed Links

    Subscribe to VetVoice in a feed reader!

    Subscribe to VetVoice by Email!

    Diaries and comments at VetVoice do not necessarily represent the views of VoteVets.org. VetVoice will strive to remove any illegal material as soon as it is flagged. Similarly, VetVoice will use its discretion in determining whether to remove exceedingly offensive material. However, between posting and removal, any offensive or illegal material does not reflect the condoning or endorsing of said material by VoteVets.org or VetVoice.
    Similarly, the views expressed on this website are those of the authors alone. Opinions on this website do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Defense or any of its components.
    Menu

    Front Page Writers
    PTSD Resources
    TBI Resources
    IRR Information
    Casualty Reports
    VA Information
    Support the Troops
    Veteran Candidates We Support
    Congressional Committees
    Contact Your Elected Leaders
    Sites We Like

    Paid for VoteVets Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. VoteVets Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families. VoteVets Political Action Committee is a federal political committee which primarily helps elect Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran candidates and educates about veterans and military issues aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.

    Site Design: Articulated Man

    VoteVets Political Action and Vote Vets Action Fund are separate organizations.

    Powered by: SoapBlox