Pelosi Predicts Iraq War “Endless”
LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Bush said Thursday he will not jeopardize security gains in Iraq by withdrawing U.S. forces too fast, another signal that troop reductions could slow or stop altogether this summer.
The president said he would resist any temptation to bring troops home to score political points with a war-weary public or compromise with Democrats in Congress seeking to wind down the war.
The U.S. troop commitment is expected to be down to roughly 130,000 to 135,000 by July, the same number as before Bush sent in reinforcements a year ago.
“You know, a lot of folks say, ‘What’s next, Mr. President?’” Bush said. “And my answer is, we have come too far in this important theater in this war on terror not to make sure that we succeed. And therefore, any further troops reductions will be based on commanders and conditions.
“The temptation of course is for people to, you know, say ‘Make sure you do the politically right thing,’” Bush told members of the Nevada Policy Research Institute. “That’s not my nature. That’s not exactly what we’re going to do.”
In Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any halt to reducing the troops that were part of military buildup demonstrates the president’s “insistence on a war without end.” She said it would further undermine U.S. military readiness.
Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress have pressed unsuccessfully to reduce U.S. military involvement in Iraq. If Bush expresses reluctance to continue withdrawing troops beyond July, it could prompt a new round of conflict between the White House and Capitol Hill as the November presidential elections approach.
“The president’s Iraq policy will result in the same number of troops committed to an endless war in Iraq at the end of this year as were there at the end of 2006,” said Pelosi, who expressed concern over deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan.
Bush spoke about Iraq, Afghanistan and a need to extend the domestic wiretapping law during a three-day swing through California, Nevada, Colorado and Missouri to highlight themes of his State of the Union address and raise an estimated $4.7 million for Republicans at the four stops combined.
Some U.S. commanders worry that security improvements in Iraq since June are fragile and could be reversed if the extra five brigades Bush dispatched there are removed too soon. One Army brigade and two Marine battalions have already returned home and will not be replaced. Four other Army brigades are to come out by July. That would leave 15 brigades, or roughly 130,000 to 135,000 troops in Iraq—the same number as before Bush sent the reinforcements. It’s unclear what will happen after that.
The first sign Bush might endorse a pause in troop reductions came earlier this month when he recounted for reporters his meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, in Kuwait on Jan. 12.
“My attitude is, if he (Petraeus) didn’t want to continue the drawdown, that’s fine with me, in order to make sure we succeed,” Bush said. “I said to the general, if you want to slow her down, fine; it’s up to you.”
At the Pentagon on Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters he has not discussed with Petraeus the possibility of him recommending to Bush a pause in the troop drawdown after July. Gates stressed that regardless of what Petraeus recommends, his will not be the only opinion.
“The president will also have available to him the views of the commander at Central Command (Adm. William J. Fallon) and the Joint Chiefs, and I will have my own view,” Gates said. “The president will have the benefit of all of that come March and April, in terms of making a decision.”
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I wonder if she thinks WWII or Korea ended?
-We’ve got thousands of troops in those places 50 years later
January 31st, 2008 at 5:13 pmHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any halt to reducing the troops that were part of military buildup demonstrates the president’s “insistence on a war without end.”
Uh, hello Bela? The president, I am sure, would be overjoyed if the war came to a close tomorrow. You and your hippie congress friends might want to consider having a chat with the goat molesters, they seem to have a never-ending obsession with wanting to kill us.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:40 pmThe Iraq War will end long before Nancy-Pants Pelosi’s obsession with plastic surgery and Botox injections.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:57 pmMcCain said we would be there over 100 years
January 31st, 2008 at 6:24 pm“Pelosi Predicts Iraq War “Endless”….Like her menopause
January 31st, 2008 at 6:42 pmWar has been going on in Iraq since the Babylonian Empire.
The old city of Babylon is located approximately 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Same rule applies to Persia which is what we call Iran today.
Then there are the Edomites. That’s who we call the Russians today.
And theres also the Assyrian Empire which is what we call Syria.
Lets not forget the Philistines. Also known as the Palestinians.
and on & on & so forth and so on….
This is all very old business. Nothing new under the sun.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:55 pmBush says to Petraeus, take care of it. Watch the JCS, Fallon and Gates try to get in there and fuck it up.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:45 am^^^Leatherneck:
Lets not forget the Philistines. Also known as the Palestinians.
The Philistines were Greeks. Technically Acheans, which culturally encompassed Greece, the Aegean, and the south-west of Asia-Minor, also known throughout the Med as the Sea People.
The ‘Palestinians’ are Arabs, and recent arrivals, showing up after the Zionist Movement made the Levant bloom starting in the Ottoman Empire days. Opposite of today, back then the Caliphate loved having Jewish subjects, as they were actually productive citizens instead of useless mouths, and were perceived as less troublesome than Christians.
Most of the ‘Palestinians’ in 1948 were born in Egypt or Syria. Of course, most of the Israelis were born in Europe, but when muslims claim descent from the Philistines, giving them the right to the Holy Land, they are utterly full of shit. Besides, the Israelites were there before the Philistines. Jews today still honor the memory of David. Most muslims have probably never heard of Goliath.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:14 pmthe arab moslim mind sees what you think of as goodness and kindness as weekness and stupidity; and your lack of a backbone in your desire to make peace by not fighting them as proff of your degeneracy—–and dear liberal, they are right about that, far more than you know.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:04 am