(no subject)

[fenerkulesi.livejournal.com]

Question. We're pulling out Iraq. Will this have the same effect as what happened when we pulled out of Vietnam?

Regrettably, I'm not as brushed up about this as I should be, and I'm sure y'all can give me a not-convoluted answer.

EDIT: And um comm reaction post here? :)

Comments

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

Actually, I cannot see the correlation. the quick version as I see it.
In Vietnam we bailed totally. (look for the pictures from the US embassy in Saigon.)
Here we have pulled down to an 'advisory' level, and the door is open should it flare up again.
The main question is; Can the people of Iraq, learn to a. defend themselves from extremists from outside their borders, and b. form a stable government?

YIS,
WRI

[chemchick.livejournal.com]

Yup. Excellent summary.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it. What happens depends on how the Iraqi government handles terrorism within its borders and making sure the different factions within Iraqi society (Sunnis, Shi'a, Kurds, Marsh Arabs, Christians, etc.) don't start killing each other.

[fenerkulesi.livejournal.com]

I see. Like I said, I'm not as well-versed in this as I should be. Thank you. ♥

[arkadelos.livejournal.com]

I would expect another Vietnam repeat in Afghanistan but not in Iraq. This pull-out is actually one of Bush's last decisions in office. It was meant to be gradual over a few years. I am not sure what the future will be for any of these countries.

[trustme1013.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but watch the Obamessiah take credit for it.

[mprice.livejournal.com]

Having lived through the Vietnam fiasco with our troops, I can say the answer is an unequivocal No, the same thing will not happen. I have heard numerous times from people (many of whom are Vietnam Vets) who say they will not allow it to happen. And after seeing the huge outpouring of support for the troops at Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, I believe this to be true.

Code Pinko and their ilk may want to demonize our men and women in uniform, but they are in the minority. Thank God!

Personally, I'm wondering how long our military "presence" will remain in Iraq. We've been a military "presence" in Korea over 50 years now.

[ainu-laire.livejournal.com]

Considering how batshit insane North Korea is, I think I'm ok with a US eye on that country...

[mprice.livejournal.com]

My father was a Korean War Vet. They call that "The Forgotten War" because the troops just seemed to shift over to Vietnam. They never had a welcome home of any kind; good or bad.

Then again, it technically didn't end. There was just a "truce," which seems to get shakier by the day. The South Koreans whom I have met are all very glad to have the US presence there, too.

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

Now to extend your final though further, look at the crazyness going on with Iran. Now look at our two present middle east theatres and add Pakistan as a base and you can see the value of being over there.
YIS,
WRI

[mprice.livejournal.com]

And by extension, be glad that NATO has a spine, unlike the UN.

[sreya.livejournal.com]

Well, I have absolutely no idea how we can continue our advisory role there without a military presence. Even putting security issues aside, all of the State Department and USAID elements in Iraq rely entirely on the US military for logistical support - helicopter transportation, shipping supplies around the country, and telecommunications are just a few of the big ones. Even if (and it's a big if!) enough money was swapped from the DOD budget to State and USAID, it would either take years to stand things up to a point where they're operational, or they'd be relying heavily on the contractors that the administration and media have worked so hard to demonize.

Seriously, I don't know how we'll do it.

[sreya.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Japan and Germany... though Germany's ramped down a little bit, we still have a LOT of people on military bases there. And Japan, while they may complain publicly, wouldn't dare let us leave because they rely on us for protection.

[sreya.livejournal.com]

Oops, didn't realize I was replying twice to the same comment!

[mprice.livejournal.com]

We have lots of folks in Germany because, among other things, we're partners in NATO.

I've a friend who worked on the base in Heidelberg for 20 years as a civilian seamstress.