Home > One good turn deserves another: Getting out of Iraq

One good turn deserves another: Getting out of Iraq

by Open-Publishing - Wednesday 21 February 2007
3 comments

Wars and conflicts International

"There comes a time when you have to turn mother’s picture to the wall and get out".....Brad Dextere, "The Magnificent Seven"

Without a "by your leave", several countries are beginning the slow dribble, pulling troops from the Iraq conflict. Among these is Italy (already gone under Prodi’s new government), Bulgaria,Hungary,Romania (they changed their minds),Denmark and now the redoubtable fighting forces of Lithuania and of course Great Britain. Just two months ago Blair,ever the flippy floppiter, was claiming that any scheduled withdrawal would give our enemies cause for rejoicing. Well, it looks like he’s switched priorities as the direct result of extreme pressures from spouses and families of British troops who’ve had the gall to complain about wounded and dead sons,daughters, brothers,sisters, fathers,mothers and cousins.

All of this, naturally, doesn’t please his highness, Mr. Bush or his co conspiritor Mr. Cheney, but they can’t admit that...having piled so much praise on Blair over the years, so Bush and Co. are claiming that it makes sense for the Brits to evacuate Basra and other Southern regions in Iraq, having realized complete and total success. "Pacification" is the key word. All is quiet on the Southern front.

Wanna bet?

And so it goes.

Mother’s picture isn’t about to turn back.

Forum posts

  • Aah! How great it is to read an article that is so well-written (disregarding a misspelled word and a few misplaced commas). What I mean is the author has garnered his thoughts and taken PM Blair mildly to task for flip-flopping on the subject of withdrawing his troops on a time table; one detects his sarcasm for the British Prime Minister, but, he seems to give him credit for listening to the British citizens and is finally bringing the Brit troops home to their loved ones.

    Then when "villy" names the "real" characters, (Bush & Cheney), in his piece there’s no doubt who the REAL VILLIANS are...his message comes through loud and clear these two "leaders of the free world" have ice water running through their veins and they have no compassion for the brave USA troops or their loved ones. They will continue on in this "illegal" WAR, hoping to drag it out until their term is over simply because as BUSH has publicly stated, "it’ll be up to the next president to end it and bring them home".

    Prof_H

  • A rectification: the government of Denmark has until yesterday consistently denied any possibility of withdrawing their troops from Iraq. The tune has now changed, because Danish troops are embedded (nested? cocooned?) among the British contingent. They would be zapped the same moment the last British solider leaves. The spin is of course different and in line with the British spin: "we are withdrawing because the Iraqi are now capable of taking care of themselves", which is immediately deniedA rectification: the government of Denmark has until yesterday consistently denied any possibility of withdrawing their troops from Iraq. The tune has now changed, because Danish troops are embedded (nested? cocooned?) among the British contingent. They would be zapped the same moment the last British solider leaves. The spin is of course different and in line with the British spin: "we are withdrawing because the Iraqi are now capable of taking care of themselves", a statement which was immediately denied by some more-gunho-than-the-Queen sergeant just back from Basra: he claims what we know to be the obvious, that the "security" situation is nowhere as rosy as the spinners are painting it. And wishes the troops would stay there to "finish the job". Good boy.

    More ominous: might the Brit-Dane withdrawal from Shia southern Iraq be understood as an urgency to get out of there before the fall-out from an attack on Iran hits the fan?

    Qûr Tharkasdóttir

  • The difference between Vietnam and Iraq? Bush had a plan to get out of Vietnam!