Thursday, November 02, 2006

The Letterman Question

Bill O'Reilly asked David Letterman a question.

O'Reilly: Let me ask you something. And this is a serious question. Do you want the United States to win in Iraq?
Which seems like a very good question to me.

If you get a yes than the next question is "How?"

I have some ideas. No doubt others have more and better answers. Without a "yes" the rest is irrelevant.

The Iraqi President says what they need is two to three more years of American help.
PARIS (Reuters) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Thursday U.S. troops should remain in Iraq for up to three more years to help bring peace to the country, envisaging a slower withdrawal programme than that suggested by Washington.

At the start of a week-long visit to France, Talabani rejected suggestions Iraq had descended into civil war and accused the media of focusing exclusively on negative stories.

However, he said "international terrorists" were still concentrating all their efforts in Iraq which meant the country needed outside help to defeat them.

"We need time. Not 20 years, but time. I personally can say that two to three years will be enough to build up our forces and say to our American friends 'Bye bye with thanks'," Talabani told a conference organised by the IFRI think-tank.
Winning will probably take longer, but stabilization (where the Iraqis handle the fighting with little American help) is possible in the not too distant future. American Generals think a year to a year and a half. The Iraqi President thinks twice that long. It is doable if the American peopole stick with the project.

4 comments:

linearthinker said...

So, how did Letterman answer?

I don't watch TV, especially CBS.

Americans are addicted to instant gratification. "Getting us into a war, are you? Well, ok, just don't let it last too long, our attention span is short."

I don't remember W or Rummy or any of those evil neocons telling us this would be a short war and easy victory. In fact, they told me just the opposite.

Ya dance with the one what brung ya.

M. Simon said...

Letterman danced around the question avoiding an answer.

What he didn't say speaks for itself.

Rick said...

He gave an answer; it's just not the one you wanted to hear.

Letterman refused to play into the over-simplification of O'Lielly's "question."

Bill O' told Dave it was a simple question and Dave had the perfect response---

"It's not easy for me because I'm a thoughtful person."

Right on, Dave.

Linearthinker must have a faulty memory as well... I remember a president standing in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner telling us that "major combat operations" were over in Iraq. Instead, the war has dragged on longer than our involvement in World War Two.

This was an illegal war founded on falsified intelligence and executed by incompetent people. That's the legacy of the Bush regime.

M. Simon said...

So Rick do you want a viable democracy established in Iraq or not?

Win or lose?

If you have a nuanced answer to that question I'd like to hear it.

Me? I'm for winning.