[Carlhole]

I don't think anyone here gives a rat's Expletive deleted. about the War in Iraq anymore. What a monstrous tragedy it has been and remains. What a monument to careless stupidity! It's not the kind of military/strategic performance a good American cares to crow about - or know much about.

Used to be big arguments and discussion about the war here on PO.com, but it's pretty much been written off as irrelevant now. The whole thing seems to be in a long holding pattern while America slowly churns through it's tedious process of electing a new crew in Washington - who will then inherit it. And then, who knows?

Peak Oil news reports are growing now that the price of oil is approaching $100. I wonder what bearing the mainstreaming of PO will have on the next Clinton White House' Iraq policy? I've always thought there would eventually be some major public announcment made about the urgency of our energy problems just before the next president takes the oath. I wonder if Hillary would really bring the troops home as she claims at present. I still don't think so.

A new film has been released covering this tragic history and the decisions that were made that have made the war such a complete disgrace. It's called "No End In Sight". I was able to score a free download and burn a copy to give to the local anti-war group. It's a good film but it's quite sombre in tone.

[Roy]

Thanks for the recommendation CarlHole.

I'll be sure to give it a look.

I just watched a documentary called "The Ground Truth". It literally kicked my ass. Every supporter of this bogus war should watch it. It mainly centered on vets of Iraq, and their experiences from basic training to their return home. A real eye-opener hearing it from their mouths.

[Carlhole]

Abizaid: Mideast wars may last 50 years

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Yahoo News', 'P')ITTSBURGH - It might take as long as half a century before U.S. troops can leave the volatile Middle East, according to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid.

"Over time, we will have to shift the burden of the military fight from our forces directly to regional forces, and we will have to play an indirect role, but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as being possible," Abizaid said Wednesday at Carnegie Mellon University.

Abizaid, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, stepped down in March as the longest-serving commander of U.S. Central Command. He retired from the Army in May and now is at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

The rise of Sunni extremism, burgeoning Shiite extremism, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the world economy's dependency on Mideast oil will keep Americans in the Middle East for a long time, he said.

"I'm not saying this is a war for oil, but I am saying that oil fuels an awful lot of geopolitical moves that political powers may have there," Abizaid said. "And it is absolutely essential that we in the United States of America figure out how, in the long run, to lessen our dependency on foreign energy."

He reiterated comments made in September that the U.S. needs to do a better job of coordinating economic, political and diplomatic means so the conflict can move from a military to a political issue.

"I would characterize what we're doing now as 80 percent military, 20 percent diplomatic, economic, political, educational, informational, intelligence, etc.," Abizaid said. "You've got to take that equation and change it. Make it 80 percent those other things."

Abizaid, who has dubbed the current conflict "The Long War," told The Associated Press in September it will take three to five years before Iraq's government is stable enough to operate on its own.

Despite the strain on the armed forces, Abizaid said Wednesday it is important to maintain a professional military without re-establishing a draft.

[bonehead]

We're not going anywhere,Iraq provides the oil markets with about 2 million barrels a day in the midst of chaos.You could probably double that number if the country was completely stable.I forget where i read this,but there is more oil to be had there in the many unexplored areas and their infrastructure is so poor that they burn off the natural gas that they get from oil production as waste.I'd bet they could equal Iran in oil production if all the unexplored areas showed increased reserves and their infrastructure was state of the art.This place is a gold mine and it's also a good place to have a permanent military presence.I've never supported going in there and i never thought it was really worth the price we're paying but now that we're there we have to finish the job no matter how long it takes.It's clear to me that this is the first REAL energy war of our time and if we cannot change in our addiction to oil a lot of people are going to die bloody before the global economy collapses.