Will the military posts in Iraq be a sore spot as long as they are there?

[kentuck]

And will the Arabs ever stop fighting us as long as we have military installations in an Arab country, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or any other country? Shouldn't the first step in declaring peace with Iraq and the Middle East be to promise to withdraw all American troops from that country? And shouldn't the second step be to get our Allies assistance in keeping the country stable until we could withdraw? Are there any other ideas other than to simply withdraw? And that would probably be a better solution than the one presently planned.

[harpo]

1. If a foreign military post was in my city...it would be my favorite target

[xray s]

4. The US is the ONLY country that has military bases on foreign soil

I really can't think of any other country that does. Can you?

That is really something to ponder.

[leftofthedial]

2. so far, in roughly 5000 years of recorded history

the "Arabs" (as well as Persians, Assyrians, Turks and assorted other Middle Easterners) have never stopped fighting each other or conquering/occupying invaders.

why would they stop now?

We should leave completely overnight immediately.

[CoffeeCat]

3. Having a military base in Iraq...

...won't be like having a military base in Germany.

I can't imagine that any US military base would be standing for very long--especially after the bulk of our military presence was moved out.

Maybe our military bases will be in "green zones."

[DLnyc]

5. Giving up the military bases in Iraq would be a reasonable first step

towards a peaceful solution there. Thus, the * administration cannot possibly do this, since they are genetically incapable of doing anything reasonable OR anything that might lead to peace.

I do think, however, that this would be a good rallying point for those Democrats who feel that supporting a 'troops out now' position will open them to charges that they are leaving Iraqs to kill each other. I don't see why these Dems couldn't at least support a demand that we give up the military bases and agree to leave if and when asked to do so by an elected Iraqi government. And I don't see an easy way for Repubs to argue against this, without admitting that the real goal is expansion of the Empire.