One main thing that has me not lending my support to him yet is his stance on Iraq. I am fully against the war in Iraq, I have been since before we went in. I however do see it as dangerous if we just get up and leave, the country could easily slip into chaos. If we get out in say 6 months, is there some plan to help Iraq to remain unified and not slip into chaos? I realise it's a bit early to have a full plan, but anything to ease my mind on this? Links / quotes are appreciated on his entire stance on the subject so far
I'm tired and badly need sleep, but the principle is basically this. The troops aren't going to cut and run, jump into helicopters and run into transport planes. He's talking about an organized, systematic withdrawal, with a gradual turnover of defense and specifically civil defense (like policing the streets) to the Iraqis, who have begun to already rotate their own troops into the field. The idea is that by making it clear we are withdrawing, and doing so in an organized fashion, will give the Iraqi government the kick in the pants to establish diplomatic relations with it's neighbors and to start accomplishing a more urgent program for stepping up and controlling their own country. When you hear Paul say, just bring them home, he's establishing a position more precise than the Democrats, most of whom are talking about a possible 4+ year withdrawal. It's not supposed to be anarchy and chaos, and I believe (no background on this), he would rotate troops in from Germany and Korea to help maintain a secure presence as the withdrawal occurs. I'll try to dig up more tomorrow if I remember. Or you could always email the campaign through ronpaul2008.com and they will answer questions on his positions more precisely. There is a 3000+ email backlog right now, but volunteers are working daily at HQ to help beat it up and deal with the low level stuff, so that serious inquiries like this get responded to by qualified staffers, in a reasonable amount of time.
Exactly, except right I'm paying for the chaos. Pull out now, it is still chaotic but at some point I stop having to pay to create chaos!
I'm a Brit and we have around 5,000 of the poor bastards holed up at the airport in Basra. Get them out now, and the Yanks too. It has been nothing short of a fooking disaster. But as we know, everything that Bush has touched has turned to sh*t.
Paul has always put the welfare of the troops first throughout his career. As far as the Iraqis, if the recent reports are to be believed, the best thing for them might be to assume responsibility for themselves, and be given the opportunity to rebuild their own country, with their own security. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the Coalition of the Billing to once again become the Coalition of the Willing, and for international participants to help handle the safe transition.
The "slip into chaos" propaganda was so effective keeping us in Vietnam for many years... ...the Neo-cons made sure it would also be effective to keep us in Iraq. * Our occupation is making the situation worse. ~~~ Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
This statement is a contradiction in itself. First you say you don't support Ron Paul because of his stance on Iraq, but then you say you've been against the war since before it started, which is the SAME stance Ron Paul has. The truth of the matter is that we shouldn't be over there. If the country slips into chaos, it just slips into chaos. The Iraqis can fight back and put someone in powerful they want, and this is exactly what will happen. The longer we stay, the worse things will get. The country is already in chaos, it can't get any worse than it is right now. The country is basically already in a civil. The corporate controlled news just hasn't told the general American public that yet.
It is not a contradiction at all. I am against the war, however I am also against leaving the Iraqi's to failure caused by us. A plan can be our troops out of there, simply something in place to help them not to slip into further chaos by our hand. Pretty simple really. Our war on them made the conditions that are ripe for civil war, ripe for terrorists to get a foot hold in, ripe for chaos.
You're absolutely right, and this is why the war was started in the first place. The goal of the Pentagon was to balkanize the country and cause fighting between Shiites and Sunnis. The war had nothing to do with getting rid of Saddam or saving the Iraqi people. The goal is to control Iraq, and build a base that can launch attacks into Syria and Iran. It also allows the U.S. to make moves into Central Asia to take over their oil. If you control Iraq, the heart of the Middle East, you can control the entire region. It is basic military strategy. The lives of Iraqi civilians meant absolutely nothing. Welcome to the brutal, cold, and calculating world of geopolitics. If we had not invaded in the first place, we would not have to worry about staying. The U.S. government wants chaos in Iraq, it is important for them. The longer they stay, the more chaos there will be. Will there be chaos when the U.S. leaves? Sure. But it is important to realize that we lose a lot more by staying than leaving. We lose more troops, more money, etc.
Fantastic article on Ron Paul's positions http://www.boulderweekly.com/?site_id=619&page_id=10556&id_sub=10556
Sadly, I don't see us getting out of Iraq or the middle east any time soon.. Now that we are there, we have a foot hold, and will likely remain there in our never ending effort to end global terrorism, most of which emanates from oil rich countries run by deranged little girly men... Don't be surprised if we keep a military presence and base in Iraq. We did in Korea, and just about everywhere else we have had to stay to help maintain the peace... I think even old Ronnie is smart enough to realize this.