Marines pulling out of Iraq

[mjh345]

Longer than WWI and WWII combined and only 5000 killed (many not in combat)? What you are watching is the end of the most efficient war in U.S. History in regards to loss of American lives.
Just sayin'

Now there is something to hang your hat on.

How much money was wasted over there? Were we "EFFICIENT"on that score also?
I'll ask about money because by your logic the 5000 lives lost was "EFFICIENT"

Also what goals were accomplished through that "EFFICIENT" loss of lives?

I'm sure that is comforting to all of the family members of those 5,000 who lost their lives to know that they lost their loved ones in an "EFFICIENT" war

[Art Geddes]

World War 2 may be over, but we are still in Germany and Japan and Italy. Korea over? We are still in Korea. We are all over the globe. Success is not measured by how quickly we pull out and abandon a region.

Art

[K G]

And not that it matters, but the figure "5000" is overstated by about 15%...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...casualties.htm

Accuracy in reporting regards,

kg

[Hew]

When have Conservatives always agreed with one another? Good point. And when you continue to claim that Reagan wasn't a "real" conservative I suspect you'll very rarely find anyone to agree with you.

Both writers/commentators backed the search in Iraq for WMD’s, as I did. Where they failed their Conservative principles was in backing Nation Building. I would think that would be a pretty significant "failure" given your oft-repeated belief that conservatism = isolationism. BTW, Krauthammer is as close to an "interventionist," and as supportive of a pre-emptive doctrine as they come. If you look up "neo-con" in the dictionary you might just find his picture. Not trying to dissuade you from liking the guy...just pointing out that it's kinda inconsistent that you rail on Reagan yet accept Dr. Krauthammer as the standard bearer for conservatism. One would think we would have learned the lesson of Vietnam. The lesson that we can’t make a people be something that they don’t want to be.

The National Review is the finest publication in print today but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything they say. Conservatism is an ideology that has certain principles. Though those principles have been maligned through talk radio, Nation Building is not one of those ideals. And, we can’t compare Germany and Japan to Iraq and A’stan. WW2 was not fought over religion but aggression by military governments. Iraq was a war fought over religion? We were lucky in both Germany and Japan because neither country was held captive by religious beliefs. Nor was Iraq...the most secular of any country in the Middle East. We needed to be in Germany because of the Cold War and in Japan, the people actual wanted our help and embraced it. Don’t forget that we have also limited their abilities to rebuild their militaries and we have taken on the roll of protecting them. Not a perfect plan by Conservative principles but because it has served our purposes, I can live with it. Again, IMO, you confuse conservatism with isolationism.

But, it won’t work in areas where the people live with a 12th Century mindset where they truly hate us. They may love our money but don’t ever think for a moment that either, Iraq or A’stan will be long term allies.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Hew]

Now there is something to hang your hat on.

How much money was wasted over there? Were we "EFFICIENT"on that score also?
I'll ask about money because by your logic the 5000 lives lost was "EFFICIENT"

Also what goals were accomplished through that "EFFICIENT" loss of lives?

I'm sure that is comforting to all of the family members of those 5,000 who lost their lives to know that they lost their loved ones in an "EFFICIENT" war

Right. Because I'm sure those families find way more comfort in your publically stated notions that their loved ones died for nothing. Your concern for their comfort is so touching. Really, it is.

[dnf777]

FWIW,
I've have people agree that Reagan was NOT a true conservative. Not to even mention GHW Bush.

These kind of threads are an utter waste of time, regarding the partisan tolls of war. They tend to become a "I can twist and insult your comments" competition. It is a very emotional subject when talking of dead soldiers, and both sides will waste no time in claiming moral superiority. These threads typically go nowhere except into the gutter.