Based on the Senate hearings today and the testimony of General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, we are never, ever, ever, ever, everevereverever going to leave Iraq, because as Barack Obama brought out in his questioning, we will never meet the benchmarks that define when we've succeeded, given that those benchmarks cannot be described. It's almost like saying we have to stay there because we're there, and since our being there is helpful, we have to remain indefinitely because we fear our help will never be enough. Tedious? Yes. But also a lie.
For all the talk about tying the next president to some ridiculous "status of forces agreement" (that Congress will kindly be "informed of," but that the Iraqi parliament would actually get to vote on...) the fact remains that tThe U.S. cannot sustain a 140,000 troop presence in Iraq ad infinitum, I don't care how much John McCain and George W. Bush (and Halliburton) want to. We're leaving Iraq, maybe in a year, maybe in two, maybe three. But I find it hard to believe that the next president can extend the disaster that we've got going on over there and have any prayer of maintaining his or her presidency. The only way to do it would be to drive Iraq completely out of the news cycle, so that the war drags on and on without the public noticing it. We're close to that now, I'll admit. But I also agree with Gen. McCaffrey and other military leaders when they say that the military itself cannot sustain this, and sooner or later, I believe that the leadership of the military, extricated from their forced obeisance to Mr. Bush by virtue of an election, will stand up and say "no more."
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
