CNN

Despite my support of the Dems and their promises to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, the likelihood of entirely removing the US military presence from Iraq is a slim one. We essentially pulled the rug out form under the Iraqi people, despite the fact that Saddam was truly evil. We should never have gone in, but now that we've turned the whole country (theirs and ours, I might add) on its ear, it would be immoral to simply leave. I think deep down all the candidates and most Americans feel the same. It's truly a lose-lose situation.
Courtney, South Windsor, CT

obama,it's gonna take dialogue with iraq's neighbors,to begin pulling out our troops.most of them would like to see us leave,anyway.let them take responsibility for keeping the peace.we had no business occupying iraq,after WINNING the war!except,of course,oil business for bush,and reconstructuring business for cheney.obama will get us out responsibly and safely.

I believe it's likely that a Deomcratic president will pull the troops out on a time table taking 12 to 18 months. If McCain is elected, he will likely continue the Bush agenda of draw down / increase, draw down / increase ad nauseum

Jack: I think it will be very likely that the next President willl cause and effect acton for the reduction of troops in Iraq. He must be prepared to be part of the cure and not remain part of the problem. There is always a way, if he looks hard enough for it.

Of course, Hillary Clinton will Jack.

I think either Hillary or Barack will pull our troops out, Jack, but it won't an overnight process.

I believe as long as our Democratic president lets the public know this (and tell them why), Americans will give them a fair chance to bring this Chicken Hawk led nightmare to an end.

Jack: It is very likely that the next President will cause and effect action for a troop reduction in Iraq. He must be prepared to be part of the cure and not remain part of the problem. There is always a solution if you look hard enough for it.

They will pull some of the troops out but not all. Most likely what is going to happen is it will take the next president two terms to correct the matter, but that is if they are willing to force the change on the Iraqi's seeing President Bush does not know how to run a military operation or this country for that matter. So Clinton and Obama have alot of thinking to do about the matter because no one wants anymore of the Republican mess that we have now so McCain is a non issue as far as winning. It is a serious time for change!

It's not going to happen. The department of Defense is using this to fund every project on their wish list, retiring officers are using it to secure their second career with companies that support the war, retiring enlisted personnel are getting jobs with companies like Blackwater that pay really well, and the military industrial complex and oil companies are making record profits. It is the American dream for anyone who profits from war. They would never let this war end and disrupt their flow of money. In reality, they are the ones running this country.

Nobody can end the centuries of bloodsheed between religious extremists in the middle east except the religious extremists themselves.

However, our United States leaders can end our involvment in it anytime they want. Perhaps if they ever decide what "Victory in Iraq" means, they will be able to achieve it.

If McCain is president,the troops are staying for 100 years or the end of the world,whichever comes first. If Hillary is president there will be some withdrawal initially with gradual withdrawal afterward. Obama will attempt a massive Vietnam withdrawal,but will find that that will be a huge mistake. So,pulling troops out will depend on who you vote for. Think very thoughtfully and deeply and the mark your ballot. Good luck!

McCain – hardly likely Jack.

The democrats, once we get rid of this "stay the course" regime, I do believe there will be accountability and much shorter benchmarks. Iraq is well aware our current Administration has no intention of pulling many, if any troops before their term expires, which gives Iraq no incentive to look at benchmarks, let alone try to meet them.

New president, new rules, shortened benchmarks and strict accountability – now there's a plan.

If it's a Democrat very likely. If it's John McCain, it's not going to happen since McCain has said he will keep American troops in Iraq for an hundred years and continue the failed policies of George W. Bush.

I think it will happen in the next presidency but it will be a slower process than they want the people to believe AND no matter how they do it, not everyone will agree with the way they do it. Also, there is no perfect way to do it and no matter what, I think Iraq will be a bit chaotic for a long time after the US military leaves.

None of the democratic candidates will deliver on their promise on Iraq the way the say it, unless the situation in Iraq improves. Implementation of the troops pull out will be much different that the politica promises they make now. But everything changes in life so what is happening in next 7-8 months will decide how it will be implemented.

Nuwan from Houston, TX

Not likely Jack. Because they have so much control over the price of oil, the Saudis have their hands around the throat of our american economy. If we leave Iraq in the hands of the majority Shiite muslims the Saudis would be looking at another Iran-like threat on their border and would punish us severely. Clinton and Obama are both going to get an education if either wins the white house.

If they do it will take forever, meanwhile we lose more Americans as well as dollars and reputation This is the worst of times, thank you Mr. Bush....glad you have all your money still.... you can brag about your daughters big wedding bash while some of us cant pay our rent

It is quite likely that whoever is elected president will pull our troops out of Iraq. Sooner or later the American people are going to insist, and when they do whoever's head it is that is keeping troops there is going to roll. After that dog and pony show put on by Petraeus and the stuttering, uh uh er er uh and uh stammering uh uh er asinine twit of a bush lackey inept uh uh er "you have to uh uh er understand uh er uh uh it is uh uh very uh er er difficult" spouting worthless piece of . . . . of an "ambassador" , one cannot believe that the American people have not already insisted.

I know this may sound a little rainbows and unicorns but I believe in the words of John Lennon:

War Is Over, If You Want It

Regardless of who is the next Presdient, if the American people rise up together and say, "No More" Washington will have no choice but to end military action in Iraq. A Democrat may be more eager to withdraw the soldiers, but it was the Republicans (Nixon, Ford and Kissinger) who finally ended the war in Vietnam and brought the soldiers home.

No outsiders can end it. At some point the Iraqis will tire of their sectarian killing (we hope!) and end it themselves. Or perhaps worse, Iran might step in and end it by installing a theocracy. This is the worst way, and the US should have thought about this before we toppled Saddam; he was not a choirboy but we might look back on his regime one day and realize it was better than what Iraq will probably get now.

hi jack
well it wont be McCain,hes another Bush,but Obama will get us out safe and get everyone else around the country to help us keep peace.Hillary will pull us out to quick and we will be back before the year is out.

clearwater fl is for Obama all the way to the white house

All of our troops will not be out of Iraq in the next four years, no matter which party is in power. It is almost certain however, that a Democrat would begin the process of bringing them home.

Not very likely. Whoever it is will either want to stay for rest of the century or will soon discover that Bush has broken the country so badly that we will never be able to withdraw. That's because we will probably have to spend the rest of the century just picking up the pieces.

Jack
Give the order to have the troops out of there ASAP. We did it in Vietnam, this war is no different. Leave this country to the people of Iraq, let them solve their own religious issues.

If either of the Democrats gets elected to the White House that person will have to pull out "some" of the troops if they expect any chance at all of getting re-elected in another four years. We'll see.

But your title reads "Can anyone end the war in Iraq?" The question is "which war?" Is it the war to keep radicals from destroying that country, the war between the Shias and Sunni's, the war between the Shias and Shias, the war between the US and Iran, the war between .....ad infinitum. The simple and horrible answer is "no."

Our elected leaders are suppose to figure that out before they put us into a situation like this. Too bad they didn't.

If the next president is a Democrat, troops will begin to withdraw almost immediately. Both candidates know the one thing that makes Iraq a hornet's nest is the presence of U.S. occupiers. An extended presence or the inclusion of Iran into the mix will only make matters worse. We're running out of both warm bodies and money and there is no other option for the next president than to get out of Iraq. Senator McCain's "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" tells you where the Republicans stand on this.

Yes, Jack, someone will end this war, but only if a democrat gets elected president of the United States. And then he or she can't even begin to do anything until January of this year. If McCain wins the presidency, we will, of course, be there for the next 100 years!

Of course, the USA might go bankrupt before we leave Iraq. Then China will have to step in and repossess our country, and maybe they can get us out of Iraq.

Jack, it's sad, bleak, dark, frightening times for what was once the greatest nation on earth. Say a prayer for it before it's gone for good.

If I didn't believe that the Democrats would pull them out, I would be voting for McCain–at least I know he won't torture the prisoners of war.

Once President Obama gets into office, reality will hit and nothing will be as easy as he would like it to be. That said, he will make it happen. With the support of the military, he will have the troops home as quickly and safely (for us) as possible.

Nothing will end the violence there, however. Nothing but another ruler who rules with an iron hand. There are too many factions who will never be able to resolve their differences willingly.

It's a matter of how badly the American people want out.

It's not going to be easy, pretty or nice to pull out of this mess. But in my opinion it's worth it.

When the stuff starts hitting the fan as we pull out the same two thirds of the American public that are against the war now are just going to need to remember that.

With McCain, there would be no chance of this war ending. I believe President Obama will work diplomatically with nations in the region and with our military leaders and with our best foreign policy experts to get us out of Iraq. There first has to be the "will" to end the war (McCain doesn't have it) then the way will be found.

The Iraqi government, at present, has no incentive or deadlines and they are sitting on a pile of oil money while our soldiers are killed and wounded and our money goes to their nation instead of our own. It has to end. Our present situation is exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted.

The next President has to end the war. They may not do it in 12 months or 16 months, but they must end the war. We cannot afford to keep paying the Iraqi's salaries while this country is going down the tubes. This whole senario is outrageous and it is time to bring our troops home in a safe and methodical manner. A vote for McCain will be the same old stuff we been hearing from Bush. Bush doesn't know how to clean up this mess, so it is just going to be left to the next President. McCain doesn't know how to end it either so it will be easier for him to stay the course too.

Te currednt level of troops in iraq is not sustainable for much more time, by the end of the year there will have to be a reduction. We will probably have to leave a fair sized strike force in either iraq or possibly kuwait, backed by overwhelming air support, almost like we had after desert storm before Shrub screwed things up so bad. The european troops should be pulled back to the states so they could go into the mid east rotation. Besides, imagine what it would do to the economies of military communities if there were influxes of thousands of troops and their families into the local housing and shopping markets. These troops are not needed to support europe.

I think it's likely a deomocratic president will try, whether they will succeed is another story. Bush has made such a huge mess of Iraq, I don't know if we can ever get out completely. One thing is for sure though, the Iraq government will not start doing things for themselves if they continue to think big brother U.S. will always be there to take over for them when things get too tough. By the way Jack, if the Iraq government doesn't want to pay us back all of the millions they owe, don't you think they could at least discount oil for us as a start?

It will be political suicide for any Democrate to reverse what they have campaigned against – the war in Iraq. Iraq does not have a strong leader, regardless of what President Bush says about him. A President Obama or a President Clinton will remove the troops, however gradually. It makes sense to protect the troops during a withdrawal, but the Iraquis are not proving that they have any taste for conflict without US involvement and that means US Troop deaths and dismemberment. The Iraqui Army will not be ready in 20 years because they do have the intestinal fortitude to go the extra mile. Bottom line is, the troops will come home to the USA. The sooner the better!

The chances are very unlikely because only Washington insiders are running. Powerful special interests such as Haliburton, Bechtel, Blackwater, and the military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned against are making billions from the war and Congress is in their pockets.

Elect a Democrat and the war will end. Matter of fact Elect Obama and the war will end because Hilary lies so much you never know what in her campaign is serious about!

There was an opportunity to end this war it would have required the Congress to start impeachment against the president. This is what ended Vietnam. When the President is worried about himself the troops come home. Time to pack up our gear and leave it really isn't all that difficult.

Obama will do it Jack!

He unlike McCain or Hillary who wanted and supported war will end it, Jack!

The Dunfey family brought Catholics and Protestants together in Ireland to end 700 years of killing. Maybe taking on the 1400 years of Sunni/Shia killing is something they'd tackle. If that fails, God might have a try. After that all we have is Super Hillary.

The answer is obvious, John McCain will keep our troops "standing up" for the next 100 years, a Democrat will give the Iraq's a time table for them to decide whether THEY will "stand up" or "lay down, roll over and die" and be left with something worse than Sadam. The choice is theirs........people get the kind of government they deserve....

That all depends of IF Iran gets THE BOMB sooner rather that later, then it's out of his or her hands.
Iraq is what it is, and when we leave it will be what ever the Iraqis make it.

Barack Obama Will end the war in Iraq, Bring Green jobs to the American People and will fight for healthcare.

I am a Taxpayer and I approve this message.

"Yes," John McCain can end the war...he could in a hundred years anyway...of course you have to factor in John's ability to live that long. That aside he could do it.

Jerry Wilson

100%

Since only the Iraqis can end the religion-fueled destruction of the former Iraqi state, who we elect will ultimately have little more effect on the current war. Economic concerns will bring our involvement to a shuddering gasping halt and the next president will eventually order our military to extract itself in the most expedient and orderly fashion, returning home with all their equipment. That is what will take place if he military is consulted and allowed to manage their own return. If the extreme left is allowed to intefere, we'll abandon most of our hardware as we did in VietNam and ultimately lose more troops than if the left is ignored.

Jack,
I'm willing to risk those chances if either one of the Democratic Candidates become President. At least they are both talking about moving the troops out which is better than the "John McBush 100 Year Plan".

Jack, troops in Iraq are going to be like weeds. You can pull them out, but never completely get rid of them.

Jack, its time for a real reality check. As I view the film of the Iraqi army fight in Bastra the only one willing to fight were the Americans. We are going to have to sit down and look at all the lies. Were here to set up a democratic government, Jack that is a no win war. 2 choices are left pull out and let them settle the differences or commit for the next 20 years. I am sure most of us will never put Iraq or Iran on our places to visit.

Very likely. But not a quickly as the American people might hope for. There has been much talk about a pull-out strategy. This needs to be a hot topic in the general election.

Only the soldier can end this war. I know the answer I give is not the 1 anyone can understand. But, only Gen. Petraeus can stop this war & until he gets the guts to tell BushCo enough is enough those men & women will continue to die.

For the democrats it is a true Catch 22. To me as much as I want us to leave Iraq, it isn't going to be possible until the Iraqi people kick us out and want to take control of their own country in a peaceful manner. We are the "peacemakers" of the world but we can't even do that in our own country.

Nancy Pelosi could have, month's ago, if she'd only had the starch.

Ray Kinserlow
Lubbock, Texas

Not likely. We are in a war that we can not win or get out soon. If anyone could not predict that war with Iraq would be the top priority with this Administration was not paying attention. What was the "Axis of evil" all about? Plain and simple to clear the Bush name for not getting Saddam in the first Iraq war. Even Bush I was against going into Iraq, sonny should have listened to dad.

Not only are we confused about what to do in Iraq, we don't even know how to ask the question. Pull US troops out of Iraq? Whoever the next president is most likely he/she will pull SOME troops out. The real question is how many, how fast and for how long the remaining troops will be in harm's way on a daily basis.

I expect an intelligent dialogue along the lines of withdrawal from our next president. I hope that some of the Iraqi oil money will soon be used to defray the cost of this fiasco, and yes, I do expect that a democratic president will withdraw a large number of troops over a reasonable amount of time.

It would be nice to end the war. We had the 100 years war, and McCain thinks this might be headed for a new record.

What really concerns me to end US involvement. If we leave, I think the Iraqui factions will settle – until the xext time.

obama will end this war, because of all the candidates he gets it! there isnt a military solution in iraq, its political one, and until we learn to talk to our enemies like iran, there will be no success in iraq!

It is likely once the new President realizes Iraq is just an exchange of Iraq lives for American (soldier) lives. If the President cares about killing Americans, we'll be out of Iraq, if the President doesn't care we will stay in Iraq.

Pretty good – If Michelle dosen't talk about not being proud of the US, Rev Wriight is forgotten, and Obama's lobbyists keep out of Canada.

Hillary or Barrack will end the war on a time scale. McCain will cotinue indefinitely we win. Winning is not in sight..
CA

Jack, It has become very clear from General Petraeus' report to Congress this week, that no one whether it be McCain, Clinton or Obama, will be able to bring home any troops anytime soon. The "still fragile" gains made by our troops would be taken away in an instant if it were not for the presence of U.S. troops. The instability created by our invasion of Iraq both economically, politically and militarily will only create a civil war when we leave. The plain truth is we have created a mess that will have to be dealt with for a long time to come.

Robert
Forest, VA

Jack:

This war started over a thousand years ago. No country on earth will ever end it. The United States tend to become to involved in the affairs of other nations when we have problems here on our own soil. I thought it was a waste of time and money to go to Iraq and I still do. I think used it for photo opportunities and "GRANDSTANDING" . He does not care about this nation. What he cares about is lining his pockets with money from the middle east oil. Oil and money is the only reason our troops were sent to Iraq. I think any politician including our president should be ashamed of this. It is deplorable.

Ron K. San Diego

Whichever candidate inherits this mess, if they don't get us out of it
promptly they can only expect one term in office. The state of our
economy is directly tied to this money sink and 4 years of recession or
more likely depression will not sit well with the American people.
But in my view McCain won't care about re-election and will stay there
irrespective of how it damages the country. Hillary is as reliable as
the long term weather forecast, so counting on her to do whatever she
says now is a bad bet at best.
Help us Obi Wan Barrack you're our only hope.

the Democrats, hopefully Obama. McCain is Bush all over again. Since this conflict cannot be 'WON' militarilary, the Iraq people must decide to take care of themselves. It really doesn't matter if we stay or leave–they will continue to fight each other. So be it! We have given them 6 years to step up to the plate. Our country is so worried about losing that oil. As Obama said yesterday while doing some questioning, we need some real solutions about what is 'winning'. And the ambassidor and Petracaus are only Bush yes men. So of course they are going to make sure they give the appropriate Bush answers. It comes down to how much more American tax dollars and American lives are going to be lost? I am beginning to think we should go back to being 'Isolationists"! Let's take care of our people first!

Beats me Jack, but if we think gas is high now, just wait until we pull out and see what it goes to! We're going to be blamed for everything that follows! Any war between the people will be our fault, even though the countries in the middle have been fighting for a thousand years. Although I would love to see this oil war come to an end, pulling out when Bush has gotten us this deep would be another tragedy......Not to mention that a vast majority of the world see us as "occupiers"......which is true! Its a "no-win" situation for America!

I don't think any canidate can walk in on day one and just say BAM! IT'S OVER. I do think that plans need to be made to scale back our occupation of Iraq.
Think of it more in the standards of the US Troops that are still stationed in Korea. That war ended what? like 50 years ago. We still have a presence there. But that's all it is, a presence. Not babysitting the entire country.

Mary – Lincoln, NE

I believe Barack Obama will end the war and withdraw troops as he has promised. He's the only candidate that seems to understand the deep rooted cultures that are affected by this war. He's the only candidate willing to sit down with Syrian and Iranian leaders. He's the only candidate that seems to understand that most people in the region don't want American values and democracy imposed on them. He's the only candidate that has been right from the beginning.

Obama will get them out of there. He voted no for the war. It will probably take a couple of years or more but I have faith and confidence that he will get them out of there and then when he does he will be rewarded with another persidental term in the White House because he has done such a good job. He will not be going this alone, as there are so many intelligent people that will be on his staff and will be helping him along the way. I have two boy and the thought that Hilliary voted for the war scares me. I do not want them to go to the army but that will be their choice if they ever decide to go, I just hope that they will not go straight to Iraq after boot camp. I'm am putting my trust in Obama to take care of this.

Shirley, Ohio

It will obviously take a Democrat to end the war. Hilliary misspeaks (lies) too much for me to believe anything that she says. She will say anything and do anything to get elected.

It will end in the same way the Korean War did. For those who don't know, they are technically still at war, and there is still an American prescence in the region.

We have control of nothing my husband just came back and talks of "OUR SECRET GOVERNMENT". In Iraq we messed with the begining of time. We are not in control of anything what makes you think we can do anything to fix it once we opened Pandora Box.
`When she did, all of the evils of mankind escaped from the jar, although Pandora was quick enough to close it again and keep one value inside, and that was Hope.
HOPE IS THE ONLY THING WE HAVE LEFT

The American people will end the mess in Irak Jack. Same as Vietnam. When they're mad as hell and they've had enough of words and body bags and Taps. The people will decide and hopefully it will be soon.

Bring the Troops Home.

Jack,

Likely, not sure. Essential – 100% sure. I heard talk on CNN earlier today about a possible DEPRESSION! How much longer can we pump billions of dollars each month into this mess with nothing to show in return? And why can't congress see this, if I can?

No Jack... No they cannot! I believe that Barack was correct when he said that the war "never should have been authorized, and never should have been waged." That being said, there are millions of people worldwide who want destroy our way of life, and want nothing more than to see us fail. You can stand on the edge of a bridge and say to yourself, "It might be a bad idea to jump off," but when you're on your way down, all you can do is pray for a safe landing. I hope that Barack Obama will see that and at least try to save the Iraqis from their potential doomsday!

Jack, let Jesse Ventura and Dog the Bounty Hunter loose on those bad Iraqi militiamen that should end the war PDQ.

The only way is if the Dem nominee (we know McCain wouldn't do it) has the cajones to stand up to the American public and do 2 things: First, openly discuss and re-frame the meaning of 'losing', 'failure', and 'surrender' in a war which was lost before it began; and second, prepare people for the likelihood that sectarian violence over power and resources will continue after we leave, and that we, as a nation, must decide together which painful cost we're most willing to bear: the continued debt and draining of our treasury, or the knowledge that there will be more tragedy in Iraq before they can settle their own disputes peacefully.

Without this bully-pulpit groundwork to obtain buy-in from the electorate, the new president will be too politically scared to actually withdraw our forces.

I was in Viet Nam as a combat sniper in 1969. Richard Nixon had talked about ending the war long before our troops came home, (remember peace with honor)? After I returned home I watched as a civilian as our troops shoved helicoptors into the ocean and pushed desperate people out of the way so they could get back to the "world" alive.

There is no good way to walk away from a war that you can't win. That's why John McCain wants to stay indefinately. He was in the same war that I was in and should know by now when its time to get out.

Hillary drank the Kool Aid and voted to invade. The only voice of reason belongs to Obama. Its time to come home.

The first President to face the nation and admit that Dudley DoWrong dismantled and destroyed the only form of government that will ever work in Iraq still won't have a way out. It's why I've been calling it Somali Nam since August of 2002 when most of us saw this coming. The Pottery Barn Rule still applies. Bush broke it, we now own it and can't pay for it. We'll be forced to pass the the hats on to our great, great grand children will be forced to pass the bills on down to their great, great grand children until someone finally say's, "Screw this! Let Iran annex it, we're done, we're outta' here!"

Jack, don't we have a constitution that says Congress has to approve any money that is spent? That is all they have to do. But we have to get the guts to tell bushy and dicky that the oil belongs to the Iraqs and not to them.But they will have to realize that if they stop the money too soon, bushy will leave the boys over there with nothing. And they better watch him, he is trying to get a contract signed that says we will be over there forever. He is slick.But I am sure he has a lot of company

The Clintons supported the War in Iraq to destroy “weapons of mass destruction” 1998, reaffirmed 2004. Their judgment, like George Bush's judgment was wrong. Costing thousands of American lives and more than a trillion dollars, the Bush-Clinton Dynasty has ruined our economy. Neither the Bushes nor Clintons have a clue what it's like to buy gas, finance food and shelter in an economy like this. They may arrogantly claim to have all of the experience in the world. However, if their experience led to such bad judgment, their experience does not amount to a hill of beans ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Because they were so free to spend American lives and money, they should offer treble damages to the veterans' families. They should offer a full refund to the American taxpayer and then some to the middle class and poor. And, they should accomplish all of this out of their own deep pockets.

Obama was the only one when it was politically inconvenient to tell it like it is. Had we listened to him in the first place, we would not be in the economic mess we are in today.

The war will end when the U.S citizens riseup and voice their disgust for the war and demand that the troops be brought home now. We need some of that Tibetian zeal displayed now in San Francisco. Once the troops are gone Iraq will settle on its own terms.

We are more likely to end global warming than to get our of Iraq in the next presidential term. The unpopular truth is that pulling out before the country is able to run on its own will only cause a power vacuum. We all should remember how well that worked out over in Germany. There is a reason they called it a "world war."

This reminds me of the old adage about those that ignor history being bound to repeat it.

The more than inconvenient truth is that the Iraq War is a failure. A failure in necessity, justification, and result.

The only exit is to exit as we did from VIetnam.

There is no face saving except for turning over the initiators over to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Shock and Awe was no different from Blitzkreig. American leaders are not above international law.

It really does not matter whether the next president gets us out of Iraq or not, it will still end in tribal war and genocide. The country is beyond any hope and all we do is pull ourselves down to their level, we can not bring them up to ours as we want to, no one can. Iraq, the people of Iraq in a evolutionary mindset are about 500 years behind us right now, and if we are ot careful that is just hopw long we are going to be there.

Jack, I doubt the Democrats could get them out as quickly as they would like for us to believe. If the United States remains stuck on stupid and elects John McCain, we may as well start mass production of God Bless Our Troops for the next 100 Years bumper stickers now.

Upper Marlboro, MD

Can anyone end the war in Iraq ? Yes, I can.
Put me in the WH for 1 week … I'll make 3 phone calls …
1 – Gen. Petreus , everybody home NOW
(we'll have the troop ships standing by off the coast of Kuwait )
2 – Tel Aviv … " You're on your own "
3 – Riyadh … " See ya"
Ok maybe a 4th – to Halliburton/ Blackwater et al to notify that the public money spigot is henceforth turned off immediately.
Upon completing what needs to be done , I'll gladly resign and the megolamanics can then return to jockeying for the hot seat by telling everybody they're going to do everything for us all. I could go on but that's enough for one week or even one day actually.

Jack,
If Obama or Clinton is elected, the only way to end this fiasco is to tell Maliki we're leaving in x number of months, whether the Iraqis have a government by then or not. if McBush is elected, it's a moot point, because we'll be staying forever. We can declare Iraq the 51st state if he gets elected.

All we need to do is instate a strong sectarian dictator who will bring stability to Iraq probably through strong arm tactics. Oh wait thats what we had before the invasion.

I lost a family member in Iraq in 2004..painful and horrible as that was–Bush told our troops before the war that there would be a real reason for going-not like the gulf of tonkin resolution BASED ON LIES and that David and the other fine military personnel would be given an exit strategy if asked to go. Petreous and crocker yesterday still don't have one-nobody does.

David did his duty when called and lived by the honor code, now why does't Bush and Cheny live by the promises they made to the men and women asked to serve over there? "A promise made is a debt unpaid" and I am ashamed to feel in my heart that my president and vp have no honor and David sacraficed for their lies.

It won't be easy, but Barak will do it.

Likely. To continue this 'war" is to signal that the will of the citizens of this country are ignored, and insignificant.

And for the past 8 years, that is exactly what has happened.

Government in this country is of the People, by the People and for the People.

Unless you work in the Bush Administration.

It really doesn't matter who's president. We, the American people, simply need to stop falling for the same old tired B.S. that the warmongers keep feeding us.

All we need to do is tell our congressmen that we're sick of the war, and they will stop funding it.

Remember VietNam, when the experts were afraid of the "domino effect"? Well, where has communism spread since then?

All we have to do is "Just Say No!"

I don't see any president getting us out within their first year. We have made a mess. Regardless of what you think about how we got into this, getting us out will be tricky. We have created a power vaccum just ripe for another strongman or rouge group. They might get together, Sunni, Shia, Kurd, but they have been fighting since Christ was a corporal, literally. My idea, it ain't popular but, dump another 50-100, 00 troops in, lock the country down and be the occupiers we are, then slowly hand over control. You can't build a country with all the violence. I oppossed this war from the start and still do. But it is the only way we can leave without a bloodbath when we do.

Jack,

As long as Big Oil, corporate globalization, and AIPAC dominate the interests of our Congress, there will be no end to the Iraq War. It is precisely because of these groups that we are in the war to begin with.

It is also why we will most likely get involved in Iran, as well.

The only people who can end the war are the Iraqi people themselves. At this time, they seem disinclined.

Either Democrat will start the process, but the troops certainly won't be home immediately. Even if we didn't care about what happened to Iraq it takes a lot of time just to move that much equipment and personnel while maintaining safety.

The big question will be if the Iraqi government has been so slow to move in spite or our presence, or because of it.

My best hope for getting troops out rests with Obama. Let's put it this way. The president that doesn't get them out need not campaign for a second term. We are going to get out in the end. Better now than later. It's up to Iraq. We did our job.

Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, yet these monster defense industries still dictate our foreign policy. Without war they don't make money. There's only one candidate who doesn't take money from these people, and that's Barack Obama. He had the guts to go against the war when he was running for the Senate, and he'll have the guts to get us out of Iraq, because the only people he owes anything to are the mothers and fathers of soldiers who will vote for him.

John McCain will end the war or put us on the right path. If end means no troops at all in Iraq, I don't see that from anyone. I believe that there will be American presence there for a long time, just like the US in post Nazi Germany. I really believe that McCain has be better understanding of the war than most people give him credit. Anyone that says McCain is another Bush just isn't thinking. We McCain said we would be in Iraq for 100 years, he didn't mean in the same manner we are in Iraq today. My concern with McCain is not the war, its the economy. He needs a good VP. Huckabee I hope!

A Democrat in the White House will greatly reduce our involvement in Iraq AND keep us from going into Iran, as McCain would have us do. This fear of havoc breaking out upon our troop withdrawal is WRONG. Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have already become bedfellows with Nouri al-Maliki and Iran will most assuredly move in to prop up the corrupt Maliki government and maintain the peace should we withdraw. In fact, it will probably be more stable when we bring our troops home as much of the armed aggression that now exists is BECAUSE we are there.

Here's an idea: pull out and leave the consequences to the Iraqis, which solves nothing for Iraq but stops the bleeding on our side. Then drag the Bush administration into international court following Nuremberg precedent to the letter. Same accusations: invasion, genocide, etc, etc. Same results: "pre-emptive war" doesn't stick, and "just following orders" doesn't either. Hang 'em high, apologize to Iraq and the world. Get on with life.

The only ones who can end this war is Al-Qaeda. They must realize that what they are doing is wrong, and it will be very soon before more people begin to turn against them as many Sunni militias have already. President Bush was wise to send in the additional troops to provide extra security, and I am confident he will take the same steps again if General Petraeus calls for it. If there is any end to the war in Iraq, it will not be an American president doing it.

Jack:
The Iraq solution is pretty easy. Since we have created a democracy there, we simply need a public vote among the iraqies, asking them should we stay or should we go. They will probably ask us to leave, and we can then do so with honor. If they surprise us and ask us to stay, then we have an opening to ask the U.N. and the world for help in "saving" the country.

Jack,

I believe the next president will remove the troops from Iraq, if he or she is a Democrat. My great fear now is that the military is so depleted that we are open to an attack from someplace completely unexpected.

I have a fair and easy plan to get our troops home: Give every adult Iraqi, man and woman, an M-16, 1000 rounds of ammunitions, a dozen hand grenades, and two weeks supply of water and canned food that our troops get. Then we just go home.

If they want to keep fighting among themselves and blow themselves up, it is none of our business. And they will be too occupied to cause us harm here. But I guarantee that once we are gone, and with every Iraqi armed, order will emerge fast.

Jack,

The terrible truth about the war in Iraq is that the cost and losses were under-estimated. The fact that the United States has a history of invading other countries, explicitly Vietnam, should temper our involvements now and in the future. Unfortunately history wasn't our greatest teacher. The sad fact is, there is no easy way of withdrawing from Iraq and no winning at this point. The turning point will be when we can maifest enough empathy for the brave people serving there to organize an orderly withdrawal.

John McCain never said he wanted to leave troops in harm's way for 100 years – we've had troops in Germany since the end of WW2, and I don't see any protests to bring them home.

Whether Hillary and all the others in Congress were right to give the president the green light to wage war – or whether Mr. Bush and his administration were right to invade Iraq – we are there and should take responsibility for what we've done. The only way to end the war responsibly is to do everything we can do and everything we should do to make sure that when we leave we are not inviting a more horrific reality than the Hussein regime we overthrew.

I think the only one I can count on to do that is John McCain.

Will a democrat end this war? Possibly, Democrats have a history of tragic mistakes and mis-characterization of events. From the mistaken beleif that any casualty in war makes the it a failure to the repeated nonsense of "Bush lied people died" mantra Liberals of all stripes have shown an unwillingness to honestly engage in this debate.

My belief is Obama has the best chance to end the war in the most reasonable fashion. Because remember we're looking for the most reasonable way out. And he is our best hope to get the return of Habeas Corpus.

Republicans aren't even going to try. I seriously believe they will next set their sights on invading Iran. At the very least, the Democrats will begin the process. With a democratic controlled house, and a democrat for president, we should be able to get those kids out before the next election.

This country wants and needs a democratic president this time around. Obama is the choice because he will make the necessary changes that are needed to get this turned around going in the right direction. What I don't understand is last year they said we need more troops because of the increase in violence, and now they are saying keep the troops there because the violence is down. This must be done politically instead of militarily.

The war will go on as long as young men and women are foolish enough to join the military out of a twisted notion of service to the country. When war mongers like McCain say we will stay in Iraq a hundred years, he is not kidding. Without new recruits the war will end fast. I see no problem with getting out now. If they kill each other off I say good ridance. The only good Moslem is a dead Moslem.

If a candidate is not simultaneously talking about withdrawing from Iraq and withdrawing from Korea, Germany, or any of our 700 bases around the world then their rhetoric is simply empty and hypocritical.

McCain and Ron Paul have both been honest in this regard; one saying that we will continue our empire building and the other wanting to return to our non-interventionist roots.

It just might happen if the new President calls on the likes of Joe Biden to broker a political solution among the Iraqi peoples. Senator Biden made the best and most specific suggestions, I've heard yet, at the Senate hearings yesterday and even provided facts to back them up. How wonderful it is after what you, Jack, so aptly called the 'Bush abomination', to hope that such intellectual thought might be encouraged and valued again in Washington!

Iran cannot be allowed to gain hegemony in the gulf. If it requires a hundred year commitment... then we must....
We face an enemy dedicated to our annihalation. They will not bargain or show mercy. Acting as if the threat is not real will only guarantee our defeat...which means our destruction.

100% likely that, other than McCain, we will get out of Iraq. A quote from Dick Cheney after everyone was mad because we didn't take Saddam Hussein in 1992, stated it was best we left Iraq because had we marched to Bagdad, there would never be a "way out". Cheney and Bush KNEW this was gonna happen before it did.

Bush and Cheney never planned for HOW to get out of Iraq nor tried to foresee what scenarios might happen.

It's time for Iraq to use its own money and begin to rebuild the country and take some kind of pride in themselves. We can't change a culture that's been around since Biblical times.

It was a war on terror, not a war against Iraq (except Bush tryiing to finish the job his dad left unfinished). Now it's a war on Iraq? Not a war on al-Quaida in Afghanistan?

My question to General Petraeus:

Are those former Sunni insurgents and ex-soldiers of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard fighting on our side because they have seen the light and now embrace the ideals of a free and democratic government akin to ours, or because we are paying them?

If they are doing it just for the money, then there’s no reason to trust them, to assume we have won them over, or to think that the Surge is working.

The only way out of the Iraq quagmire is to declare an honorable viictory to save face, and bring our troops home.

Carlos Navarro

JACK WE DID OUR WAR AGAINST THE BRITISH AND THE CIVIL WAR ALSO YES A LOT DIED BUT THEY NEED TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM LIKE WE DID LAST TIME I LOOKED BRITAIN WAS OUR BEST FRIEND NOT TO SURE ABOUT THE NORTH IM STILL THINKING ABOUT THEM YANKEES

Hopefully the American people will begin to get angry. Or maybe it will take a DRAFT.

Obama is the only major candidate that could be elected that will result in meaningful troop withdraws. The Iraqis will not stand on their own two feet while they have American troops there. During the American Revolution, the only way our Founding Fathers did what they did is because they were forced to stand on their own two feet, not have another national power, like France, stand over them and assure their safety. The government is coddling the Iraqis like overgrown babies. Time to let them stand or fail. Elect Obama and let's end this mess started by the most unpopular President in recent memory.

What crack are you somking. If a Dem. gets elected not a dam thing is going to change.

George Bush abomination? That's an understatement.

The next president can end the war as follows. First you park armor along the highway to the Bagdad airport and safely move all Americans within the airport perimeter. Then you send all but 30,000 personell home. You convert the airport to a huge aid station. You fly in tons of supplies and give it out to any Iraqi who want sit. The catch is, you get finger printed, photo'd, and no repeat customers to prevent black market sales. You give away everything for free...from PC's, to backhoes, MRI machines to generators..whatever it takes to help the people of IRAQ. This solves several problems. I keeps American GI's from getting killed and prevents us from getting a black eye as cut and runners. We can easily supply huge amounts of humanitarian aid with what we'll save in armaments. Lastly, we let the IRAQ's know that open warfare will not be tolerated. UAV's will be watching and observed fighting will result in airstrikes without prejudice and regardless of clan affiliation. We can be deadly without a single lost American. Regarding homeland security against terrorists..build a fence across Mexico and Canada 30 feet high and 3 layers deep. Have every 1 mile patrolled by one national guardsman. It can't be that hard..we did build the transcontinental railroad. Regarding our coastline...park the 100+ Aegis Cruisers and Destroyers we maintain along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

That's how you stop the war in IRAQ.

We'll be there until the oil runs out.

Jack, they can't end it. Unless they really meant it when they say we need to get out!, because there is no such thing as NO we can't..YES we could get out and let's see what happens, and we'll deal with it then.

Regardless of who becomes President, there is no way out of this mess created by W. and his cronies. It continues to amaze me that the average American doesn't realize this. We still have a few months left. Wouldn't it be nice if we could get on a fast track to impeachment, before it's too late? At least then Congress could accomplish one positive thing during this administration...Fat chance.

West Palm Beach, FL

McCain – absolutely not. It's more likely that we start yet another war with McCain as president.

Dems – The party took control in 2006 to to just that, and they haven't done anything. Of course the probability of ending the war is higher (just slightly)with a democrat president, but troops will remain......for a long, long time.

In fact, the only candidate still running that vows to end the war is Ron Paul. As much as I admire the man, he's obviously not going to win the republican endorsement and has said repeatedly that he will not go third party (wish he would). If you want an end to the war, Ron Paul is the only candidate that will make it happen.

Trying to impose a yankee doodle democracy in any Mideastern state is like taping a fish to bicycle. You can do it for a while but how well will it work and what will the attempt accomplish? There is a bloodbath going on now and it will continue until the next dictator wins and sets up shop. The only difference is whether our troops will continue to be caught in the middle and once in power, will he be our friend (on our payroll) or our enemy? Most likely he'll be working both ends from the middle, just as before.

that's why i voted for Ron Paul....pull out the troops EVERYWHERE and STOP getting in peoples business to prevent future wars. We funded the same people in the 80's we are fighting now. It's time for non-interventionism (note...not isolationism). We have 600,000 troops in 130 countries. We spend $1 trillion annually OVERSEAS to maintain this empire. BRING THEM HOME NOW.

I believe that if we withdraw the troops, the war will follow us home.
Think about it, there has NOT been an attack on home soil since the war started... This will change if we leave iraq.

Vote McCain.

The answer to the quesiton is-no- no one can end the war. It's been going on for hundreds of years.
Can someone stop the U'S' involvment? Yes.
Anyone with a big plane and a few ships to bring our troops and equipment home. Consider it just like moving a home or business.
Set a date, pack and leave. Just like we went in.

I agree with Obama in starting discussion with Iraq's neighbors. I think in starting a discussion we would be better able to leave Iraq. However I do not think that the U.S. will be able to pull out of Iraq regardless of who becomes the President. It's one thing to talk about it on the campaign trail, but when you're sitting in the hot seat and realize the regional and global implications of a preemptive withdraw I think reality will set in. The U.S. will be in Iraq for a long while in one form or another. I feel sorry for whoever wins the White House, because there is no win/win situation with Iraq.

I don't think it is likely or practical for any of the candidates to get all the troops out. In reality, that is the wrong question. The question should be how do we help Iraq become a safe and economically viable country so troops aren't necessary. There aren't any easy answers to that and it's very likely it is not possible in our lifetime. But, given the leadership failure of the last 50 years – to end our dependence on fossil fuels – we cannot just walk away because we are critically dependent on that region of the world.

They say there is no more dangerous animal on the face of the earth than a human being with nothing to lose. We see a lot of those types of human beings in Iraq. The key in changing Iraq is to get the money from the oil to the people. Radicals don't appeal to people with full stomachs and safe places to live – as Maslow correctly pointed out so many years ago.

We may not like this , but it may eb inevitable. The key to end this war and bring our troops back home safely and with honor is to mend our relationship with Iran. It is true that the current ruling powers in Iran may be detestable and are not worth building lasting relationship. But think of the larger picture and the demographics of Iran where a generaous majority population is young and (internally) pro-western. Building bridges with the younger Iranian population and winning their minds is the key. Get iran in place and with their help, get Iraq in shape. And then get our troops back with enough checks in place. This is is the way, we can have lasting prescence in middle east.

We are called immoral when we want to leave , while Iraq hoards its treasure and hides from the fight. Why dont we do SOMETHING for this country for a change and quit trying to be politicially correct. The world will hates us no less for staying.

Anyone but BUSH!

All that voted for Bush are responsible for this war. The blood is on your hands.

End the war! They will all be too afraid. No matter who ends the war, they know they won't be able to come out of it looking good. They will start to pull out troops in the third year of their first term so that it looks like they are doing something when they come up for re-election. That will be the real motivation – not saving lives or dollars and sense (that is not a typo).

We need to pull the troops out and let the congress take their place.

You have taken Sen. McCain's "100 years" quote out of context – just like Obama and Hil have done repeatedly – and when read in its proper context, he suggests nothing of the sort (by presence he meant along the same lines as we have now in Korea, Japan, etc). An immediate withdrawl from Iraq is not only careless, but ignores the real chance that WE WILL BE BACK but in a humanitarian mission when sectarian bloodshed turns the streets red. Or maybe we can ignore it liked we've done in Darfur? Regardless of whether you were "for" the war, "against" the war or "for it before you were against it" – the reality is we MUST stay a finish the job we started. If you listened at all to what Petraeus has said (it's obvious the Dems have not), "we have our teeth into the jugular, and we need to keep it there" – why would we allow Iraq to turn into the former Afghanistan – a breeding ground for terrorists? The cost of blood and treasure for this war has been high but why must the Anti crowd feel that this war MUST be a failure for the U.S. on all fronts???? Freedom is never free, afterall.

Well, you've got 2 pretty bad options.

1) you can leave Iraq, let it fall apart, and enjoy a re-energized wave of anti-Americanism flare up, terrorism and all.

2) you can 'stay the course' and hope Iraqis pick themselves up so that at some point they don't need US military assistance.

I hear the whole 'let the Iraqis fend for themselves' speech and that's all fine and dandy. But who'll get the blame when that country falls apart, who will everybody in the Middle East rally against, and how much will all that empower bib Laden et al? Timetables are nice, but to be brutally honest, the bloodshed of remain in Iraq pales to that which the US will face if it pulls out without stabilizing the country. Not that the instant-gratification society will accept that.

The huge number of dead and wounded servemen and women from America is made ten times as sad as they have all met their sad fate in a foriegn country's not so civil war. What makes it even worse is the fact that they were able and competent people, they would not have been allowed toserve or be recruited by the American military if they were not.
Just think of what the 4024 killed and 29,211 wounded have done had they never even been sent there, they certainly could have fixed a helluva lot of problems that America currently faces.
Frank in Sarasota.

Jack,

It is much more likely that the next president will withdraw the troops than that you or the rest of the Democrats will grow guts or a backbone. If we had this kind of whining in the US during World War II we would be speaking German right now. Sure the deaths are bad, but there was a whole lot more US deaths during WWII. I just hope all the bad countries of the world lose their backbones too or we will be speaking a different language before the century is done. I didn't agree with invading Iraq either, but we're there now, let's finish the job properly instead of pursuing the dumb-ass cut and run approach.

If Hillary doesn't win the nomination for the party, she will make sure that Obama is ambushed so he can't win the election. So, we will still end up with McCain and the war and then Hillary will run again in 2012 with her assurance she will get us out again. She knows that with this mess as it is, none will be able to get out in short fashion and Hillary needs a platform to run on in the future.

It is somewhat unlikely, but having a president who is determined to withdraw troops certainly beats one that is intent on keeping them there indefinitely. As Obama suggested, significant reduction in troop levels in Iraq might be possible if the US is willing to set the bar for "success in iraq" a little lower. Otherwise, the cost of this war could accelerate the demise of this [once] great nation.

The only way to win a war is to destroy your enemy. When we win we will pull out.

All of the candidates could end the war quickly. The real question is what is each candidate willing to live with after the US is gone. Are they willing to live with continued sectarian violence and perhaps genocide in Iraq as long as US troops aren't there? Are they willing to live with an Iran who is the regional power?

Those are the true questions.

Jack,

There is only one candidate who has promised to do it: Ron Paul. He is the only one who has the guts to do it. Forget about Hillary and Obama. They are part of the problem, along with McCain. If you want this to end then you need to vote Ron Paul!

Sadly, about as likely as them doing anything productive towards ending the "war of attrition" that regular AMERICANS are facing, due to this economical, financial, political mess that has gone unchecked (from both "sides") for far too long. Wake up people, for it is "A Brave New World" here in "1984". Maybe when they finish tearing this country apart, they'll build it back, like my tax dollars are doing in Iraq.

I don't believe any candidate should promise a complete withdrawl from Iraq, and no candidate can deliver that anytime in the near future.

And again, the media misquoted McCain...he was talking about US influence in Iraq, not a full surge of troops like we have now. We are still in Japan and Germany for goodness sakes, and it will (even if Barack or Hillary become president) be the same in Iraq because of Al Qaeda's threat of having camps there.

I think talking to Iran and other nations of the like is a bad idea...we didn't talk or listen to the communists during the Olympics in Germany, and we shouldn't listen to them now. Change is good, but what we need is the RIGHT kind of change!

Let's be serious here Jack. None of the candidates will pull troops from Iraq. Clinton and Obama are saying they will because they want your vote. But truth be told, neither of these two has any military experience whatsoever and will most certainly be relying on the experts to dictate when, how many, and who is brought home. If they don't listen to the experts then the result of their decision is on their head. If we pull all our troops out and the country simply implodes with widespread violence, genocide, and the like, then the candidate that pulled the troops will be fully responsible. You cannot blame that on Bush even though he started the war, because he wouldn't have pulled the troops causing the chaos. It seems to be some candidates change their tune as the wind blows, or the polls in this case. We all want the war over but not at the cost of losing the war and creating an environment for the Iraqi's that is worse than Hussein days.

I agree with courtney. im in the military and served one tour there. im all for the dems for president this round, but in reality we cannot leave that quagmire. seeing it first hand, the instant we reduce numbers (as we have been recently) or leave altogether, fighting breaks out. its easy to say, "let them handle their own affairs so we can leave," but that isnt gonna happen.

The likely scenario of any Democrat as President is as follows:

1) Meets with the Chief of Staff week one after he/she takes office
2) Week two he/she holds a press conference and states: The situation the Republicans created and supported is worse than I thought and it is not in our best interests to leave.
3) Week three he/she holds a press conference and states: In order to win the peace in Iraq we will need to increase troop levels to 300,000 like John McCain had originally stated when we first entered into this mess.

....hate to say it....but I would bet on it......

Yes, Jack, anyone can end the war; it will be personal and political suicide and will take great courage – something none of the candidates or anyone else for that matter seems to have. The war is a NO WIN situation – remember The Crusades – it is not a war for the democratization of Iraq or the Middle East; it is a war against fundamentalist Islam and the West – period. Nuances be damned.

No matter when we pull and we will eventually pull out – hopefully before we destroy ourselves – the region will collapse into chaos and then sort itself out – Stone Age style.

So we have two very clear choices – bomb the entire region into oblivion or pack up and go home. Nothing in the middle works.

Judi Shade
Hilton Head Island SC

You know what? I have read a lot of people here bashing Bush and our elected officials for getting US into this war. Well, my question is, how many of US WANTED this war? I for one, did not. The American people are to blame too– and please do not tell me that you were mislead because I saw through what Bush was doing from moment one. I saw that he was rushing too quickly, not letting the UN inspectors finish their job (I KNEW there would be no "weapons of mass destruction"). I knew he just wanted an excuse and that the so-called link to 9/11 didn't exist. How many of us stopped to think before we rushed in to kill innocent men, women and children and to put the lives of our servicemen at risk for nothing but to mitigate a Holy War? I would like to think the next time War becomes hip, we will think more carefully, we will think more solidly, but I fear we will make the same mistake. I am voting Hillary, not because I believe she will withdraw right away as she promises, but because I believe she represents our best hope, and has made the strongest promise. We need to get out as soon as possible before we exacerbate things even further.
Lydia, Austin, Texas

Jack:

There are two easy ways to end the war quickly with nearly unanimous support from the citizenry. Either:

1) Reinstitute the draft with NO deferments. Once everyone's kids (male or female, rich or poor) have a chance to go into that hellhole you will find about 50 people in the U.S. who don't want us out ASAP.

OR

2) Make it pay-as-you go. Want $120 Billion to finance the war for the next 6 months? – then raise taxes by $120 Billion. After every American family gets their "War Tax Bill" of $2000 per household (in addition to the taxes everyone pays now) there will be VERY few people who think this quagmire is a good idea. Don't forget you owe another two grand in six months for the second half of the year!

Support the troops and BRING THEM HOME – NOW!

We need to mind our own business and not try to run the world. We have enough problems in our own backyard. I don't think you can be of help or service to anyone if you can't manage your own affairs. It is time the Iraqi people run their country...good or bad. Remember the American Civil War? Let them work it out! The US has offered freedom and it is up to them to decide what THEIR country is about. I think we need to leave. Every American soldier needs to leave because to leave some there is not fair, as they will get caught in the middle as the Iraqi's decide how to run the country.

The Dems will get us out, but as result, we will end up back in very soon. McCain will keep us there in the short/medium term to finish the job and move to a peacekeeping force much like Korea, Japan or Germany. So while I don't like the war, I think McCain is the better choice, he will do the right thing for the right reason, not for a political quick score.

We have to take the training wheels off now, or the Iraqi people will never take control of their destiny. Worst case, the country splits into three regions Sunni ,Shia and Kurd, but it will be their choice.

Remove the politics, not the troops. We owe our continued presence and support to the Iraqi people, our son and daughter soldiers who sacrificed their lives, and to all of our fellow democracies throughout the world.

Getting out of this one isn't going to be nearly as easy as it was getting into it. It takes practical people to realize this, hence the need to remove the politicians from the discussion.

New York, NY

There's a lot of discussion about the moral obligation of America to stick it out in Iraq since we helped create this mess after the 2003 invasion. I agree we should help Iraq not descend into civil war, but for all the people who say "we have to stay", it's time to start sharing the burden. Up to now, your military men and women have been the one's who have paid the price. If the citizens of America want to stay in Iraq to see the job through, it's time to vastly increase personnel and funding for your armed forces - they can't keep this up for a whole lot longer without a true commitment from the nation. Would people feel differently if their family members were facing a draft? I think so.

Not at all likely. This insane war was a mistake from day one and no one is willing to just admit that there is no victory available. The results will be the same is we leave tomorrow or stay for 50 years. The Iraqi people will have to decide their own fate and face their own problems eventually but Bush and his thugs have everyone convinced that we created the problem and we have to fix it. We can't fix it and it is not worth another American life to try.

As soon as we pull our troops out of South Korea. We are now past 50 years and that was a more unpopular United Nations Policing Action where we lost a lot more Americans then this United Nations Policing Action.

Well, it's so easy to do politics from CNN office and make millions of dollars too....you all funny people there, the solution? Bring Kira back from Iraq and sent Mr. Jack.....let's see how is not just talk , be brave Jack and Good luck, or maybe retire soon, with 6 pack of Bud!!!

McCain ...NOT! Clinton...Maybe! Obama... Eventually!

Whether we leave tomorrow or in 10 years we all know the result will be the same; death and total chaos. Therefore let's leave tomorrow and save ourselves the next ten years of expanding pain. George Bush has certainly left the next president and the American people with one hall of a disaster that was all his creation!

I believe the next President, Democrat or Republican, will not pull all troops out of Iraq. This war was started to stabilize access to Iraq's natural resources and to create and extend military bases in the region. This is classic neocolonialism or rather neo-imperialism, given the occupation.

Maybe all the cadidates would wind up at the same place anyway but better to elect a president whose going-in position is to look for ways to get out of Iraq than one who enters office with the notion that we may never leave.

More than two thirds of Americans believe the Iraq War was a mistake and the war needs to end.

But 98 percent of these people, including their representatives in congress do nothing to stop the war. They do not want to talk about the war, talk to their kids about the war, protest, demonstrate, call or write congress or get involved with groups who are active in ending the war.

This failure of people to act on their beliefs has resulted in open ended continuation of this war. Even Obama and Clinton do not have specific plans to end the war. They just say we need to end it responsibly.

So while Americans and congress procrastinate our military continue to pay a huge price.

Perhaps now that the economy is bad and the total price tag for this war is expected to be around 3 trillion dollars and is affecting pocketbooks, Americans will start doing something to end this terrible war.

Harold Trainer,USAF RET

I believe that we should have never ever set foot in Iraq and have been against the Iraq conflict from the beginning. However, I do understand the complexity of the situation, and believe in adding a time line to the end goal is not unreasonable. I believe that we have accomplished our mission and so too did the British. Which is why they are almost all but out of Iraq. To put a time line is not "cut and run" tactic as McCain and the neocons would put it, but an ultimatum to the Iraq government to get their affairs and order or be subject to their incompetence. Iraq will take care of itself in the end. The Shiite government will prevail and like it or not, because of the Shiite ties to Iran, Iran will end up playing a big role in Iraq. The war on terror is not linked to one central spot in the Mid-East contrary what neocons say. Philippines, Algeria, Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chad, and Yemen are a few amongst many countries with connections to the war on terror. The sooner we get out of Iraq the quicker we can devote are reasources to the over all global war on terror. Did anyone notice how warm and cordial Prime Minister Maliki was to the Iranian President Ahmadinejad? Maliki told the AP that Iran will have a big part in the over all rebuilding process of Iraq. It is time the US should start coming up with a time line.

The one person who has actually served in a time of war, was wounded, volunteered to continue to fight, was wounded again, captured, and subseuquently tortured and imprisoned, is also the same man who knows the horror of war, the torture prisoners may face, the death of friends, and the need to conclude war as fast as possible. This person is JOHN MC CAIN. The same man who has fought his own party, worked with independants and democrats on many issues for what is right, not for what is politically correct. Whether you like it or not he is the one with the guts to finish the job and get our fighting men and woment home. He is the only one who has experienced what a war being fought with failed policies will get you ...........

SAD to say McCAIN, Obama and Billary answer to Lobbyists and Big Money and all the symbolic campaign issues just rip US apart so foreigners can tell US where to send our troops.

For any one out there that believes their is one person that without draw us out of Iraq or turn the war around into a sustainable demoncracy is out of touch. If we do not bring Iran to the table or the battlefield the vacuum in the middleeast will continue grow and to draw our military into the Jihad abyss. We need to start dealing with the head of the snake and not the rattlers.

If you want us to stay in Iraq, get into Iran and make the U.S. military into a second-rate power, than vote Republican. From the moment I heard the "Axis of Evil" speech from this intelliectually lazy incompetent president I feared another Vietnam. I never thought we would let that happen again. I served in Vietnam during a period Nixon dubbed as "Vietnamization" which was supposed to gradually hand over the fighting and military equipment to the South Vietnamese. Instead, what resulted was military parts being sold on the black market, desertion of Vietnamese military, refusal to fight and South Vietnamese citizens attacking our military in the streets of Saigon and other cities. I saw the aftermath of a U.S. Navy vehicle firebombed outside the U.S. Navy headquarters in Saigon. A sailor in that vehicle was burned to death. The Vietnamese people just wanted to end decades of other countries trying to dictate their lives. All you have to do is find a couple of speeches by another presidential incompetent by the name of Nixon regarding Vietnam and substitute Iraq for Vietnam and you've got the same image.

Jack, why are you so presumptive to think that you know what military leaders and Bush's round table strategies are? Frankly, you seem smarter. You can talk about this issue until you turn green and you will still be using the "facts" we are all fed by all of you. Do you honestly believe you report the NEWS? You, like all of CNN report what you are fed. The American people aren't stupid, maybe you are by asking these rhetorical questions for entertainment. We all know no one is going to end this war anytime in the next two years or more. Get a life.

By the way, I see there is a link to Oprah.com on this site. No wonder you are all Hillary bashers. You have no objectivity and no conscience.
Cecilia

None of these candidates will be able to bring the troops home, I don't believe any of them. Once the Iraqi people grow some balls and help themselves things will change.

Jonathan
Fort Mill, SC

There is only one solution and all politicians know what it is.
As long as Iran has the attitude it has towards Israel (death and destruction), the war will go on. It has nothing to do with iraq or oil or all the other things politicians would like us to believe in.
Seriously folks, think about it for a minute or two and if you have any intelligence at all, you will arrive at the same conclusion.
You could ask Israel to move...then everything will be just fine, maybe.

Does anyone out there have positive solution? We'd all love to hear about it!

Thank you President Bush for our present day Vietnam War. How soon we forget. My father has always taught me, "Never forget, if you do you will soon relive." We are now reliving the Vietnam War.

How to get out;

Elect a president who can say no, enough is enough – cut our losses and get out ASAP. We can not win this war especially when a population is not democratic nor do they ever want to be. We are blinded by the thought that we think the world is to be policed by the U.S. It is not our responsibility to police the world, last I remember, that’s the job of the U.N.

Going forward, Oil is why we are in this mess and will always be in this mess. Cut off the head of the infidel – big oil is the infidel. Go green then no need to be in the Middle East. Out of the Middle East means no more planes going into our buildings.

If the next president is a Democrat, then that person will get the troops out. If the Republican nominee gets the presidency, no chance in h*ll will the troops get out.
Vote Democrat!!

The Iraqis the only people could end this stupid war, by set and talk to each other, or will come another Saddam to control those people, at least in Saddam's time no party can kill other party over anything now everybody wants to kill and kill with no mercy.
No matter how long we will stay in Iraq we can't stop somebody from killing anyone or BOMB him or her self.
And now there are so many Saddams in Iraq, every party leader now is Saddam
So we freed Iraq from one Saddam and we create as many as the Iraqis Parliament.

Sameer
From NJ

Jack
Let me ask you this, if you are in a wrong free way and running out
of gas what will you do.?.For me the answer is simple, i will take
the first exit, get a gas and make a u turn.In Irag, we are fighting the
wrong war, running out of money and need to get out right away.

McCain sure isn't the answer. Believing he is EVEN in touch enough with any of the foreign policy intricacies necessary in reestablishing at least a modicum of sanity in the Mid-east is fool's folly. McCain's massive flip-flops and Busheep-like demeanor simply will get more of our brave troops (and 10's of thousands more innocents) killed, maimed or dysfunctional.

Hillary is out, whether she would have been capable or not.

Obama, who overwhelmingly seems the "far bigger picture" thinking candidate, will likely surround himself with foreign policy advisors "royale" . . . whether they be Democrat or (if there are any left) a credible Republican or two.

Between Wes Clark and Jim Webb, I am confident of a fresh attempt at lucidity where the DOD/Pentagon is concerned . . . and with the mediating abilities of people like Bill Richardson (as Secretary of State), etc., I feel "hope and rationality" will trump the dangerous idiocy we've had to endure from the neo-cons and their representative carpetbagging profiteers.

Lets call the Iraq war for what it is, a mistake and get out. Why perpetuate it? Lets not continue to harm either country. As good as it might be to serve our country at war why continue to send group after group of young recruits to war when what awaits them when they return is another tour, injury or poor job prospects. Eventually this scenario will happen since the military will eventually run out of career soldiers to do the job and this conflict has a poor prospect of ending successfully.

Mike
Alexandria, VA

The next president will give us exactly what we deserve. Should we elect McCain, more of the same. Should we elect Clinton, similar but with left-handed cronyism. Should we elect Obama, we may have a chance to survive. Anyone thinking otherwise is either deluded or paid to think that way.

I am a military spouse. Nothing can compare to hugging you loved one knowing that he may or may not come home alive. It gets harder to live with every day/every deployment. Then 15 months later he comes home completely changed.... No one cares about Soldiers or what happens to them when they come home. It's the families who scrafice everything and not one goverment official seems to care yet....
The Army is a very money hungry orgainzation. They put prices on peoples lives.
Deployments are to often and have taken their toll on everyone involved.

There is no chance of us getting out any time soon regradless of who becomes President. The Oil, The MONEY, the Politics far outweight the value of a life...
If we pull out now and do not finish the job then I expect the President to go to every loved's one home who lost someone in Iraq and explain to them why their loved one died in vain!!!

I fear only a Democratic President will withdraw us from this quagmire. Whether in 4 months or 4 years, we must disengage. As a veteran of the Viet Nam era, I would hope the last pictures are not of a helicopter flooded with desperate end-of-the-liners clamoring to get aboard. But if left to this administration, or its R-form John McCain as apologist for the most inept and morally bankrupt administration since Warren Harding's, I fear that might be the case.

Seriously,
How does a person who voted for the war and to this date repeatedly has refused to appologize for it even begin to make the argument that she is more trust worthy when it comes to ending it than a man who opposed the war back when you were unpatriotic if you were not willing to send American soldiers out to die?

How can the most powerful Military in the world devote a huge portion of its military fighting a bunch of Al Qaeda followers in iraq while ignoring the caveman puppet master hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

America, Barack Obama is your man. You are bogged down fighting a bunch of puppets in iraq who only seem to rise up from the dead when you should be setting your sites on the puppet master himself.
Caveman Bin laden, the man Obama has promised to strike down

No one can end the Iraq (civil) war. But we don't have to participate in it, and we shouldn't. Not at $8 billion a month and still counting.

The last best chance to withdraw would have been for the Kerry campaign in 2004 to inform NATO and the UN that, if elected, he would have immediately and unilaterally withdrawn US forces. Of course he did not have the courage to run such a campaign, and now Iraq is more literally a quagmire than Vietnam ever was. Possibly the only solution at this point that will allow us to withdraw and might not throw the entire region into disarray, would be to partition Iraq into 3 new states, one for Kurds, ones for Sunnis, one for Shiites.

If the type of people we are dealing with will cause tribal wars that will end in genocide if we leave, then we should clearly leave. How many Muslim fanatics would be killed off? The more the better!
Simon Eaton
Isle of Palms, SC

I think Obama (and probably Clinton as well) will do his best to get us out, but it won't be easy. I'm hopeful that he will have the diplomatic skill to enlist the help of ALL neighboring countries in encouraging stability in Iraq. He does seem to be an effective communicator and more willing to make necessary compromises than either of the other two candidates (which I believe has been a huge stumbling block for the Bush Administration in their efforts to garner more support from the region and from our allies).

Once we make it clear we are leaving, most everyone (including Iraq) will have a greater sense of urgency to find a workable solution. We've haven't tried the 'leaving' option, so I don't think we truly know if the outcome will be as dire as the predictions (though it is unlikely things will be rosie for a long time to come).

Hi Jack

Having lost a family member marine in Iraq in 2004, doing his duty when called upon, I feel this president owes families of the lost, the wounded, and the serving a "doable exit strategy" that he promised the troops before sending them in "over there" .

As much as I respect our forces and the long job they have been asked to undertake, I still feel that this question should have been answered before the call to war. I watched the procedings yesterday with deep dismay that five years later, general Petraous still hasn't defined a doable exit strategy as once promised our sons and daughters. Neither have I seen anybody articulate what and when that might be.

I am now an independent after 40 years and will vote for who I feel will get our sons and daughters home the quickest and without excuses.

We've been in Korea, Germany and Japan for 60+ years, let not forget that.

Democrats seem to forget they haven't gotten us out of Iraq up to this point with a democratic controlled congress, so why would it change now? Why hasn't Nancy done it up to this point?

It would be nice if the common people ran this country, if only we could vote on people who would do as we want them to. Maybe that's why their approval rating is 10 points worse than the presidents.

Jack,

Neither Republican or Democrat are going to be able to withdraw troops anytime soon. Hillary and Obama have both promised to withdraw troops almost immediately after taking office, so if they do not keep those promises, they have deceived the American people, just like Pres. Bush did when he started the war. McCain is for the war, but wants to see a situation where troops can come home or be redeployed to Afghanistan, but that situation is at least 2 years away. It will take someone other than a Republican or Democrat to actually start withdrawing troops immediately.

Democrats will have the ability to end the war easily. Institute a War Tax and Draft (No college deferrment!). When the country club wing of the Republican Party has to actually pay for their war and frat boys have to go into combat (unlike our president) the war will end . Thats the only way out of Iraq anytime soon.

By the time Obama has been president for a year, you people won't even care about Iraq.

It's funny to watch the lemmings go full circle in this twisted logic of the democrat party.

While they claimed Saddam was the worst threat to U.S. security all through the Clinton 'administration', then, when Bush did something about it, all they do is complain, now, once Obama has been ushered into the presidency by the media, you all will be supporting this war again.

Lemmings.

Anyone can end this war, but why should they? There's so much money being made on this war, it's just like Vietnam. All the big boys are getting fat. When they get enough in their pockets, maybe they'll end it then.

As long as Blackwater, and their ilk, stay there; "we" can leave. But, imagine the damage that Cheney, and the rest of the neo-con slime, could have done with thugs like Blackwater working in the US. We might not have ANY part of the constitution left. I was originally against the war, but I’ve changed my mind. The only way we know where our mercenary thugs are, is when they've got someplace ELSE to be.

The Iraqis are the unfortunate recipients of the modern day cowboys. But, just like in wild west times, it’s better that the cowboys are “there” and not “here”.

We can't leave, and yet we must, and before this decade is over. Obama might be our best hope for engaging the Middle East countries and others in helping to develop a solution.

Our country is headed for financial disaster. This entire war has been/is funded by credit and it is our children and children's children who will be paying for it. I don't think it is a matter of which party will get is out but more of .......can this country anymore afford the sacrifice of both money and blood that it's costed us already......4024 brave americans/$1.3 trillion and counting. Just miniutes ago while watching the "progress being made" on the House Floor, I learned of another one of my USAF EOD brothers killed in action in Iraq today. It makes me sick to my stomach the loss this country has taken by the military and the families of those military members. And for what? For a country of people in Iraq who don't wish or want our kind of freedom....Five years and counting is quite enought time.....our soilders, airman, marines and sailors get less then a year in most career fields to learn a skill and fight in Iraq for the typical Iraqi's freedom and these people can't get it right in five years.....unbelievable...........

Steven L Hallenbeck
North Pole, Alaska

This one would haunt Clinton if she got in. She's telling the American people what they want to hear, but its not plausable. If she gets the nomination she's soften her stand on it.

I think its laughable how both Democrats and the media use McCain's 100 year quote. WWII ended 60+ years ago and we still have American troops there. Hopefully Obama and Clinton can end that war when they get elected too, lol.

Ya! The people of the U.S. and the turnout of voters is showing that. When Bush entered as President the Dem turnout of voters was low. Now it is of record high perportions. The people of the U.S. are not going to let another President tie our hands and run the country on his own.

Jack- Mc Cain said we will be there for a 100 years and I believe him! Bush and Cheney have put us into the quicksand so deep, it is hard to do anything there. As we saw yesterday, the two top US "leaders" in Iraq have no idea either. Its going to take a strong President to force the way forward- the way forward includes the Iraqi's paying for all of this occupying force and the rebuilding of their own country. While this war is literally killing our brave soldeiers- men and women- it is also bankrupting this country and allowing the real terror to proceed unimpeded in Afganistan- And someone should also remind George Bush that the Iraq people dont really have freedom now- Bush would not call it freedom if he had to live like that everyday!

Go Hillary!!!!!!!

Marie
Philadelphia, PA

The Bush administration has created single largest blunder in the history or this country. There was no credible reason for going to Iraq in the first place. Sooner or later a difficult decision will have to be made. Either we stay and fight an elusive and endless number of resistance fighters, with an endless source of funding from the American tax payer, or we leave and cut our losses, knowing full well that Iraq will fall into a state far worse that it was under the rule of its previous leader. There is no good way out of this situation. John McCain is diehard war monger and will never give up. Clinton or Obama must ultimately chose to get out, leave a huge mess and admit that the United States can no longer play the role of the world's biggest bully.

Dear Jack,

There is one alternative. Ask your President what he intends to do. He may change his mind if the both houses were to stop funding the War..Even Republicans may agree not to support Pres Bush, so close to National Elections. Have you noticed that even Sen. McCain has soften his position this week?

Jack, I enjoy reading your comments. Have a good day

Any democrat can end the war. Just pull the troops out and let Iraq take care of their own business. If Saddam hadn't tried to get Bush Sr killed, Bush Jr would have never started the war in the first place. Iraq could repay us with free oil for all we have spent in their country, too.

McCain can't carry all the conservatives if he campaigns on ending the war. But he must realize that whoever comes into office will have to end it, if for no other reason than to reverse economic disaster. Perhaps McCain will end it the way Nixon ended Vietnam. It wasn't pretty. But he ended it.

Yes Jack. The only ones who can end this war is the AMERICAN PEOPLE! If we, in particular Democrats; would write to our congressmen/woman, Senators in the same numbers at which we are voting in the Primaries then they will have to sit up and listen. If we tell them that we are no longer satisfied with the results and answers we are getting ; and that their jobs are at stake....believe you me , this war would end so fast that even your head would spin!

What would happen if we took one third of our military presence in Iraq and sent them to Afganistan and Pakistan to fight Al quida like we should be doing? Would the Al quida in Iraq follow them and make Iraq a better, safer, and more managable place? If we did that, wouldn't that cut the Iraq based Al quida off from supplies? Wouldn't that make more sense?

Yes, if that someone has a back one, which no one in Congress seems to have. Grand Rapids, MI

Barack is in favor of asking Iran to "help in the stability" of Iraq.
Iran is a long time enemy of Iraq, to wit, the war with Hussein's Iraq that we supported. Productive meetings with Iran is pollyannish
at best.
Syria is controlled by an anti USA leadership. Lebanon is full of disenfranchised Palestinians that are desperate for any help or recognition. Terrorist elements are helping these thousands of anti Israeli Arabs.
The Saudis are stradling the fence and jump to either side depending on their overwhelming need to protect their dominance in oil production.
Turkey is our sometimes friend depending on how we view and treat the Kurds.
My answer: Begin to withdraw our troops from Bagdad and all other areas of Iraq except Iraq's oil field production areas that we must protect to try and salvage some of the tremendous economic losses we have suffered.

I believe Senator Clinton (the next U.S. President) will do exactly as she says. It could be just that simple.

With the Iraq discussion front and center with yesterday's testimony, and the bitter Democratic/Republican difference of opinion, I would ask one question of the current AND future administration.

What constitutes a win in Iraq? The Republicans all seem to be saying we have to stay, or else we lose.... But they give no clear view of what would be a win.

It seems as if there is not only no strategy, but there is no goal of our troops being in Iraq.

Without a goal, we will never achieve objectives. We will, however, drive the US economy further and further into debt, until we are perhaps bankrupt.

How about this crazy idea...

Offer everone left in the country the opportunity to leave. Book every cruise ship in the world and take everyone that wants out, out. Go on a cruise for a month, then settle people in another part of the world. Canada (where I am, has lots of room) as does the US. I bet it would be cheaper.

Then, tell everyone that decides to stay, that we will be bakc in 5 years, the rest of the world will not be sending in anything. No food, no medicine, no weapons. Have fun!

Then in 5 years lets see who is left.

USA goes to war every few years for this reason and that. If it's not the commies, it's another evil doer, and a fresh, new generation bleeds away on foreign soil for the same, tired cliches. Pulling out of Iraq is not going to solve this nation's propensity for bullying, mass murdering and imperialism.

After all, Hussein didn't genocide over 12 million native Americans, twice as many as that evil-doer Hitler.

Yes. If a democrat is elected. The only problem that if Obama is elected President, his plan ensures the death of tens of thousands of soldiers - immediate pull out. Clinton's plan is to pull troops out little by little and when it is safe.

Obama can end the war in Iraq, not only because he wants to but because he proposes a well rounded foreign policy that also includes coming down from the United States's self-appointed throne and actually getting down to business with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, which would not benefit from a failed state close to them.

Obama will draw out slowly and over an 18 month period. He talks more about troops in Afganistan, since that is where we should have been to begin with.

Jack, there's only one way to get out of Iraq. Impeach Bush and Cheney. Bush has failed to uphold the oath of office and Cheney is nothing more than a war profiteer. As Americans we have a responsibility to say this is unacceptable behavior from our "leaders". i don't know why it hasn;t happened yet. Is there a spine in Washington D.C. ? Just one.....

Any one who has served in Iraq knows you can't just pull out. Just like all those directly effected by our health care crisis, can tell you we won't be going to any universal health care system any time soon.

Jack we could end it tomorrow, even Malaki said we can leave, but it won't happen until we have a new President, and it wont be McCain.
Obama will withdraw the troops, either that or Congress needs to re-instate the draft it will end in a heart beat if a good many of these blow bag politicians new their kids would be sent!
Sue-Idaho

Jack, only the American People can end the war in Iraq, by engaging in the problem and insisting that our government take resposibility for the mess it's created. It's time for us to stand up to the corruption and ineptitude of the administration, so that our troops can stand down and come home.

Why do we all talk about us voluntarily leaving Iraq? We are being kicked out of Iraq. The final scene will be: people hanging to choppers over the multi-million US embasy in Baghdad. Looks familiar?
Seb
Rochester, NY

Hillary Clinton will probably be the most likely to pull the troops out but not immediately. In a election campaign we have become to accept that not all the promises will be kept, and even though both of promised to bring them home they have neither said aloud just the specific day they will start brining them home. I actually think President Bush will start bringing them home before he gets out of office just to beat everybody to the punch. Then the next Preident will have the problem of cleaning up the mess this will create.

Clinton and Obama are both just telling the majority of Americans what they want to hear. The war is unpopular so naturally they say they are going to bring home troops quickly. They can talk all they want, but there is no reason to have any faith that troops are coming home any time soon. Why can't these candidates simply tell the truth, that it is going to be difficult to get out of Iraq rather than giving the American people a false sense of HOPE.

After the hearing meeting we are left to believe that there is no end in sight. Then Bush adresses the nation to basically confirm what Gen. Petraeus said in that hearing. In all of this I can't help but feel sorry for the troops and the Iraqui people. This administation has sent our kids out as (Lambs amongst the Wolves for the slaughtering).

I did in fact enjoy Sen. Obama's adressing of the issue. While Sen. Clinton and McCain were busy giving speeches for the occasion, (something they say Barack is more known for), Sen. Obama was very engaging on the issue at hand. It seem as if he had done his homework. A greatly needed quality. If anyone can stand up to Petraeus it will be Sen. Obama.

What did Collin Powell say: "you breack it you own it."
Dear Americans, that is the honest answer for Irak, from a honest man.
I wish he was running for president.
The candidates do not have the guts to tell the americna people that this is what has to be done.

You broke it, now you have to fix it.
You can use the oil to pay your bills, that was the idea in the first place. Remember Dick Cheney and friends said so.

You have to be responsible. You invaded Irak, Irak did not invade you.

Jack my son is there on his second tour, he works with the Iraqi Army and out among the people. He would ask you when do you want the blood bath? Now? or in ten years as they will have one as they will not share power. So I guess it is how many lives do we loose until they have their blood bath?

I believe it's very likely that Obama can pull the troops out of Iraq.Because even though Hillary says she can do it, I don't believe a woman is strong enough to dig us out the pitch black hole that Bush has us in! I would love to have a woman president but not right now its a little too early.

Atlanta,Georgia

I support Hillary, but as far as war is concerned
none of the three can end it, in the near future.

Obama never VOTED against the war.
So, he will find an excuse to stay.

The next president will play the same games the current one plays. He'll drag his feet, make comforting noises and such, but we'll be there for years to come. The reality on the ground dictates our policy, Maliki and the Green Zone People are useless so Petraeus cuddles up to Sunni warlords. The Americans simply can't stop meddling. They can't stop meddling in our lives, why should they stop meddling with Iraq?

The British managed to do it. They eventually realized that they couldn't afford to stay their forever and neither can we.

Obama's diplomatic approach is the only approach that can work. We will get out eventually. How many more lives are to be sacrificed needlessly before we reach that point?

Jack, if a Democrat wins the election in fall 08, you can assume that one of the major reasons is the Bush Iraq War and the will of the voters to end Bush's insanity! Yes, it will be difficult and messy, but so will staying for McCain's 100 years! The "future" in Iraq is to recognize that American (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, and Feith) incompetence created a war without end, the destruction of Iraq as a unified nation and the establishment of the regional supremacy of Iran. It is also not a question of stated “abandoning Iraq to our enemies” for the Bush Iraq War established Iranian influence in Iraq when the first bomb was dropped. Bush’s invasion of Iraq did what Iran could never have done on its own! Lynchburg, VA.

I think it will depend completely upon what happens from now up until January 20th. The more Iraq improves in that time, the more pressure there will be to stay there longer–and the harder it will be for either of the Democrats to remove the troops. If Iraq takes a downturn once again, no problem: the Iraq War comes to an end... Then again, Mccain would probably just ignore that tiny fact and continue along with the "mission" anyway.

Sadly not likely. The Repugs will keep us there until you know what Freezes over. The Spineless Dim's on the other hand, will allow the Repug's to talk them out of the right thing, getting out. So it's left to the American people. We must make it clear that the penalty for not getting out, is greater than caving. If that means getting rid of a Democratic president in 2012, then so be it.

Jack,

Hillary or Barack could end the war by getting the Saudi's to finance the Sunni's. This would counter the Iran problem. The Saudi's owe us big for the first Bush's gulf war that saved their country from Saddam. Let them give the Sunni's guns and ammo and let them duke it out, it's going to happen anyway. Dan Christian, Tamaqua, Pa.

Nixon had little trouble ending the Vietnam war and little credit is given to Nixon for doing so or for bringing China out from behind the Bamboo Curtain. Many talk of the genocide that followed Vietnam but it was Mao Zedong that killed more Chinese people, including having them fight us in Vietnam,than the Japanese did in WW2. Still, Nixon had little trouble meeting with Mao and formulating relations. This president cannot even talk to our neighbor 90 miles off our coast to achieve normal relations. I guess we need another Nixon with the guts enough to say enough is enough!

Jack,

First off, why does anyone give Bush any credibility? He has a history of not understanding where we are in "progress" in Iraq, so when he says somebody else's proposal is "wrong," that is a JOKE.

We have to leave Iraq to protect our vital interests as a nation. The neocons see Iraq as a separate issue, but it is only one of the many competing priorities of our great country. We cannot afford the $12 billion a month (to say nothing of the deaths of more of our military). We need to rebuild our depleted military, shore up our economy and our aging infrastructure, and regain respect in the world.

Those who see Iraq as a stand-alone issue are doomed to say we stay. Looking at the larger picture, we know we cannot.

i thought cnn was a natural news network but when i hear you talk about our president you call him by his first name i didn`t know you where so close to him so respect the office he hold`s and call him President Bush. thank you

McCain's only paridym is war and a military viewpoint. He will not bring our troops home, and he has stated that he feels that the U.S. could have troops in Iraq for up to 100 years. That may work in South Korea - it won't work in the Middle East. It's a different culture - but McCain doesn't get that because his mentality is a militaristic one.

Should Hillary Clinton end up President, she won't be able to get us out of this war. Her management style, her dogmatic approach to problem solving, her inability to be truthful - combined with the Republican's distain for both Bill and Hillary Clinton - will result in 4 years of stagnation. With Hillary Clinton in the White House, it'll be 4 more years of partisan politics, special prosecutors - and the U.S. will be in this war for the next four years.

Obama is the only answer of the three candidates. His management style (look at the way he's run his campaign), his ability to bridge divides, cultures and ideologies, his willingness to think outside the box - and his diplomacy - will enable the U.S. to bring our allies back to the table again to solve this quagmire that Bush started based on a pack of lies.

If you want to get the U.S. out of this war, Obama is our only chance.

Jack, It is like an exploded egg in a microwave. The mess can be cleaned up. It is going to take time and a cncerted effort by those that are committed to getting out of Iraq responsibly. The best chance of that happening is with Obama or Clinton. McCain has no intention of bringing this to an acceptable end.

We fight wars to create the economy and increase production and to kill the unemploied.Now that we dont produce anything.bush war has not served the purpose we have only killed 4000 not enough. the 30000 wounded will be kicked to the curb when this war ends.Just like Korea and Viet Nam.I hope we build enough Interstate to house them It is the American way.It call capitalism.

Having over 37 years working ether in of for the Air Force, and having been intimently unvolved with the information presentation development for vietually every echelon of government , including the President and Congress, I am totally convinced that for us to leave Iraq without first assuring our goals there are met, would be a catastrophy of major porportations. I am %100 certain of it.

Robert E. Bell
Charles Town, WV

It is a simnple question. Do we go down the tube or does Iraq go down the tube. After nearly six years our army is stretched too thin. We can't afford to put more money into Iraq while they are making millions off their oil. We have given far too much to Iraq it is about time they pulled up their boot straps and get down to business. We need to get down to business here in the good old U.S.A. Hillary will see us through!

I believe Barack Obama will be the president to bring the troops home. He is so charismatic. He has inspired people here at home and I believe he will also inspire the leaders of all the other countries to work together to stop this fighting and killing. I think Obama is the most trust-worthy of the two candidates.
Linda
Marion, Virginia

Obama will and he will proceed causiously with a plan and a goal. He may not get all the troops out in 16-18 months but he will begin to draw down the troops and I believe he will get most of them out. It's like Obama has said, if we don't give Iraq the responsibilty for there own country, things will not change.
Hillary, no, she'll be too busy dodging bullets bullets because of the sniper fire.

No, cause of three simple words... Military industrial complex. Eisenhower is probably roling over in his grave!

Mike
Toronto

As long as Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex is pilfering the coffer's of the deep pocket's of the American taxpayer and we have bought and paid for politician's in the house and senate who look the other way as they sign off on this crap then NO!!! Look we have one guy who is quoted saying that we may be there 100 years! I don't care how he wants to spin it now but it came out of his mouth. I don't know if anyone realizes this or not but this form of government has failed! It can't function as a form of Fascism disguised as a Democracy. Sooner or later we have to transition onto something else cause this is BROKE!!!

The war was a criminal act and George Bush should be charged with war crimes. Leaving Iraq now is even a more criminal act. America started this illegal war and opened a can of worm and brought a government that is no different than Saddam. Too late to be against the war now. Should have done that 5 years ago. We have the moral obligation to build what we destroyed and help the people of Iraq elect a real government.

McCain will never end this mess. Either Democrat will start to work to get the Iraqi government to start governing and realize we are not staying forever. The Bush administration has never put any real pressure on the Al-Maliki government to make any progress. That's why we are still there after five years and no end in site. These people have been fighting for centuries and unless they make drastic progress to end the fighting and work together, we can not play referee any longer.

The thoughts and opinions are in Jack and so far the winner of the Patreus Primary, according to RCP, is Obama. He is also the one that Colin Owell singled out.

Is that simple Jack..........I do not believe in my mind that we are going to get out. As a matter of fact, we don't even know what's gonna happen later in the future, and you know what? If you can't have an idea what's gonna happen in this war, then I'm no genius but what makes me believe is going to end any time soon or in the later future??? Is simple, one reason.............we just don't know what's gonna happen in this war..........regardless if you're a Dem, or a Rep, this war is different, very different........

This issue I don't believe NOBODY at all, not even McCain. I mean, let's just say that I'll get used to it just like I've been in the last couple of years....

The war criminal neocons changed the very lexicon of war a few years ago. The evil malevolent dwarf Rumsfeld started talking about ,'the long war' i.e., the never ending war and peppered his press conferences with gobbledegook zen koanlike nonsense and idiotic meaningless words such as, 'metrics' .
This disaster of a war is their dream come true, an amorphous endless war where virtually anyone can be deemed, 'enemy' and 'goals' are so ambiguous that they never have to be reached.
The next puppet president inherits Bush's SNAFU of cosmic proportions. We will be in Iraq for decades. Thanks again for nothing Dubya/Cheney, Big Oil, Defense Contractors et al.
If the US was a sensible nation these scum-bags would be in prison for the rest of their useless lives.
Liberation from Bush day is not soon enough.

Yes it is posible.
First we need to reach out to Iran and the Saudis and get their support. I don't think
either country wants to live next door to terrorists and they are not planning to bomb us. I think they are looking for respect and equality from the greatest country in the world. Maybe they don't see as great as we think we are.
Giving the message to the Middle East that they are part of the axes of evil is not a way to make friends.

Is Iraq much different now than when we backed Saddam with weapons, strategy, and tactics to fight Iran back in the eighties?

Republicans fear tactics about pulling out are severely misplaced.

We will back some leader in Iraq who pledges allegiance to us, and said leader with our help will settle Iraq down and defeat whoever. Then we will go in and dethrone that leader and create another big mess such as we have now.

The big problem is how do we control the oil? Leave it in the ground and cause prices to rise and then take action to install a new leader who will dance to our music?

Maurice,

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jack, there is absolutely no chance the next President, whoever he or she may be, will withdraw our troops from Iraq. After seeing the testimony of General Petraeus and the reporting of Michael Weir it has become obvious that to withdraw our troops would commit many of them to death, as they would not be able to survive in the withdrawl process, much less police the country, as the troop levels dropped. It would condemn Iraq to a bloody civil war precipitated by sectarian violence and tribal warfare, and it would deliver the country into the hands of Iran. In effect, the dollars spent by American taxpayers and the lives sacrificed by American troops would have been completely in vain, the country of Iraq would be in a worse position than it was under Saddam Hussein, and the world would be less safe than it is now.

I am a Republican and i belive we need to pull the troops out when it is time. If you leave to early every one who has died would have died in vain.

Dear Jack: I believe the Democrats will do what they can to bring the troops home. If they don't, let's declare them free and bring them home ourselves. Ruth Harmon

Jack, I want to believe that Obama can , but in all reality i think that some forces will be there or in the region for a long time. I don't think McCain will try to leave Iraq because he compares it to Korea and Japan. Maybe our next President should encourage those countries to pay for all of their protection along with Germany and most of Europe. We seem to have a fixation with being the police force and the army for the world. As for Hillary, she says she is the only canditate that can bring the troops home. She must know that she can ignore any violence or genocide that would occur in Iraq like Bill did in Rowanda.

Obama will! because he is the only one who thinks outside the box. He understands that we should not be in an islamic country provoking others in their believes. Trying to talk to Iran to solve problems proves the new style of governing the US. Good luck Obama!

How is McCain 'bush all over again'. He is the only candidate who actually has the foggiest first hand experience of what war means to those stuck fighting it. We all agree this is a mess with plenty of lousy possible outcomes – I wouldn't dismiss out-of-hand the prospects of McCain actually doing a better job of getting us out of Iraq than either Obama or Clinton.

Jack, we could end it.., by just getting out! But will hell break~ way lose?, Yes/maybe..,do we care? if the answer is Yes, then the next president will stay in there. I say just leave it and deal with it later.

Jack what is it that the News people and those in Washington don't understand??If there is a blood bath We Don't Care! If Iran moves in after we leave We Don't Care! Bring our kids home as fast as they can. And if Clinton or Obama don't get them out fast they will pay for it in the Mid term elections.

We stand a better chance to get our troops out if Barack Obama is the next President. If McCain – or maybe even Hillary – become President, everyone better be prepared to have their children and grandchildren in the mid-East for many, many years.

They'll make it happen. As a veteran we can only hope of mass withdrawal, encouraged by the next president. America had a civil war and look at our status now. America should not continue to help a people that are not willing to help themselves. Presidential candidates speak about withdrawal; can they give the public some insight on what type of withdrawal plan they would use? Talk but no plan? Come on let’s get it together.

Probability of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq? Zero. The American people have been lied to. The plan from the beginning was to set up a permanent base within the Middle East. The United States needs Iraqs oil if it is to maintain its dominance in a global game of King of the Castle. It won't matter who the next President is.

Can anyone end the War in Iraq is a very good question. The problem is there is no War in Iraq. Bush announced several years ago that the war is over.

Who am I to contradict the most unloved President in my 66 year lifetie?

On a long shot that he is right, I'll try.

If Bush could not end this war, no mere mortals like Hillary, Obama, or John have any chance at all.

It is amazing to me that the majority of Americans that post on these sites are so spineless. most of them have never been to the middle east and have no idea what they are talking about. Iraq is the hope of the region. Simply put the occupation and reorganization of this country will some day be realized as a masterful tactical decision. Most Americans think that what goes on here has no effect on us but they are so wrong.

General Patreaus and Ambassador Crocker are both career government employees who have been taking their orders from both democrat and republican administrations for years. They follow orders and present their opinions when requested plain and simple.

Jack, a majority of the people of U.S. believe this quagmire has to have an end and soon. This war is too expensive in terms of life and limb and money. I believe Hillary will pull the troops out of Iraq because she is not back-peddling like Barrack is doing. She says the troops will start coming out after 60 days of her inaugaration. I'm betting on Hillary. Yes this campaign is about the economy, but it is the war that is the economy's problem.

Dear Jack,

I'm so sick of bush talking about the success of the so called surge and the how the enemy is on the run and blah-blah-blah. Then he goes on to say that it would give the enemy a victory if we pull out of Iraq. Well the way I see it, Al quida, Iran , and the Iraqi extremes are already claiming victory at our failing economy, the billions of dollars Iraq is sucking out of us every month, and at the fact that we don't have a clue how to get out of a mess that Bush got us into. All the lost lives and billions of dollars spent only allowed the leader of Iran to come in and get hugs and kisses from the leaders of Iraq. I don't see anybody kissing general petrarus or the troops that are sacrificing their lives everyday. We begining to look more and more like humpty dumpty that sat on the wall and had a great fall.All the kings billions and all the king's troops could not put humpty dumpty back together again. We are locked in a no win situation.

Ralph of Miami

I am an African American Independent Female Voter who voted for President George Bush twice. I volunteered for his campaign and really felt that President Bush would never give in to Politics while doing the presidential duties ever. I still have my loyalty with him and do know the difference between "Security" and "War" in Iraq. It should not be an issue for any of the Candidates to deal with come January 20, 2009. My President George Bush told the American People he needed the country's support for "War" not "Security" from our Troops in Iraq, and I know my President George Bush will keep his word and get us out of Iraq before January 20, 2009.

You just don't pack up from a country and leave in 60 days like Hillary is proposing. Look how long we stayed in Korea after the Korean war, just to ensure that the north koreans didnt slaughter every south Korean. And I wish people would stop taking McCain's words out of context with the "100 years in Iraq" he was talking in terms of limited troops staying for stability, not fighting on a daily basis like they are now.

Everyone who says we should stay bases their reasoning on the extreme idea that Iran will just 'walk in' and take over Iraq.

To the contrary, there are many other Middle-East nations opposing a Shiite 'mega-calyph' that would not let Iran take over so easily.

The mess we made out of the region is still not cleared up after the end of World War I.

Neither General Petraeus or Ambassador Crocker could tell Congress what our goals are. Certainly our President has no clue, either. Why are we butting our heads against the wall, anyway?

All we've seemed to do is delay the inevitable – all-out war among the Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis.

Centuries of Crusades have not accomplished anything. Let's end this latest Crusade, too.

If victory in Iraq is defined as getting rid of the Hussein dictatorship, allowing the Iraqis to vote for their own form of government (two times), and having them ask us to leave, then we have already won and are ready to bring our troops home. If the American people want our troops home that ought to be enough for any president or party in the white house. Get 'er done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack, even though the Dems say they'll get us out of Iraq immediately, they must submit, to the reality, of the situation. The next president may be lucky enough, to pull one half, of our troops out of Iraq, in 3 or 4 years. We can't leave a vacuum and pull out immediately or feces will hit the whirling baldes. and Iran will rule the region and the price of oil will sky rocket, to $10 a barrel.

Not likely..... Mary from Sarasota,

Why is it that no one ever refers to Noam Chomsky and his ideas? Is it because his ideas are considered as extremist and anti-Bush? Is it because some claim he is an anti-Semite? Is it because if everyone began to be exposed to his way of thinking or the positions he holds that he claims to be true, Globalism and economic world control by the US & UK corporations and their friends could lose its growing worldwide control regardless which Political Party is in power both present and future? Is it because losing control of the Iraq Oil supply bigger than the American Presidency? Why doesn’t CNN have a special on what he (Chomsky) has been saying since Sept. 11, 2001? There are plenty of books out there that would be informative. Shouldn’t Americans know what US Academia have to say about the World situation? Or is it because knowledge is power or that ignorance is bliss? Enlighten us oh wise ones.

They've been fighting in Irag for hundreds of years. What makes us so arrogant, that we think, we can stop the war. Just pull out our troops, and let the Iragi's fight it out amongst themselves.

A Democrat is the only one that can bring our young men and women home. John McCain will just keep the status quo and that is not what the American people want. We want our military home and we are sick and tired of seeing the body count rise with every passing day. Send Barbara and Jenna over there and see how fast that war is over.

Sooner or later we are going to get thrown out of Iraq...just like we got thrown out of Korea and Vietnam. Although we were not at war with Iran in the late 70's, we got "thrown out" of Iran too.

It's just a matter of having the guts to realize that fact, and act before we are embarrased again. There never was a military solution in Iraq. There isn't a military solution in Iran either. Instead of making an enemy out of Sadam, the US should have bribed him to do our deeds. For those readers who find that distasteful, we are bribing the sunnis now. We have allowed the B'aath Party's members to paricipate in the current Iraqi government. By keeping Sadam in place, we could have maintained the production of oil pices, and limited the rape and bloodshed. Now, the Iraqis are dying by the dozen every day. Women and children are raped. So what difference has the American presence in Iraq made? Gas is now $4 a gallon!

Jack,, Sixteen brigades over sixteen months,, sound formular?, Dale Iowa..

The extremely naive view that we are going to suddenly take a culture of warring religious sects and within less than a generation spirit them into democratic voters is beyond preposterous. The moment we leave, and make no mistake we are leaving at some point, that entire region will return to what they were doing before we arrived. The United States cannot simply afford financially to prevent the terrorist and extremist from attacking us on our home land. We have tried, but obviously it is cost prohibitive. When prosecuting the initial part of this war we should have hit them harder and longer, left summarily, and returned only if problems persisted. If we leave and have to return then it should be more intense war than before to convince them that returning is much worse than they bargained for. It simply cost too much to fight the war over there. Should an attack on American soil occur again then we should convince the attackers, their country, and the world that what we did to the 1940ish fanatics in Japan is the final solution to fanatics that will only stop when their entire existence and way of life is in immediate peril of being removed.

That region has been at war with each other and the rest of the world for literally centuries. Tribes, kingdoms, and regions have fought, made up, and fought again since before the time of Christ and Mohammed. For us to be arrogant enough to think we can resolve centuries of bad blood in a few short years is folly. We may calm things temporarily, but as soon as we leave, it will all begin again, and again, and again.

The person who can resolve the Mideastern regional challenges will be a truly brilliant person. So far, that person hasn't made himself (or herself) known. The best we can do is to try not to make things worse. So far, we haven't been doing even that very well.

We can't afford to stay forever. Our own country seems to be on the verge of falling apart somedays. Hillary Clinton is the one that can get us out.

Ending the war even though a popular thought will not happen. This just like Korea. We are going to be forced to stay in the area to watch over the interests of the US (oil). We will be there for a very along time, unless we can come up with other fuel quickly.

Jack,

Does this Iraq situation smell of Vietnam?

To answer your question, Barack will end the war sensibly and sensitively!