tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post9097915924154493098..comments2024-02-21T14:18:09.212-08:00Comments on R World: Out of Iraq: The Good, the Barack, and the ConfusingRon Davisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972794876337195698noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-12135559128989600462009-03-02T06:45:00.000-08:002009-03-02T06:45:00.000-08:00He's forced to give a date Ron. It was expected. H...He's forced to give a date Ron. It was expected. He promised it during his campaign. So there you go, the date is August 31st of next year. The thing is, no matter what the date, the mess will still be there. You are so right in pointing out that he could leave right now or a year after the cutoff date he has just stated and Iraq and the Iraqui government and people will be pretty much in the same place. But he can't withdraw troops right now. Can you imagine the clobbering he'd get? And he can't withdraw them three years from now. Can you imagine the outcry about his backtracking of campaign promises? So what does he do? He puts an in-between time. Won't make a lick of difference like I said but people need their dates defined and the semblance of goals outlined.<BR/><BR/>I can imagine he'll try to stick to it but like Big Al pointed out, it is all about the wording of what defines "troops". And like Thomas observed, there will still be US troops in the Middle East no matter what. <BR/><BR/>Liked your title by the way... the Barack and the ugly. ;-) Great. Oh! The post was good too. ;-) ;-)Gypsy at Hearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17106152285952023602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-89398869249391334242009-03-01T22:58:00.000-08:002009-03-01T22:58:00.000-08:00Please remember our POTUS is a politician, which m...Please remember our POTUS is a politician, which means what he declares today can always be changed because of "extenuating circumstances". And his statement of "Combat troops will be out of Iraq" has also left him plenty of wiggle room because he used the word "Combat", meaning he can easily keep some troops in Iraq and call them "Trainers" or "Peace-keepers".<BR/><BR/>Folks like you and me, Ron, help people build realistic schedules such that these people can make a commitment and finish early or on-time to that commitment. In the Corporate world it's all about delivering a Quality product On Time, At/Below Budget, with all committed Features. For Government officials it's all about making Promises. Can you even IMAGINE attempting to help any Government official/team through a schedule-build process? YIKES!Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04291372921696671073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-34802379394193638772009-03-01T02:54:00.000-08:002009-03-01T02:54:00.000-08:00I read the he wanted to leave the numbers high to ...I read the he wanted to leave the numbers high to provide security for the Iraqi elections at the end of this year. The bulk of the withdrawal- if it really happens- is supposed to take place in the final four months.<BR/><BR/>I have no doubt, though, that even after the "withdrawal" we'll still have tens of thousands of troops stationed throughout the Middle East, just in case there's some killin' that needs to be done.<BR/><BR/>(And there will be.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com