Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war

[Admiral Yi]

So far Hillary hasn't shown me much as SecState.  If she can talk this down without spending *too* much money I will tip my hat.

[Razgovory]

So far Hillary hasn't shown me much as SecState.  If she can talk this down without spending *too* much money I will tip my hat.

How much of Hillary do you actually want to see?

[KRonn]

Iraq falling apart already. Al Maliki arrested some of the top Sunni leaders on terrorist charges, others are in hiding. Government is or will probably fracture even more. Radicals are seizing a chance to cause mayhem. Iraqi people angry and disillusioned.

[Sheilbh]

Now the real test for Iraq starts.

Just remember, this is all somehow our fault.

Yep.

[DGuller]

Iraq falling apart already. Al Maliki arrested some of the top Sunni leaders on terrorist charges, others are in hiding. Government is or will probably fracture even more. Radicals are seizing a chance to cause mayhem. Iraqi people angry and disillusioned.

Remember the scaremongering from Republicans that if you set a timetable for withdrawal, the terrorists will wait until we pull out to strike?  Turns out that having us pull out was the worst thing that could've happened to terrorists.

[Razgovory]

Iraq falling apart already. Al Maliki arrested some of the top Sunni leaders on terrorist charges, others are in hiding. Government is or will probably fracture even more. Radicals are seizing a chance to cause mayhem. Iraqi people angry and disillusioned.

It's not falling apart.  It's strengthening it's structure.  It's not a Democratic structure, but does anyone really at this point think that it would be?

[Alcibiades]

Question for any one of you history buffs who may know it, how long were deployments for soldiers and marines during the Vietnam war?  Did it change as the war went on like in Iraq or was it the same the whole time? 

[Habbaku]

Depends on the branch, etc., but Army generally served 12-month tours while Marines served 6-month tours, though were often encouraged to serve an extended 12-13 month period instead.  I seem to recall that the tours started off somewhat haphazardly as the US wasn't certain of how long the commitment would be, but it eventually became standardized to the above level.

[citizen k]

Iraq falling apart already. Al Maliki arrested some of the top Sunni leaders on terrorist charges, others are in hiding. Government is or will probably fracture even more. Radicals are seizing a chance to cause mayhem. Iraqi people angry and disillusioned.

Remember the scaremongering from Republicans that if you set a timetable for withdrawal, the terrorists will wait until we pull out to strike?  Turns out that having us pull out was the worst thing that could've happened to terrorists.

How can you say that when the terrorists just struck today in a big way.

[Admiral Yi]

How can you say that when the terrorists just struck today in a big way.

I think Guller was trying to make a joke about the terrorist accusation against the VP.

[Neil]

Brutal occupation of civilian populations FTW.

I think that's something that we can all agree on.  But why would you add the word 'civilian'?  It's not important at all.

[Neil]

Of course, had the Euros not gone around colonizing these poor bastards none of this would have happened. 

I blame the Medes.  The place has never been the same since the fall of Nineveh.

I don't know.  They were certainly damaged by Islam and by the Mongols, but their situation didn't become hopeless until the West decided to make the world safe for democracy.

[Razgovory]

Depends on the branch, etc., but Army generally served 12-month tours while Marines served 6-month tours, though were often encouraged to serve an extended 12-13 month period instead.  I seem to recall that the tours started off somewhat haphazardly as the US wasn't certain of how long the commitment would be, but it eventually became standardized to the above level.

I think it also depended on if you were volunteer or a draftee.  12-6 months is typical I think.  I've heard 8 months thrown around a lot.

[CountDeMoney]

Now the real test for Iraq starts.

Just remember, this is all somehow our fault.

You realize that it really is, right?