Sunday, April 12, 2009

Out by 2011!


The top military commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, says that he thinks the United States will be our of Iraq by the year 2011. When asked to rate his confidence of his prediction on a scale of 1 to 10, Odierno replied "as you ask me today, I believe it's a 10 -- that we will be gone by 2011."
According to CNN.com, nine U.S. troops were killed in March, which is the lowest monthly toll since the beginning of war in 2003. "So, there's been a clear improvement of security here," Odierno said. "The issue is: Can we maintain that? Can the Iraqis maintain it? And that's what we're working through now. We want them to be able to maintain this stability as we pull out."
This piece of news is music to my ears. When Bush was president, I had an incredibly hard time believing any predictions that came out of his mouth. To me, he had a secretive air about him and he seemed to be hiding something all the time. With Obama, now, I feel at ease trusting him as our Commander-in-Cheif to stick by his word and get our troops out of Iraq according to the set timeline. This assurance by General Odierno just reassures my thoughts.
I also think that pulling out of Iraq and sticking to the given timeline will significantly help our economy. Thousands of soldiers will be returning from Iraq, spending left and right on things they have needed since their departure for Iraq. Presents will be bought for them, stimulating the economy. Babies will be born, stimulating the economy. Overall, it's definitely a good thing.

2 comments:

Michael Donath said...

I see your reasons for thinking this will stimulate our economy but from a pessimist’s standpoint, I'd like to argue. In 1929 when the economy hit rock bottom and the stock market exploded (not in a good way), after intense government programs and the alphabet soup that was trying so desperately to get money moving again, nothing worked. The thing that pulled the US out of its deep hole was World War II. I'm not an advocate of war at all; I'm just saying that wars tend to greatly stimulate our economy. By pulling out of Iraq, is this going to plunge our money deeper in the hole?

Then again, money is being wasted everyday on Iraq, so maybe the money saved by not being at war, will negate everything I just said. Either way, I'm glad that there is a plan, and there are steps being made to pull troops out, this makes me happy.

Sandy de Sauvage said...

It is great to hear that U.S. troops will be gone by 2011. However, I believe that we must make sure everything is taken care of before we bring home the troops. I think we should provide humanitarian relief for the Iraqi people. After all, the war has taken a much greater toll on them than it has on us.
I do agree that the war has been detrimental to our economy. One of the biggest obstacles we face in pulling out of this recession is the staggering cost of the war in Iraq. In the five years since the war began, the United States has spent more than $522 billion in Iraq. Even after troops leave, we will continue to pay for things such as veterans health. Military spending is one of the least effective tools for stimulating the economy. Iraq War funds could be used for better things such as education or healthcare, which would create many more jobs.