Baghdad Vacation: anyone else P.O.’ed about this?

How many vacations have our over worked troops had. Oh yeah.. probably none.. coming home in a body bag is not a vacation. Someone should tell the slacker on the ranch. in Crawford!

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that the legislature is taking a month off. They aren't getting anywhere on things like how to share oil revenues, anyway. A top-down approach doesn't look promising. Bottom-up improvements are more likely to be effective, and that's happening in a lot of places. I'm also not that incensed about many of the "war costs," as with mine-resistant vehicles. That example and a lot more are simply corrections to the mistakes the military made in downsizing in inappropriate ways at the end of the Cold War, so they're having to buy things now that they should have bought during the elder Bush's administration, or Clinton's. Of course lives are being wasted, as with every conflict in history, but it's nothing compared to the future. Probably the riskiest and most difficult maneuver in land warfare is a fighting withdrawal, so my real fear is for what happens next year.

How many vacations has Bush taken since the war started? Why shouldn't the Iraqis get a break? If we insist on taking over their country until Dubya feels like leaving, they should get some time off from fixing Bush's mess.

And of course we're wasting our resources and American lives are being lost every day -- but that's not the Iraqi's fault, it's Bush's.

Absolutely! If the Iraqi government had come even close to reaching any of their goals, maybe not so much, but as it stands now it appears that our troops our enduring the heat, the hardships and the deadly conditions for no reason other than they are there! Is Iraq paying for them to be there? NO!

Is Iraq reimbursing us? NO! Is Iraq maintaining the rebuilding we have done at our expense? NO! So much for showing any kind of appreciation for our efforts on their behalf.

I don't know why our "illustrious leader" condones the Iraqi governing body's behavior. But that's just a small part of his behavior that I don't understand. The American people need to start making some demands of their own and in no uncertain terms!

I have always thought that as Iraq had nothing to do with terrorist or 9/11!

The minimum date for troop withdrawal is 2010, which means another almost 3 years of wasted life, and our money for corporate welfare!

The plan is to leave a "residual" force to protect our "assets"! I wonder what our assets in Iraq are? It certainly isn't IED's!

I never believed Bush anyway as he could produce no proof of anything, and according to Tenet he's a liar as his assertions is NOT what the CIA was telling him! He also put out a document that was forged, that he knew was forged before he did it!

Bush should face a firing squad! After he gets his Constitutional rights of course!

bush can take vacations, the iraqi goverment can take a vacation. dont see how its going to change anything, we are still loosing good people over there and nothing has changed. to be honest with you i dont think anything will change till we get our troops out and let them have a civil war. it turned out great for us why should it not be the same for them. when two kids cant get along, put them in a room alone till they dish it all out, the result.....they become the best of friends or one is beat into submission, problem solved now bring back the troops.

Yes!! This war was because of 911 and it wasn't Iraq or Hussein that caused 911. It was Bin Laden who is CIA trained in Afghanistan. Now we started out in Afghanistan and all of a sudden into Iraq where Hussein is. President Bush's father when president was under threat of assassination and a try from Hussein. This war is more to it than you know. Do your research!! This is vendetta.

These people have been fighting for a lonnnng time...how would you like it if someone came into our country and tried to tell us how to run it!!

No we need to take care of our own!! US is in a mess itself.

And I want to add...that we do have issues with the actions and personalities of Middle eastern people but reading the various emails in different categories tells me that we have trouble in our own culture.

This is a good question!!

I do not believe we are wasting out men and resources I believe were doing a great job for what Washington will let us do. This is what happened in Nam Washington thought they could fight a war from capitol hill in the Senate and house and look how that turned out I think we should just give the powers to the generals and let them do the job we are supposed to do Give power to Iraq after securing strategic places many people believe that Iraq is a waste but the Iraqi people are much better of now if we just hand power over in the next year after securing all of Baghdad then slowly pulling out brigade a month will be out of their Iraq will Be stable country and then we have another Allie

Do you get annoyed about foreigners trying to tell us how to run our country?

The Iraqi government answers to the Iraqi people.

BTW - thank you for proving that the Iraqi government is not controlled by the US.

No, they have earned their vacations. Our President Bush takes many vacations because he EARNED them with RESULTS.

It is very hot in Iraq now. Note that in July 2006 there were only 43 U.S. casualties and in July 2007 there were only 73 casualties +/- a few. Everyone is taking a break.