CNN

Let us first build our nation...gas, commodity, grossary, homes, loans, floods, hurricanes, job insecurity, low dollar value, bad economy all are here in our land to tackle...we r going out and keeping our soldiers in Irag and spending billions everyday...for what? r v getting any profit......NO, and also thats based on the lies and hypocrisy of a sane person Bush...we feel shame calling this man as our president. Impeachment should be followed for dragging USA into such a low economy and degraded status in world.
Let us come out from the mess....vote for change

Obama doesn't have experience...yet he had the best judgment then......

Even Mrs Clinton with no mind of her own, fell for the lies then....

Come jan 20th, Bush, Dick, Rumsfield, Gates, etc should be posted as envoys to Iraq, and made to fix the country before they can come back. They must make their home in the country and do whatever magic they can until they restore peace and bring back our troops.....only then can we forgive them for the 8 yrs of mess they dragged us into.

Obama will get us out! McCain will keep us there. For those of you who keep with the Hillary thing, you really must move on. You're as delusional as she is. It's very sad, but there is psychiatric treatment. However, keep in mind that you must have insurance for this.

CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT WHAT HILLARY WOULD DO....SHE LOST...SO WHATEVER SHE WOULD DO, AND LET ME REMIND YOU HILLARY SUPPORTERS, SHE VOTED FOR THE WAR...THIS WAR THAT WE ARE NOW FINDING OUT THAT BUSH FOOLED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND STARTED THIS WAR....

WHAT WE SHOULD BE SAYING IS WHAT IS THE CANDIDATES THAT WON THE PRIMARIES ARE GONNA DO....HILLARY IS HISTORY..PLEASE LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY....

AND TO "K"....BUSH IS NOT PROTECTING US FROM TERRORIST...BECAUSE OF HIM & HIS FAILED ADMINISTRATION...WE WENT TO WAR....CHECK YOUR FACTS FIRST BEFORE YOU BLOG.....

K:

"Bush did what he did in the face of terror"...yes, ONLY as far as Afghanistan goes. As EVERYONE and their grandmother now knows, Iraq had zlich to do with terror...more with Bush and Cheney's bank accounts.

McCain doesnt know the difference betwee sunni and shiite muslims, if you dont know your enemy how ar e you going to beat em Mr McBush. I support Obama but we cant just leave that country in the state that it is in we do need to keep a presnce over there, if not it will be a harboring groung for terroist.

I fully agree with you. I am confident that John McCAin will take the right corrective steps and our tropps will come home sooner than later. They have been there longer because of this anti-Bush policy of Democrats. They would have finished the job long time ago. Barack has supported radicals and gave them power and they are now aiting for Barack to come to power. Watch out. Vote John McCain. I hope CNN will publich this because CNN is pro-Barack and they do not publis the facts and also anything that is anti-Barack.

For K:
9/11 had nothing to do with invading Iraq.
Terrorism had nothing to do with invading Iraq, unless of course you are referring to the terror that was the aftermath for the innocent civilians in Iraq.

Obama has painted himself into a corner on the Iraq withdrawal issue. Should he become our next president he will be advised to do otherwise for national security reasons. Therefore, to avoid going back on his campaign promise he will seek a negotiated settlement with Iran. Iran will be more then glad to work out a deal with him, which will then allow him to fulfill his troop withdrawal promise.

However, once that withdrawal is complete Iran will fill the vacuum and thumb their noses at us making him look like a dumb gullible appeaser. With control of the region in their hands the Iranians will slowly choke off the oil supply to western governments. Then you'll all have change you not only can believe in but change that your going to have to live or die with.

I'd like to welcome all the Hillary Clinton supporters to the republican party and thank you for coming to your senses and backing the best candidate, John McCain.

Together we can:

1) help reverse Roe v. Wade and make abortion illegal – let's stop the murder of unborn babies!

2) stop gays from getting married – let's get a constitutional amendment to stop gay marriage and let them know they are not normal!

3) keep fighting the good fight in Iraq for as long as it takes – remember 9/11 and what we are fighting for!

4) get ready to invade Iran – we know they are planning to nuke us – let's get them first! McCain will make sure we do!

Good to see democrats finally waking up and becoming more conservative!

Hillary's new support group PUMA = Poor Uneducated Miserable Adults. LMAO

Thank God that insane woman who claimed under sniper fire in the military zone and wanted to OBLITERATE another country is gone!

A sensible approach to the endgame is more likely to be accomplished by Obama since McCain has been in bed with George Bush for this long-dragging hopeless war!

Why did we start this war and what have we accomplished? I am sure we can complie a long list of accomplishment for us to celebrate!

It is time to move on. It is high time to turn the page on Washington same old politics. No more Bush-Clinton-Bush-McCain/Clinton!

To K,
Our country was not founded on fear. 911 was tragic and unexpected Bush and the Republicans used that on us. We must move forward and work not out of fear but out of courage and intelligence. The two things Bush has always been opposed to. No McCain and no Bush.

"Ex-pat in London June 11th, 2008 10:40 am ET

How can a country elect a president who doesn't feel comfortable giving "formal speeches" come on AMERICA!!! if we as a nation elect McCain, we will look even more ignorant than when we elected Bush for a second term. Headline in the UK read in 2004 "How Can 200 million People Be So Dumb…TWICE" this is true, look it up."
_______________________________________________________

Ehough said!

That excludes McCain automatically.

This is the guy that helped open pandoras box.Welcome to his nightmare. K is a chickenlittle blogger,I would send him there quick.

Your comment is awaiting moderation.
What are you talking about...............

MD,
Enough with the Hillary...........She does'nt know how to pay her debt right now so why don't you just help her out to pay her debt instead of involving your self to this issue that matter. Go to Hillarys' website instead and console her.
About the war, not because Senator Obama is trying to bring the troops home does'nt mean its the end game. But for America to move on to a right direction he has to clean up all the mess that Bush administration created. Just imagine the war is unneccesary in the first place. People are dying everyday, the cost of this war is go great that the whole world economy is suffering. Iraq has to learn to their own feet. America has their domestic issue to settle and to improve.
This war is getting out of hand and President Obama has to do something about it.
Canada for Obama

Nick why don't you sign up now! Empty rhetoric from an empty mind. We should have stayed in afghanistan and actually accomplished a mission. 27 years in and still serving

end game???????????
What does tha mean................
Who cares how it ends if I raq does not want to take responsibility who cares.
And by the way Iraq held Iran in check prior to invasion

Gates is right.

The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans–are the special interests and PAC's who support them.

For the rest of us "average" Americans–we get whatever interest or time remains in their calendar. Which for the past two Presidencies has been zero!!

IF THE NEXT PRESIDENT HAS TO BE SENSIBLE......................
THEN BARACK OBAMA IS A SHOO-IN !!!!

@Nick....but we also need to address why 'some' people hate us! There's alot more than what meets the eye here!!!

A sensible approach to Iraq should have been taken in 2002. The mess we're in now was totally unavoidable and the current administration should have been impeached for lying to the American people and costing over 4000 families to lose their loved ones.

@election watcher....so i guess a sensible approach in your opinion would be made by McCain with 100 more years of war.

SCOTT _ YOU ARE SO TOTALLY RIGHT. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE. OBAMA SUPPORTERS AND OBAMA BASHED THE ONLY CANDIDATE WORTH A DARN OUT OF THIS RACE. NOW WE ARE LEFT WITH STRAY DOGS WHO HAVE NO CLUE AS WHAT TO DO ABOUT IRAQ, ECONOMY AND WORST OF ALL RELIGION.

@Hillary was forced out by sexism...exactly what experience did Hillary have at this 'stuff'?

Sensible approach? Perhaps get the hell out ASAP and stop wasting American lives and billions of dollars. Sounds sensible to me.

Isn't that code for, "Welcome President Obama".

To all those that believe Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11:

At the beginning of the war, this was a true statement. Bush made a huge mistake in propogating this war under false pretenses. At the time, there was no credible link to 9/11 by Sadaam's regime.

Now that we've been in this war for 5+ years, the battlefield has attracted our true enemy to the lines – al Qaeda. We are now fighting those who DID have a direct connection to 9/11.

That is why the war must be won regardless of the mistakes that were made in getting us there. That is why Obama, who preaches that we should get out of there quickly, will have to stop the rhetoric and look at the situation as it exists today on the ground. What he preaches isn't realistic and will only put us at more risk in the future, and I think he knows this beneath the surface. That is also why the democratic-controlled congress can't end the war.

In listening to Sen. Obama and his supporters, one invariably hears that John McCain is indistinguishable from Pres. Bush and that he supports a 100 years' war in Iraq. One would think that Team Obama could make their case without resorting to such underhanded tactics.
But, then again, perhaps they can't.

Americans for McCain '08

The heat is on, even the RATS are now talking.

Herman iN LA – Where you been under a log. What makes you think Obama had anything TO DO about voting to stay out of Iraq. Just because he my have opened his big mouth about his opinion of it does not mean he had the same portfolio that the Senators and Corgressmen that did vote one way or another. Being just a State Senator at the time OBAMA had no say what-so-ever in the decision to go to war. THE COLD HARD FACTS IS THAT IF MOST OF US HAD BEEN PRESENTED WITH THE CIA'S REPORT WE WOULD HAVE PROBABLY HAVE VOTED THE SAME WAY THEY DID. OBama is not a prophet. In fact the man can not say he had any religion at all. Anyone who would set for twenty years and listen to the Satan's lips of Rev. Wright would just about say and do anything to get elected. GET IT THROUGH YOUR HILLARY BASHING AAs HEADS THAT YOU'RE NOT WINNING ANY SUPPORTERS FROM HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN. IN FACT YOU AND YOU ALONE ARE DRIVING US TO McCAIN. IGNORANCE IS BLISS AND I WILL NOT VOTE FOR IGNORANCE. OBAMA IS A PILE OF CORRUPTION. McCAIN 08.

Fool, how sensible are you when you went into Iraq knowing the odds and that there were no WMD's?

To scott June 11th, 2008 11:28 am ET
Thats one thing you have to respect about McCane he is better off the cuff and when it comes from the heart…….Obama is better at the wroten word and what others tell him to say you can see that by how he has others searching for his best VP.
----------------------------–
McCain.... can only function in Town Halls settings, and then he flip flops then. It’s been proven he can't speak properly on a big stage, with the information right in front of him to read. The president has the biggest stage, not just anyone can stand on it.

Obama....to some of us that means he will be a president that will listen before he sells the people a fairy tale story. If this is his way of doing things, I find that better then flexing your experience to get us into wars that aren't needed.

If you can tell me what you think of my feed back....please

The Clear Thinking Independent,

They are your words unless your are directly quoting. You quoted the question, why didn't you quote the response?

Your paraphrasing of his comments is inaccurate at best.

Gates is an actual Statesman. He is too good a man to ever be elected president, but he would be a very good president. He is a calm realist who carefully considers the facts and relevant points of view before reaching a decision. And, he's not afraid to make a decision. He shares these qualities with Barack Obama.

All this wishy washy people talking about Hillary get over it. Hillary has lost and she is not going to be president. How pathetic and dumb it sounds people 're still talking about Hillary to be the president-that is madness.

Susan, I hate when people take this 100 years thing out of context. He was comparing it to places we have a presence in like South Korea.

A sensible approach to Iraq. What a change that would be from the Bush policy....

Bring our troops home. Stop wasting taxpayers and precious lives.

Bring them home now.

This issue requires strategic approach which i believe the right President-either Obama or McCain would have to consider before any decision is being made.Definitely,there must be controversies but the right President should consider the American populace and economy.I will always pray for U.S of A for the best approach.

K, Guess what, we are not in Iraq because of terror or any treats from there.. it was because Bush had some thing against Saddam, Saddam was not his puppet like most of the world were, at that time... So Bush made up lies and stories about why to attack Iraw and did it.
So instead of fighting terror we are not creating terror, and we can now add a few more groups to the terrorist list... oh yeah and where are the weapons we sold to the Iraq's in first case ???

So why don't you go and serve over there and make it such a wonderful place to live in....

K: If CNN reruns 9/11 footage, I hope you will pay more attention this time. Perhaps you will discover that there were no Iraqis on any of the airplanes. Iraq did not support Bin Laden and, in fact, was a sworn enemy. Hussein was a brutal dictator – there is no doubt about that. There are quite a few others around the world who are more dangerous and less contained that he was. But Hussein was a secular dictator and wouldn't risk losing control to the religious factions like Bin Laden.

Yes, I know why we invaded Iraq: revenge and oil! Not necessary in that order. Bush quoted "British sources" in his famous SOTU address! Why didn't he simply quote U.S. intelligence sources? Because he knew they disagreed with him. He knew and he lied through his teeth. Democracy? Oh sure, he wanted to spread democracy in the middle east. So, explain to me why he didn't start with his close personal friends and business partners: the SAUDIS!

Women in Iraq had more freedom under Hussein than women in Saudi today! Don't even try to convince me that we went to war with Iraq because of 9/11!

Quick point. We are all Americans. I might not agree with ya'll, but that is OK. Trying our own boys for war criminals is counter intuitive unless there is a legit issue... ie genocide. What most people don't realize is that we have this nice and pretty picture of the world...live and let live. But some people hate us. And we need to fight back. It isn't pretty but neither is life. Its hard. And somewhere along the line we need to realize that war is a real issue, not a thing of the past. Flowers and pot only get you too stoned to realize what is going on. If we have to fight in Iraq, OK. If Iran is next, where do I sign up. Its about time America let 'em drop.

The "end-game" Gates speaks of has already gone wrong for the President. Whoever takes control, will more likely begin mopping up this mess.

I hate paying taxes, that doesn't mean I won't foot the bill when the time comes that I have to. The war was unnecessary when it started maybe, but you can't turn your back on the people you inspired to stand up for themselves now.

And by their fruits ye shall know them.

McCain was asked if, since he argues the strategy is working, he has a better estimate for when U.S. troops could leave Iraq.

"No, but that's not too important," McCain said. "What's important is casualties in Iraq.

obviously McBush don't care when our troops are coming back, but we do.

Of course, that next president would be John McCain.

Obama is too unknown, inexperienced and unquaiified to run for the office of President of the United States, and all the failed leaders of the undemocratic Democratic Party who enabled his candidacy will soon be forced to resign for political malpractice and a betrayal of our trust.

Wait for the multiple October surprises… Obama will have a worse month in October than he did in March/April. There are already reports that a male member of Trinity United Church in Chicago named Larry Sinclair has signed an affidavit that says that in 1999 he did drugs and had sex with Barack Obama and that, as part of an effort to keep him quiet last year, David Axelrod threatened him.That’s what you get for selecting an unknown candidate as the party’s nominee…

One of the 18 million who will be heard.

ONE CAN ONLY HOPE but keeping the troops in for a hundred years or "staying the course" is not a sensible approach.

END THE WAR!!! Bring them home. I agree with Gates though. Whoever gets in has to deal with this in a level headed manner. I'm an Obama supporter, but don't believe that he can immediately bring them all home immediately. The thing about Obama is that he is wiling to listen to other people, that is one of the many things I admire. Better than 100 year, Bomb Bomb McCain!!!

We sure could use a 'sensible approach' since Bush's Frat Party approach put us in a cow pie the size of Texas. Obama's the only candidate who can start to extricate us from this quagmire. McClone will only prolong the war, the waste and the killing of our soldiers.

On the NBC's Today Show

When asked, "Given the success you claim from the SURGE, when do you now project our troops will be coming home", he said he didn't know and that he didn't see that happening.

Instead, Senator McCain likened the sitution of US soldiers in Iraq to the decades long presence of our soldiers in German and Korea ...

He felt this allowed the individual soldier to come home with dignity....

His words ... not mine ...

to "K":

Nobody has forgotten 9/11 and the horror that was wrought on that day. The thing is, Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11. We attack Bush for getting us in a war that was not necessary. We attack Bush for not focusing on the real threat to the US and our security. The continuous claims of the world being safer now that we've incited hell in the middle east is foolish. Say what you will about Saddam and his tactics, that country was quiet and calm. The region was calm. So we attack Bush because he upset what was a delicate balance. Had he stuck the Afghanistan attack and secured more world wide support, he wouldn't be looked at as a a fool.

HILLARY WAS FORCED OUT BY SEXISM!!! June 11th, 2008 9:10 am ET

OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE AT ANY OF THIS STUFF!

HILLARY WAS THE ONLY CHANCE THIS COUNTRY HAD!

I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR EITHER OF THE FOOLS LEFT!
----------------------------------
-Let it go, you are acting childish.

It depends upon what you call a "sensible approach". I like McCain as the man he is, and I respect him, even though I don't agree with him. Considering his rubber-stamp of the Bush policies in Iraq, I don't, however, think he will take a "sensible approach". A sensible approach would be to have a PLAN that's a little more complicated than "We'll fight til we win."

I look to Obama and the rest of the Democrats to put this nonsense out of our government, and figure out a real plan, then execute on it, and get us out of Iraq. We can then take the troops that are wasting their time there, and put them in Afghanistan, to find and snuff Osama, get the Taliban back under control, and help rebuild a country that actually wants us there.

This is totally irrelevant to this section, but CNN what's with all of the labels? First Obama is elitist and now he's a populist. Please don't fall into the GOP trap of generalizing and stereotyping, if you think you've got the Obama camp pegged, guess again. Perhaps you've already had a taste of that when Obama and Hillary met up.

I believe that Obama will set the course minus group think. It appears to me that he wants to weigh all sides before making a decision, which is a good thing. Instead of trying to persuade us by selling an agenda like the current administration. Also how come no is talking about the report regarding the use of false information to sell the current war?

Thats one thing you have to respect about McCane he is better off the cuff and when it comes from the heart.......Obama is better at the wroten word and what others tell him to say you can see that by how he has others searching for his best VP. true they both have staff proubly checking the options and it is a marrage that has no divorse but showing that doesnt seem to be very presidental. also we must remember there are no teleprompters on foriegn affair meetings.
they both have pros and cons I just hope America isnt getting coned.

the reps got us in this mess but then again the Dems are in charge of the house and senate and they havent done much as far as change since they took that spot

long term Dem with concerns......

Gates is already bending over and holding his ankles for Obama...........idiot

so the Bush approach = nonsense?????
sounds right. and now he is on his European tour trying to drum up some support to hit Iran. this guy and his neo-con buddies know no bounds.

Do you think Gates would suggest to "Jet-Pilot" that he take a sensible approach on Iraq?!

And when he's done there, he can start on "Dead-Eye Dick" for good measure!

McCain-2008 = Dole-1996!!! We don't need Bush Light!!

OBAMA – '08!!!!!!!

I think Mr Gates is right. I also think he is a honorable and decent person. Hes wonderful! I will miss him. What a shame the only humble good person in the Bush Adm is leaving in a matter of months. He is a really good person.

as opposed to the current pres.?gates must know obama will win in the fall.mccain is running the current strategy anyway.and our troops are still dying, daily.i'm with kucinich,let's impeach bush and the rest of his pitiful administration.they are all traitors and war criminals.

*********************************************
FUNNY HOW PROBLEMS GET ADDRESS BETTER COME ELECTION TIME. We should probably have election every day.

I hope Obama bring in Gates to his administration. He (Gates) seems to be a level headed person and a smart man. We can use people like him in what will be the best administration for 40 years.
Obama 08

McCain tells the truth. Obama tells you what you want to hear. Who would you rather support?

McCain '08!

Thank you, finally, to someone sane in D.C. Bush announced again today that he has "no regrets" about Iraq. Totally inappropriate, totally nonsensical. This has to be in the tiniest minority of U.S. hearts. The next president almost has to take a sensible approach against that background; nowhere else to go from here.

I urge McCain to stop with his me-too Bush talk; that distracts from what the real issues are, since we know he won't follow the same inane route.

frank June 11th, 2008 9:30 am ET

Susan…you do realize that we still have troops in Germany and WWII has been over for 60+ years, right?

___________-

We may still have trooops in Germany and in other places but are we fighting wars in those places?

No. We aren't. We are still in Iraq and Afanganstan though and we need ot pull troops out of there.

I hate to break it to you Obambies, but there is NO WAY he withdrawals the troops from Iraq as he promises you. Obama is not that dumb (I hope) and does not want to be the guy who turned victory into defeat.

Imagine how bad it would look for President Obama to have to send troops back into Iraq to fight Al Qaeda once it regroups after an Obama led surrender. I'm sure, though, he and you would blame Bush.

To Matt June 11th, 2008 9:05 am ET
Obama is backing away from his 'Pull all troops out' campaign rhetoric.
He may pull some out, but I guarantee there will be troops still in Iraq in 4 years.
Obama lies to get votes. McCain at least is honest to your face and tells you what needs to be done.
---------------------------
Let's review your comment:

Obama-at least 4 more yrs (He may pull some out, but I guarantee there will be troops still in Iraq in 4 years. The advice of the general).

McBush–at least a 100 yrs. (100 yrs. No troops coming home. This without advice from general).

You – Hillary Clinton supporters need to get a life and move on. Instead of all your whinning and crying about her losing. Hillary lost the race do to her own downfall – herself, Bill, and her Campaign people. Get the facts right and Get over it – it is old news now!

MD June 11th, 2008 9:25 am ET

Hillary's opinion should be considered. After all, she won the popular vote in the democratic primary.

-----
For the Thousandth time. She did NOT win the popular vote. Get it through your head

Do any of you realize how much McCain would push back the rights of women, that we have worked so hard to achieve?

McCain has a cheshire grin when he thinks he is saying something clever. He is way out of touch with the reality of my world.

All you McCain lovers. . . wisen up! He would set us back tremendously. It is time for change; not more of the same. McCain is the wrong change.

Go Obama!

No, Mr. Gates, the next president will not be blamed for Iraq no matter what happens. The Iraq war belongs to Bush - he owns it now and forever. Bush invaded under false pretenses and regime change unleashed a sectarian civil war. We can't afford to keep borrowing $12 billion a month to pay for Bush's private army and no-bid contracts to Haliburton, and neither the Sunnis or Shia want us to occupy the country. They will unite to expel Al Qaida, and we must leave to go after Bin Laden, who really does pose a threat to us.

Obama will just be another Jimmy Carter, ' i surrender' ..please don't do anything bad to us again.

Well, I guess that leaves McSame out of the mix. There just is nothing sensible about his approach or policies which parrot all the talking points (read: lies) of the cuurent administration. To use sensible and McCain in the same sentence is laughable.

Sec Gates, Even though you are thinking correctly, that won't matter in an Obama presidency because he has said that everything that has been done is wrong and he is going to change everything regardless of what the facts are. You know these "change" gurus don't ever think through the ramifications of what they do....they blame the consequences on somebody else.

If we elect McBush for another 4 years, we are plain stupid, and deserve what we get.

So long to another Bush cronie in November – Warmongering Gates!

GENERATION X . YOU ARE 100% RIGHT. I TRY'D TO TELL THEM THAT TOO. HOW WE FORGET SO SOON ABOUT 911. 85% OF THE COUNTRY WANTED TO GO TO IRAQ ETC.. O.B. NEVER HAD ANY RIGHT'S TO VOTE ON IT, BUT HE SURE CAN CRITISIZE EVERYONE ELSE. TWO YEARS LATER HE VOTES FOR MORE MONEY TOWARD THE WAR THOUGH. HE IS SUCH A BIG JOKE. AMERCA GES WHAT THEY ASK FOR. THATS WHATS WRONG WITH OUR COUNTRY. WHEN THINGS GO BAD ,THEY BLAME EVERYONE ELSE. AMERICA SHOULD START THINKING ABOUT THEIR OWN COUNTRY FOR ONCE. WE CANT TO ANYTHING UNTIL NATIONAL SECURITY IS SAFE. SO YOU COMPLAINERS ABOUT THE WAR ,JUST THINK THAT THE TERROIST HASN'T BEEN IN OUR BACKYARDS SINCE IT STARTED.WAR ISN'T PRETTY .BUT NEITHER IS TERROIST ATTACKS. CONCERNED VIET NAM VET

A "sensible approach" would be to leave entirely. We continually hear "finish the job." What is the job? Ensuring there are no WMDs aimed at America? Check. Removing the tyrant? Check. Elections in Iraq? Check. OK, all the things we said we'd do in Iraq are completed. Let's bring our military heroes home and send the Iraqi government some funds equal to half the cost of running an occupation there for the next year. No more Americans dying in Iraq? Check.

This is the endgame Americans want: Bring our troops home, and get out of Iraq!

Gates is GAY.... he is into Iraqis

YOU CANT WITH DRAW WITHOUT WORST CALCULATIONS. O.B. WILL HAVE THE TERROIST BACK IN OUR BACKYARD LIKE 911 OR WORST. THEY ALL SAY THEIR GOING TO DO SO MUCH UNTIL THEY GET ELECTED. YOU CANT CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT.YOU LOST MINDED O.B. SUPPORTERS BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOUR CANIDATE TELLS YOU. WHAT A JOKE. AMERICA WILL WISH THEY NEVER SCREWED HRC IN THIS RACE, AND HANDED IT TO A GREENHORN.(O.B.)

Is Gates going into the scare tactics also , guess thats his bread and butter. Also does this not help McSame with this comment?

mr gates the endgame is already here, the blame and everyone knows it lyes with bush, cheney, rumsfeld these are the majors war mongels that got united states in this mess in the first place, the clean up job will not be blamed on no one else , because bush will leave this war in such disaray how can we blame any else on the endgame, this war should have been resolved before he leaves office, which is impossible for him, his presidency has been a joke the people that helped bush win the highest office of this counrty were pulling the strings, the bleed, sold off, have pilfered . healthcare, the ecomony the horror of this war for thousands on both sides. WHEN BUSH WAS TALKING LIBRARY FOR HIS LEGACY, HE MUST HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A PUBLIC LIBRARY THAT IS A GREAT PLACE FOR LEGACY THE WORST PRESIDENT EVERRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Well let's see, that statement implies that this president has not taken a "sensible approach" to Iraq. WHAT A REVELATION!!!!!

Obama '08 + '12

Gates has done a good job so far.I hope he stays on ...he's needed.

Now all we need is Hillary.

Republicans are "chicken hawks". They are afraid of everything and everyone. If you find one on the throne in January, we will be at war with Iran within the year. What’s the difference between Iraq and Iran? Those people now know exactly how to fight our forces as well as every force from every nation. Why? Because our multi-national strategy was tested and it failed.

Iraq ain't Iran. We need someone even tempered in the White House who is willing to work our diplomacy to weaken our enemy through sanctions and other diplomatic tools before marching off to war. It is worth noting that we would have been in a stronger position right now if we would have rolled in to Iraq and right back out. But no, we had to engage in nation building and fostering democracy. Look what we did to Israel! Palestinians voted in Hamas. Now we don't want to engage with their democratically elected government.

It will be a trip when the rest of the world catches on and figures out they can hold legitimate, free, democratic elections and still vote into office a bunch of scoundrels. Ooops, we have already been there and done that not once but twice (2000 & 2004).

Hmmm. you said Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CNN that no matter who winds up being the next president, he is likely to "take a sensible approach" to the Iraq war"?

Okay, if you say so....

K June 11th, 2008 8:58 am ET, Wrote

There is no way I'm voting for McCain or Obama. What people don't realize is that Bush did what he had to do in the face of terror. Now, everyone wants to turn on him and say it wasn't the right thing to do. I think CNN should start running some of the 9/11 footage to remind people what we are fighting for. It's easy to forget and lay blame when things are going badly. I'll be praying for America.

---------------------------

K, you're a moron... there is no other way to describe you.
The people who attacked on 9/11 was in Afganistan. There were not al-queda in Iraq. Bush played up the thread an used the fear of 9/11 to go to war.

you're a moron. Go do some reading..

I think what he means by both taking a sensible approach is that both will examine the ground conditions upon taking office and be presented with intelligence that they are not currently privy to in order to make a decision. It's a veiled way of saying troops will stay because they have to regardless of empty campaign promises. Iraq would burn if we left, and eventually take most of the middle east with it. We broke it, we bought it.

I really think a message of intelligence should supercede any decision of continuing this war as it hurts everyone.

If we contiue to think that war will resolve everything – think again – look at our economy – look at where billions of dollars are being spent instead of strengthen America's intelligence – education, careers, retirement allocations, social security, etc.

I'm not going to say who is bad and who is good but America does need a change in thoughts for America to rebuild itself that will include our educational system, jobs and more importantly families across this great country.

A previous comment staes "Bush did what he had to do in the face of terror". Hogwash. Bush made the biggest mistake in the history of the United States. Winston Churchill promised his people blood, sweat, tears, and victory. Franklin Roosevelt promised sacrifice and victory. George W Bush told us to go shopping, and turned most of the world against us. I would call him a clown but I do not wish to insult clowns.

In listening to Sen. Obama and his surrogates, one invariably hears that John McCain is indistinguishable from Pres. Bush and that he supports a 100 years' war in Iraq. One would think that Team Obama could make their case without resorting to such underhanded tactics.
But, then again, perhaps they can't.

Americans for McCain '08

There is no sensible approach to the Iraq occupation. Had we known the facts and had we been capable of rational thought back then, we would not have invaded Iraq. Don't you all remember the flags on every home and the 80+% approval ratings of Bush back then? I was a supporter too.

Now we know we were foolish when we made the decision to invade and we were stupid during the first years of the occupation. Rumsfeld and Rice were playing bureaucratic ping-pong, each trying to stick the other with the more difficult tasks. Bush was isolated in a White House full of caboose-kissers, all eager to out-praise the other. Those who were opposed to the war were silent, fearful of being branded traitors. Now, most of those who once supported the war can't remember supporting it in the first place.

Having done everything wrong that can be done wrong, we find ourselves broke, the army is exhausted, expensive equipment is worn, and replacements are scarce. We simply cannot ask the unfortunate suckers who joined the National Guard who were mobilized back then to serve even more tours of duty.

There is no easy, inexpensive solution to this situation.

To any twenty year old people reading this, remember how foolish we were when you were young. Another war will come along in thirty years, maybe sooner. Don't be as dumb as your parents and grandparents – who should have known better.

Well that leave McSane out of the picture.

YES WE CAN be fooled 100% of the time.

Spoken by the man who knows? The issue in Iraq is not the war... the REAL issue is obligating our treasury to building that dump while we deny our own nation the basics and allow our own infrastructure to collapse.

And that President is Barack Obama!

K: The terrrorist of 9/11 came from SAUDI ARABIA, not Iraq...no one needs to be reminded what we are fighting for, but we invaded the WRONG country..everyone knows that Bush JR was avenging BUSH SR's failed Gulf War...why didn't he attack Saudi Arabia? one reason: OIL.....

There is NO JUSTIFICATION for the lies Bush told and the lives he has wrecked both here and in Iraq...and his only sacrifice was giving up his golf time..what a great leader!!!

BUSH..DUMB AS A TREE!!!!

McSame was not referring to combat troops when he made his 100 years remark. Still, nobody wants us there except George W Bush and his dwindling band of followers, and the conservative Republicans in Congress who send other people's children off to die or be maimed. To most of the rest of the world, we are occupiers, not liberators or protectors. Iraq should never have been created (according to Winston Churchill, who did it after World War I), and they are going to have their civil war to undo the mistake whenever we leave, be it two years from now, or twenty. All empires fail, and it is time to rein in our empire before it brings us down. There is one sensible approach to Iraq, and it is being advocated by Barack Obama.

McCain should be president then, he is the one with common sense. Obama doesn't know what he is doing. Do we want another Carter presidency? I remember the long gas lines, gas rationing, high 20% unemployment. That is what Obama will give us. Let's get someone qualified to be President. I would not hire a contractor without the proper experience to complete the job.

Please look a little deeper and see what’s beneath the flowery rhetoric and empty slogans.

McCain is a proven leader. He is moderate. And he knows what he is talking about, unlike Obama, who mouths the ideas that are the product of the years of true Democratic Party leaders, like Hillary Clinton. Ask youself why Obama can’t speak below 35,000 feet. Why can’t he speak more substantively?

blog.pumapac.org

What about when McBushfreaks scream, "WHAT ABOUT GERMANY AND JAPAN! WE HAVE TROOPS THRE!"

Yeah--and Germany and Japan aren't wacky radical Muslims splintered into tribes and who don't mind having America around.

We stay in the Middle East for 100 years and we will constantly drain our military resources babysitting a bunch of wackos.

Let them help themselves!!

McBush doesn't know diddly squat about a war. He thinks being a POW gives him cred.

gates is a moron, carrying bush's water and now trying to protect whatever pathetic legacy he thinks he might have. after 5 years, we need a "sensible approach"? give me a break.

It is my opinion that people who are voting for Obama are in part voting, believing that he will be able to affect the gas prices, which I do not believe he will. As a result of some people believing this, I believe they will be unsatisfied w/ Obama when/if he is selected because he will not be able to affect the prices. We are not the only country affected by these outrageous prices, it's world-wide. So unless the Iraqi oil owners have just raised prices because we are there, sit back bc I don't forsee a change. Oil has made them BILLIONS, why would they lower prices? To appease a nation who has invaded their country and bought no good to it? I think not. McBush has us screwed and McSame intends to continue his agenda.

Which ever man gets President they had better thread carefully on plans to withdraw from the middle east. That area is a powder keg just waiting for us no stomach for a fight Americans to withdraw. We will you know. We haven't been able to stick since World War II because of our people. You can bet the ones yelling the most does not even have anyone involved in the fight. IF YOU CAN'T STAND FOR FREEDOM AND BEHIND OUR TROOPS THIN LEAVE THIS COUNTRY. GO TO FRANCE OR FLEE TO CANADA LIKE YOUR FATHERS DID. We don't need you here. For you OBAMA supporters who think OBAMA is such a great speaker. WHy are you thinking this because the MEDIA said so. This is the same MEDIA that gives us such bias against HILLARY.. BY THE WAY KEEP ON BASHING AWAY ON HER AND NOW YOU'VE STARTED ON McCAIN. YOUR SO STUPID YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT YOUR ONLY DRIVING US HILLARY SUPPORTERS TO McCAIN. AND HE..! YES iIRATHER HAVE FOUR MORE YEARS OF ANYTHING BUT OBAMA AND HIS CORRUPTION. McCAIN 08.

Sound approach? "bomb, bomb, bomb... bomb, bomb Iran."

He is obviously not talking about McCain. I do not believe Gates even likes the smell of his own boss Bush although he cannot openly criticize the "commander and chief." (emaphasis on small letters for the small "bush man")

---shame on all you people in our government.....

killing people for all the wrong reason.............

shame on bush, shame on mcain, shame on clintons............

The only sensible one is Obama. He knew we shouldn't have gone in.
And he has the temperment and intelligence to get us out.
McBush, the hotheaded punk, is ready to bomb everybody!

We will win in Iraq. McCain will show them how to do it. Vote McCain and be a winner. Iran is next my friends.
Hillary supporters welcome to the right side. We will have a push this time to stop the MURDER of babies. Glad that you have seen the light and will vote McCain this time. Obama is for gay rights and we need to keep marrage between a MAN and a WOMAN. They want to uphold Roe V Wade but we will shoot it down now. It is my hope that with your help we can overturn some of this left wing stuff.
Vote Life Vote McCain08

Its not just the troops that need to come home.

There are 80,000 + American contractors right now in Iraq hired by the Whitehouse with taxpayers money. These guys are armed and don't follow the US Military rules. Worse than that, our military has to do all the dirty work with hardly any pay, and these guys get paid with our tax payers dollars to do less and they get waaaaaaaaaay more money.

That is a crime. Plain and simple.

Only IF the next President is Senator Clinton!
Obama is NOT qualified to keep our country safe – BUT he will NEVER be elected. McCain is qualified – and can do the job!

Why are you not allowing my comments to posts... Are you all on vacation CNN...

I like and respect Defense Sec. Gates, and that is saying a lot since there is NO ONE else in this adminstration that I feel is REALLY honest with the American public. He calls it as he sees it and that is EXTREMELY refreshing after 6 or 7 years of being LIED to.

Why didn't we impeach Bush? Why the hell did we not impeach him?

I am genuinely amazed at how this country just sat back and let him have his way. We have been complacent and allowed him free rein, and then we complain as if we never had a choice.

McCain would not take a sensible approach to this war if he were elected. He "hates" war too much, like Bush; it is a fixation that severly diminishes his ability to percieve other viable options.

We will never be able to cultivate peace by hating war. YOu cannot resolve a problem from the same place in which it was created.

THe key is to embracing peace, I'd say to McCain, is to place the focus on PEACE. . . if you want to do away with war.

We just don' t get that, do we?

I'm certainly not trying to belittle Senator McCain's war hero status. But as a navy pilot who spent most of his time in a POW camp. I have a hard time understanding how that makes him some sort of military authority or subject matter expert.

I'm a Vet as well. I'm obviously not a hero like McCain is though, since i was neither shot nor taken POW. I actually had the experience of training and leading combat troops. Can Sentor McCain say that. But like I said, he's the war hero not me.

So when it comes to policies towards countries like Iraq, Iran and Afgan.. I don't think McCain is any better than Obama. They both are clueless.

If they had listened to Barack they would have never been in this mess to begin with.

But Oh; Barack is the bad guy....

Give me a break....

It's time we get rid of the cowboy mentality and put someone in office that is smart and brilliant

Obama / Governor Kathleen Sebelius

We're all tired of Iraq but we're also tired of politics as usual. Obama is trying to stir up attention to the rate of suicide and homicides in the military in Iraq and attribute that to the war. What he fails to do is compare those rates, which are lower, to the civilian suicide and homicide numbers here in our own country which means...this is a non-issue. Obama's call to the Defense Dept to drop everything and give him answers on this non-issue is an indication that, 1) Obama is waging politics as usual and is trying to politicize the war to his advantage, or, 2) Obama isn't fully informed and thus, doesn't completely understand what to focus on.

I personally believe it's a mixture of the two. This country will begin hurting in a huge way after the honeymoon if we elect the, "rockstar" Obama. It's obvious he doesn't practice the rhetoric he purports. The 'audacity' of him. I 'hope' this country sees through him.

An "immediate" withdrawal, a la Obama, is totally unrealistic and would result in immediate genocide of those Iraquis who have helped and supported our troops.

Although Bush was a flaming idiot for the way he "conned" us into the war, there is no doubt that the world is better off without Saddam Hussein, and that a the Middle East will be more stable with a stable Iraq - and that will still take some time.

McCain is no "flaming idiot" Bush. He is moderat but strong. He won't pay the bullies a quarter just to be allowed to cross the road.
He's a moderate Republican, just like Ronald Reagan - who made sure that America was strong militarily and abroad - and only then could he shout, "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall" - and down it came!

By the way, Hillary Clinton is also a moderate, and she said all along that we have to withdraw from Iraq "responsibly." But we know what we did to her!

Now that Obama has the nomination, watch how he will begin to waffl on his "immediate" withdrawal theme - just watch.

What Gates is saying:

"When McCain is elected president, he will take the sensible approach as he has in the past"

"If Obama squeaks out a victory, he'll have to adjust his approach to the sensible one because reality requires it."

and the best approach is to bring our troops home safely. After all, if things are going so well in Iraq why is it still necessary for us to be there. Things are going quite well according to Bush.

Start packing guys.

Based on what you read in the papers.."Both sides will take a sensable approach" to the war? Barack will get us out of Iraq but McCain will not. They cannot both be sensable. And getting your intel from the papers is the kind of stuff that got us into the war in the first place.

Gates is the only true caring AMERICAN in the Bush administration...he seems to want to do things the right & fair way using good sound judgement....perhaps if Obama is elected he will keep him in his administration....he does not seem to be a neo-conservative right winger who cares for nothing but himself like the rest of the Bush administration...

WHY CAN'T I POST!!!

I wish he was around to have this sound mindset of thinking when we were going into this thing.

The problem is Bush got us in and there is really no way to get out.

We are stuck in a crappy civil war in Iraq and we really can't just leave, because fringe elements will take over and we will be less safe, but we can't stay forever, or even that long, because all we do is fuel anti-US/anti-imperialist sentiments.

Before we went in the human rights violations were horrible (of course, we don't go to other places where there are atrocious human rights violations, see Darfur), but Iran was scared enough of Saddam to be kept in check. Now Iran is looking to become a huge power in the Middle East – and they want to nuke Israel into oblivion.

It's a total fiasco and I for one can't see how there will ever be a good resolution.

Gates is correct! He's talking about Barack Obama!

Bush ≠ Sensible approach on anything! He's the standard bearer for incompetence.

so I guess we will finally get an administration that has sense? I do think(hope) that a McCain admin would probably run the occupation better than Bush, but we shouldn't be occupying and Bush has screwed this thing up to badly, so we need to get out and stop having our young men and women die for a cause that our civilian leadership cannot get right.

Obama 08.

I think Iraq mess is Rumsfelds brainchild. Who ever takes on as president would have a loty on his plate with Iraq. Its such a hopeless situation that we cant look at any of the options as a good option.

Gates should be President. What a good man!!!!!!!

And his name will be Barack Obama.

Thanks Secretary Gates, maybe you will be able to help President Obama to get us out of this mess. We know its no chance of your help with McCain.

Vote Obama 08

E.C, Houston TX

Too true. Of course, John McCain was calling for Rummy's resignation years before any other Republican was. Despite what the failed leadership of the Democratic Party keeps trying to convince us about McCain, he is a moderate who has been willing to go against Bush.

Anyone who followed the Republican nomination fight in 2000 between Bush and McCain knows that McCain is not Bush.

The McSame slogan will not work, Obama people. Give it up.

One of the 18 million.
Real American and True Democrat.

In my opinion the statement by the secretary of defense about end game is probably indicative of the desire to elect someone with equal interest as Bush. Since bush started in his regime the current policy spurning problems to the US foreigns image the defense secretary though not openly is favoring McCain who seems proper for the end game talk. i believe Americans should be cautious since it wont fair on well if they in any way still cling to this most foul foreign policy.

This is 100% psychological warfar at it's best regarding Iraq. "Don't mess up the end game or you'll get blamed." "Have a good exit plan or you'll get blamed," etc.

To me that means that they are telling the next president to think twice before he pulls out of Iraq because you're going to get blamed if it goes wrong. This also tells me that the next president may not pull out as quickly as we thought in fear of it going badly.

Elect McCain and there will not be enough people left to kill in the war in Iraq. It is almost what 5 to 6 years and the same crap is going on in Iraq. Iraq is in worse shape than it was before U.S. invaded. Like everyone says vote McCain and it will be 4 more years of Bush only with a different face.

McCain will take a "close look" and then bomb Iran...if Bush doesn't beat him to it!
As far as impeachment, I say go for it! We cannot let these war criminals slink out of office guiltless and free. They should be facing criminal charges!

Weaker Dollar........ Huge OIL Prices...... Economy dumped.....

we need Barack Obama who will change the way washington works with the tax payer dollars... We need help and unfortunately it will take more then 4 years to get the job done..

Yes...WE... Can...

Historians will put the WHOLE blame for this fiasco where it belongs – Bush and Cheney's lap.

Yeah Susan you can hate war but also find it necessary. It's this crazy thing called logic.

Of course, that next president would be John McCain.
Obama is too unknown, inexperienced and unquaiified to run for the office of President of the United States, and all the failed leaders of the undemocratic Democratic Party who enabled his candidacy will soon be forced to resign for political malpractice and a betrayal of our trust.
Wait for the multiple October surprises… Obama will have a worse month in October than he did in March/April. There are already reports that a male member of Trinity United Church in Chicago named Larry Sinclair has signed an affidavit that says that in 1999 he did drugs and had sex with Barack Obama and that, as part of an effort to keep him quiet last year, David Axelrod threatened him.That’s what you get for selecting an unknown candidate as the party’s nominee…
PUMA DEMOCRAT

The bottom line is whoever gets into the White House will be facing a long hard road to recovery for the country and the Iraq war is just one of the many areas.

Bush and his own crew of henchmen have been a disaster. If McCain wants to continue the "strategy" in Iraq, then he's a total moron. How can you have strategy when the entire Bush War campaign is based on LIES?

Our current President should be impeached! He has done worse things during his administration that scream "impeachment" than former President Bill Clinton. Whoever is elected in November will have a hard job in which they handle the Iraq war situation. It is time to bring our troops home. This war CANNOT continue. And, please President Bush, don't start another one in Iran. I don't understand that when Republicans are in office, that they just like to become involved in some kind of military action somewhere in the world. What is with that?!?!?!?!

Pres. Bush had already said, it would be up to the next pres. to clean this mess up. Hope all who voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004 is happy with his mess. If you want the mess to continue vote for McCain. If you want it cleaned up vote for Obama.

that's why i will vote for sen obama. he will get our troops out of that travesty of a war, that was conceived and based soley on lies.

the fact that our troops are still over there suffering and dying because of bush, cheney, rumsfeld, rice and their cohorts (all legitimate war criminals) is absolutely ludacris.

What about the separation of church and state? Is Obama trying to become a Republican? For a man who would not reach across the aisle in the Senate, he seems to be embracing one of the most divisive things in our nation. When I voted for Obama I was not aware of his connection to religious leaders like Wright and Pfleger. Now I find out he is courting other religious leaders. I don't know what promises he is making to them, but if he goes down the path of trying to bring the religious views of these faiths into his campaign, he will be violating the basic premise of the Democratic Party to keep religion out of our politics and government. Must Obama do everything the Republicans have been doing to divide the nation? I hope he doesn't sell out his constituency just to get religious votes.

George Bush says he has "no regrets" about the Iraq war. Well, if that's your story, Mr. Bush, you just stick with it.

Susan...you do realize that we still have troops in Germany and WWII has been over for 60+ years, right?

Hillary's opinion should be considered. After all, she won the popular vote in the democratic primary.

Huh? I think this guy is straddling the fence big time. As pointed out in the article, McCain and Obama have very disparate views about the war, yet Gates claims both are a sensible approach. Now THAT doesn't make sense.

Sensible approach?
Clearly he doesn't foresee an Obama victory, then.

The economy is in the tanks, so if we spend 3 mill a day on it here in the US, we will be fine, instead of helping a 20 billion dollar surplus having Iraqi government.

Defense Secretary Gates is the Best Thing that has happened to this country. Too bad we had to endure those years of bad decisions before Gates arrival. Thank you, Gates! A brilliant, true professional makes all the difference.

OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE AT ANY OF THIS STUFF!

HILLARY WAS THE ONLY CHANCE THIS COUNTRY HAD!

I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR EITHER OF THE FOOLS LEFT!

slightly off the subject, i know, but i think the democrats in the House(mainly Polesi)..are as bunch of spineless cowards for not voting for the impeachment of our current President. How can you go around touting how damaging and damaged his presidency is and was, yet when it comes time for someone(a REPUBLICAN even) who wants to do something about it(even if its just to go on record).. they shy away and think about their own interests. I am a stounch democrat and an even bigger Obama supporter than most a suspect, but i feel he and the Democrats that are actually in a position to do some good exhibit nothing but cowardess when it comes to accountablilty. George W. Bush SHOULD be brought before some commitee and held accountable to his war crimes and negligence against certain things that have happened. And more importantly when Polesi said that he would NOT be impeached it proved to me that they are bogus.I wonder if the families of these men and women who've died unnecessarily feel they should get a vote on the subject.

Regardless of what happens, I will always personally blame Bush for the disaster of Iraq. Just today he says he has no regrets about the war...despite cherry-picking and exaggerating (and sometimes outright lying about) evidence of a threat, finding no WMD's, finding no link to bin Laden, and killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths and more American casualties than 9/11 caused.

And bin Laden is STILL out there. Dead or alive...or until we get distracted by an oil-rich country that poses no threat to us whatsoever. Yeah, I'm sure the terrorists are shaking.

We need a strategic withdrawel policy as Obama wants, not a continuous presence for as long as it takes as mcwar wants. We cannot afford this senseless war any longer!

To Bob Gates:

Great job you are doing--by fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban over there, keeping them pinned down and then running for their lives, they have little chance to plan attacks in the territorial U.S. And that's the only reason we've had no terrorist attacks here in 7 years. Few Americans understand this--they have no idea why terrorists are not operating here. But they will find out if and when Obama brings the troops home--Al Qaeda will be right behind them.

McBushes only solution is to stay there one hndre years and force the Iraqui's to let the US put bases there. If they don't agree, He will continue the US reign of terror, and probably start a new war with Iran!. He has no idea of what diplomacy is!

Obama is backing away from his 'Pull all troops out' campaign rhetoric.

He may pull some out, but I guarantee there will be troops still in Iraq in 4 years.

Obama lies to get votes.

McCain at least is honest to your face and tells you what needs to be done.

Baloney......McCain wants to deploy and leave troops there forever. They as in the republicans want to have bases there which means our troops will always be there, which means americas money will be going over there and we the tax payers will be paying through the nose.Let Iraq take care of Iraq. Its time we keep our money here and heal our nation

Don't have to worry about McShame getting blamed – troops will still be there when our grandchildren retire.

There is no way I'm voting for McCain or Obama. What people don't realize is that Bush did what he had to do in the face of terror. Now, everyone wants to turn on him and say it wasn't the right thing to do. I think CNN should start running some of the 9/11 footage to remind people what we are fighting for. It's easy to forget and lay blame when things are going badly. I'll be praying for America.

Bring the troop's home. Now, that the end game!!!

Who cares about fricken Iraq? Lets face facts; neither McCain nor Obama are stubborn and pig-headed like Bush and both will listen to their generals on the ground. The next US president will have to take out the trash left by the current administration but, what matters most are domestic issues.

Gee...what a bold statement.
Anyone who is elected president is going to be sensible whether you agree with them or not. There are lives at stake.
What the next president will have to do that the current one has not is to evaluate what is truely the goal for a stable Iraq. Is it to insure stability in the middle east? This is a pipe dream; the area is far too tribal. Is it to insure the safety of Israel? Israel is pretty strong largely due to arms acquired from us. They can take care of themselves. The threat of Iran? Another glorified third-world country with a chip on its shoulder.
I could ask these hypotheticals all day....but it will all come back to the oil. We need it....they have it.
So there are really two choices: get out right now and suffer the tough but temporary consequences. Or make Iraq the 51st state, make Bagdhad the capitol and arm the new state to the teeth to protect the region. As we've seen, theere's no in-between!

Gates is a typical bearucrat. He understands that if he said anything different from that statement in either way during an election year the media would pounce on anything along with the democrat party to use it against the republican party and canidate. Except for fox news " the rest of the liberal media outlets have proven how baised they are for Obama. It is a doggone shame "Fox got smart over these years and run an almost flawless unbaised news, on the other hand cnn has become and advocate and spin master for Obama. what a switch. I watched cnn for years but now my tv stays on fox. Gates knows that Obama is going to be a complete failure on the Irag issue but gives no hint because of media baises that will ensue in favor of Obama.

UMMMMMMM........................... DUH............

Don't you get a sense that Bush is somewhat washing his hands with this fiasco. Unfortunately Gates is right. The burden will be the next president. Such a shame that the current one got us in it. As for this impeachment deal. I don't think they should follow through but glad there was a list made and can be heard.

If the next president is McBush, he said '100 years if necessary!'. But he hates war, right?