kanda on November 28, 2008 at 8:30 PM

Remember, his country’s national budget is based on oil being at $80/bbl. Hopefully, Iraq’s economy will begin to diversify and they won’t depend on oil so much.

from Brietbart:

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Friday that 80 dollars a barrel is a “reasonable” price for oil and that his country would support any OPEC decision to cut output.
“A reasonable price for oil is 80 dollars a barrel,” said Shahristani on arrival in Cairo to attend a consultative meeting by the OPEC cartel to study slumping crude prices.

“We have to make sure that produced oil is used for consumption and not for storing.

“Iraq would support a decision by OPEC to cut output either here or in Algeria,” the Iraqi minister added.

Baxter Greene on November 28, 2008 at 2:05 PM

You are an honorable person. I know you feel disappointed but I’m certain you will find other ways to contribute.

Baxter Greene on November 28, 2008 at 2:05 PM

You sir, get it. I personally consider you a Great American.

thomasaur on November 28, 2008 at 2:16 PM

Thank you,
I know exactly were our Freedoms come from.
Without the great leadership and sacrifice of our men and
women in uniform,America and the rest of the world would be a lot worse off and know nothing of individual rights,and representative government.

Iraq and Afghanistan are just more examples of why the American Soldier is the greatest liberator in the history of
mankind.

…the SOFA vote was a demonstration of national sovereignty and a notice that they would not become a satellite nation to Tehran.

How can that be? The MSM told me that all Shiites (like Maliki) are just Iranian puppets. What nefarious plan has dinnerjacket cooked up this time? I know! Death to America by agreeing to its terms. Ahmadamnutjob has us right where he wants us.

Baxter Greene on November 28, 2008 at 2:05 PM

You sir, get it. I personally consider you a Great American.

Tony737 on November 28, 2008 at 1:46 PM

Don’t get overconfident! My CFI when I got my PPSEL was an Iranian-born guy who at last contact was flying MD-80s for one of your competitors. Imagine an MD-80 vs. B-737 dogfight!

Seriously fellows, those of you that are still in the military right now, if Obama being president didn’t scare you out of re-enlistment, imagine “garrison” conditions in Iraq….

leetpriest on November 28, 2008 at 10:46 AM

This may sound crazy,but I busted my a$$ for the last 2 months trying to get waivers(hearing loss) so that I could enlist.
I have a beautiful wife and daughter,my own business(six figures a year)and the suburban lifestyle,but would give anything to serve and be an American Soldier.

The waiver got through MPES but not the Surgeon Generals office.I was denied.I turned 42 last Saturday so I am now above the age requirement.

As crazy as it sounds,I would love to shovel sand in Iraq or fight in Afghanistan,Pakistan,Somalia,or wherever.
The War on Terror is an Historic and world changing event
that is freeing millions of people from the Jihadist.

I hate I could not join you men and women,but thank God for your service,because going around flashing the peace sign and chanting “I hate Bush” has not freed one dam# person or stopped one terrorist.

Our military won this war long ago after which Washington squandered that victory with stupid mistakes. I’m sure the problems over the past few years were unintended consequences of those mistakes. High on the list would be disolving the Iraqi military completely and also the government which led to the loss of control and management of the infrastructure. This caused the people to lose confidence and let the insurgents gain a foothold. Our military once again was called on to rescue Iraq from itself. A complete success….Now I am afraid they will be left there without the means to defend themselves.

They’re already doing it. Most of the pilots I work with at SWA (which only flies the 737) are former military pilots and some are still in the Reserves. I always ask them what did they fly in the Navy (or A.F., Marines) and most of the time they say F-14, F-18 or whatever but one guy said “Believe it or not, 737′s.”

Tony737 on November 28, 2008 at 1:09 PM

Of course I was tongue in cheek with the above comment, but then it got me thinking if someone hadn’t actually tried to do it.

And some A/C-737 gunships? Cool!

Declare Victory already President Bush. The surge worked congradulate our troops!!!!!

gringo69 on November 28, 2008 at 12:18 PM

Amen! Can we have a press conference President Bush to declare victory?

The biggest hurdle in the long term is corruption, and the IA, after seeing how US forces operate, understand that not having corruption is extremely important to fighting efficiency. Getting the rest of the culture to understand this and how that improves the ability of government to serve the people is very important.

I figure the last of our support for logistics and such will be around 2015, when the full logistics system is set up and they won’t need any US airpower for that and they can cover most of the country with COIN aircraft and UAVs. If they can keep corruption down they will have a competent armed forces which will be a first for the Arab world in modern times.

Very little that PE Obama can do to five year contracts inked late this year… and by 2012? Who knows.

Sell them some F-16s, quick! Make Gen. Sada the commander of the Iraqi Air Force and get some trainers in there now.

Tony737 on November 28, 2008 at 11:54 AM

F-16s are tricky and will take too long to train. Get them in the game faster with the new F/A-737, with bellies full of JDAMs and lots of hard points for Hellfire, Sidewinders and AAMRAMs.

Sell them some F-16s, quick! Make Gen. Sada the commander of the Iraqi Air Force and get some trainers in there now.

Their navy is almost nonexistent, too …

They need ships, we’ve got a surplus. That sounds like a win-win to me. Get them the boats and train them how to steer, shoot, swab the deck and whatever else you Navy guys do. Oh, and they’ll need marines and a coast guard too.