Old song from the Cardigans bubbled up in my memory today. The town is Baghdad, the boys are U.S. Marines and Army. They are driving the old men of Saud and Pak crazy.

"The Boys Are Back In Town"

Guess who just got back today?
Those wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say
But man, I still think those cats are crazy

They were asking if you were around
How you was, and where you could be found
I told them you were living downtown
Driving all the old men crazy

The boys are back in town

Never heard this song done by the Cardigans. It was released by Thin Lizzie back in the 70s. Were they not the first?

To the point of the article, why doesn't someone tell all of these people who are saying the coalition should leave quickly to pack sand? The Iraqis are years, not months or weeks, away from being able to run things without another dick tater taking over. Sorry if the truth hurts, but the Americans & Brits, et al are the best friends the Iraqi people have at present. All the talk from neighbors of Iraq is self serving manure.

I'll defer to anybody named Elvis on musical questions.

Douglas MacArthur ruled Japan for 6 years. He did a damn fine job.

To leave Iraq before the job is done right would be a terrible betrayal of all those who died.

Boys are back in town - 1976, Thin Lizzie. Covers by Cardigans, Bon Jovi, and Everclear. I knew that.

Fred,

I would never profess fo be an ex spurt on anything.:-)

Does anyone else find it strange that this, like the earlier Gulf States pronouncement, parrots the US position with an anti-US spin?

Get out - but not until you have established a viable government.

The government must be representative and democratic, not a dictatorship or theocracy.

The UN must have a "substantial role", but the government must be Iraqi - not UN [or EU].

Not just democracy, liberal democracy, not one of those phony ones where you can vote but not talk or criticise. One with a constitution to protect people's rights and an actually independent judiciary to balance out the politicians.

Just imagine when the Iraqis realize that it was the liberal socialist and other muslims, that were giving everything they had, to undermine their liberation. The enemy they never saw coming.

Wouldn't it be funny if the Iraqis loved their freedom so much, since they well know the alternative, that there are no liberal socialist or religious zealots, tolerated in Iraq???

They could be an example for the rest of the world! :)

Like children who get overly tired and hysterically refuse to go to bed, the Iraqi people can't be trusted to know what is best for them. I don't mean this as insult or criticism -- just a realistic appraisal of the situation. "Get out quickly," they say. But in the same breath, we hear "the Americans should stop the looting," "the Americans should bring in special equipment to look for secret prisons," "the Americans should rebuild the infrastructure," and "the Americans should provide econmic relief." The fact is that the ordinary people of Iraq have been brutalized and dictated for so long that, like young, exhausted children, they just don't realize how tired they are or what the remedy might be. Like young children, they need someone else to think about their best interests and require appropriate conduct, or they'll end up falling asleep on the rug and paying for it tomorrow.

The "America Get Out!"crowd wants the US to leave before the "zoning board" meets on those 4 brand spanking new military bases are built, which will mothball the Saudi and Turkish bases previously used for No Fly enforcement. The shifting center of gravity is what IMHO the big issue is.

Liberal should mean libertarian. Sadly the term "liberal" has lost its true meaning. In origin a liberal is what we would now refer to as a libertarian. Now they're practically opposites. The true liberals are the center right. The true democrats are the neoconservatives. They're the ones who when told to put up or shut up regarding democracy for all, have put up. The old left is still whining.

The Iraqis need to be persuaded that there is a simple choice. Let the US and others stay in their country until it is stabilised and a PROPER democracy can be secured. Result = prosperity as well as freedom.

Or go for a quick fix, quick exit by the Coalition, quick but FALSE democracy, ending with a mullah-led thocracy or some kind of military rule again. Result = poverty as well as lack of freedom.

They must be persuaded that prosperity can only come from genuine freedom, and they need the US to guarantee their progress towards that freedom.

We have to ignore the 'get out of Iraq' voices. We must be patient and professionally finish the job we've started. We owe it to the soldiers that made this possible and to the Iraqi people.

Keep in mind that Pakistan is run by a military dictatorship and Saudi Arabia's constitution is the Koran. I love these people lecturing us about "establishing a constitutional government."

It's both infuriating and gratifying.