Submitted by gr8pop, Dec 5, 2007 14:00

Does it matter what Gates says or believes? Sixteen (25 reported elsewhere) Iraqis die on the day of his visit, along with 3 Americans ... many others are wounded, and Gates says, "We need to be patient." .......... Of course we need to be patient, we need to be patient so that we can complete all the permanent military bases we want in Iraq ... so we can keep all the U.S. contractors in business and we can control Iraq's oil while we provide protection for Israel. Is Gates going around and talking to Iraqi citizens? There are no comments about the Iraq's stability by Iraqi citizens here. Why does Gates even need to go to Iraq (for a whole day) to make pronouncements like, "I believe that a secure, stable Iraq is within reach." ? He could simply make those pronouncements from home.

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