U.S. Generals declare American forces are 'fueling the insurgency' and are increasingly 'part of the problem'!
WASHINGTON — The U.S. generals running the war in Iraq presented a new assessment of the military situation in public comments and sworn testimony this week: The 149,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq are increasingly part of the problem.
During a trip to Washington, the generals said the presence of U.S. forces was fueling the insurgency, fostering an undesirable dependency on American troops among the nascent Iraqi armed forces and energizing terrorists across the Middle East.
U.S. generals saying 'our' troops are 'fueling the insurgency', 'part of the problem' and 'energizing terrorists'? If Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy or Charlie Rangel had said that........?
The generals' words also represent a less ambitious definition of military success than what President Bush has put forth in recent statements.
At his ranch near Crawford, Texas, in August, Bush said that "when the mission of defeating the terrorists in Iraq is complete, our troops will come home."
More recently, Bush has offered a more nuanced view of success, emphasizing the importance of training Iraqi troops as part of the U.S. mission to defeat the insurgents.
But the ground commanders told Congress on Thursday that the number of Iraqi units at the highest state of combat readiness had dropped from three to one since June. And they pointed this week to problems caused by the presence of U.S. troops.
How the hell do you 'drop' in readiness? What, did they take the summer off or something? The damn Iraqis don't want to fight for 'democracy' but they sure don't mind blowing up everyone who does!
Military officials and others familiar with Casey's strategy in Iraq say the U.S. plans a phased withdrawal, first pulling its troops out of the 14 provinces that commanders believe are most secure. Initially, they would maintain a presence in the predominantly Sunni provinces of central Iraq, where most of the violence is occurring and the U.S. military suffers most of its casualties.
To hell with that! The Sunnis are out-numbered by the Shiites and the Kurds by almost 4 to 1. If they can't handle the Sunnis with those odds, then tough shit-they don't have the will to win and it's not worth one American life! Bring them all home now!
LA Times
Sunday, October 02, 2005
THEY'RE AIDING THE ENEMY!
U.S. Generals declare American forces are 'fueling the insurgency' and are increasingly 'part of the problem'!
WASHINGTON — The U.S. generals running the war in Iraq presented a new assessment of the military situation in public comments and sworn testimony this week: The 149,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq are increasingly part of the problem.
During a trip to Washington, the generals said the presence of U.S. forces was fueling the insurgency, fostering an undesirable dependency on American troops among the nascent Iraqi armed forces and energizing terrorists across the Middle East.
U.S. generals saying 'our' troops are 'fueling the insurgency', 'part of the problem' and 'energizing terrorists'? If Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy or Charlie Rangel had said that........?
The generals' words also represent a less ambitious definition of military success than what President Bush has put forth in recent statements.
At his ranch near Crawford, Texas, in August, Bush said that "when the mission of defeating the terrorists in Iraq is complete, our troops will come home."
More recently, Bush has offered a more nuanced view of success, emphasizing the importance of training Iraqi troops as part of the U.S. mission to defeat the insurgents.
But the ground commanders told Congress on Thursday that the number of Iraqi units at the highest state of combat readiness had dropped from three to one since June. And they pointed this week to problems caused by the presence of U.S. troops.
How the hell do you 'drop' in readiness? What, did they take the summer off or something? The damn Iraqis don't want to fight for 'democracy' but they sure don't mind blowing up everyone who does!
Military officials and others familiar with Casey's strategy in Iraq say the U.S. plans a phased withdrawal, first pulling its troops out of the 14 provinces that commanders believe are most secure. Initially, they would maintain a presence in the predominantly Sunni provinces of central Iraq, where most of the violence is occurring and the U.S. military suffers most of its casualties.
To hell with that! The Sunnis are out-numbered by the Shiites and the Kurds by almost 4 to 1. If they can't handle the Sunnis with those odds, then tough shit-they don't have the will to win and it's not worth one American life! Bring them all home now!
LA Times
WANTED
Dead or Alive
