From
Reuters:
WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is planning on the basis that it may have to maintain current troop levels in Iraq until at least 2010, its top general said on Wednesday.
I really, really want to like these October surprises, but all they are is indicative of how horrible the leadership in our country is. I've been a fan of saying "move our country forward" instead of "take our country back," but it's imperative that we take the country back first. No quarter for congressional Republicans this fall. My next paycheck is going to Larry Kissell, D-NC-08. And I know not all of you can do that, but those who can - donate and volunteer. More about Iraq below the fold ...
More Reuters:
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the United States was in a tough fight with insurgents in Iraq but his plans did not mean it would necessarily need to keep the present level of 15 combat brigades there for the next four years.
Including those brigades, numbering about 3,500-4,000 soldiers each, the United States has about 141,000 troops in Iraq.
"We don't know what's going to happen but I'm telling you we're looking at our force and how we would continue this level two (troop) rotations beyond (now), so that's beyond 2010," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
The entire article is worth reading. It's unbelieveable after reading the news, the writing on the wall, and journal reports that contend that W's zeal for democracy and elections helped exacerbate secterian tensions.
The news is going to be good for Democratic chances all over the country. McMahon just sent out a fundraising letter about it.
Unfortunately, the Dems may get more money, but the Generals are still talking about "winning." As long as that's the tenor of the discussion, we lose.
Your thoughts on Iraq, and the best way to move America forward/take our country back?
I'll start with Larry's views as an example:
Last year I proposed a one year plan to get us out of Iraq by the end of 2006. Nearly a year has passed and our Administration still has not begun staging our way out. Now in 2006, I propose again that the Democratically elected Iraqi government step up to honor their responsibilities given the freedom our brave men and women in uniform made possible through their sacrifice.
We were given three missions, all accomplished, from searching for WMD's to capturing Saddam Hussein to bringing democracy to the people of Iraq. What's left are people that don't honor borders or formally declared wars. We've got to be smarter than that.
We need our troops home as soon as possible to be able to stand ready for the next phase of our global war on terrorism.
I reissue my challenge now. We staged our way into Iraq in one year, there is no reason we can't stage our way out in one year.
I think that sort of position is more than reasonable at this point. Last summer I spent a lot of time in DC studying how to get out of Iraq, and I was very skeptical of a withdraw, even if it involved better planning than the invasion. I thought we could still turn it around in spite of BushCo.
But I never believed the Republican talking points, and I tried to make as many people as possible aware that Democrats weren't going to cut and run. But now it's time to get out.
A good withdraw will not be immediate and will not put our soldiers in unnecessary danger. But whatever you think, staying in until 2010 is completely untenable. There are many great challenges we may need our military to face - Iran, North Korea, Genocide in Africa, the Taiwan Strait, Afghanistan - and we cannot do this while we are stuck in the crossfire of an unwinnable civil war in Iraq.
Update: Previous Diary on the subject.