Posted on 04/23/2004 11:43:42 AM PDT by churchillbuff
US losing face as Poles waver From agency correspondents in Washington and Baghdad April 23, 2004 PENTAGON chiefs are drawing up emergency plans for more troops and money in Iraq as the US-led coalition continues to splinter in the face of insurgent violence.
Poland sent mixed signals about its troop commitment yesterday after the Dominican Republic followed Spain and Honduras in announcing that it would withdraw its troops from the country.
Wednesday's co-ordinated car bombings in the southern city of Basra rocked the coalition because the British-controlled south had been an area of relative calm.
The toll from the attack rose from 68 to 73, including at least 20 schoolchildren, yesterday after five of the wounded died. Some coalition officials said the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qa'ida.
"This is a serious situation," General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the US Congress yesterday. "We're at war. We have a lot at stake against these extremists in Iraq."
General Myers gave one of the most candid official assessments yet of events in Iraq, marking a further turn from the Bush administration's stance that a smaller US force coupled with Iraqi security forces could secure the country.
He said General John Abizaid, commander of US forces in Iraq, was assessing what additional forces might be needed on top of the 135,000 US troops already there.
US troops this month have endured the worst casualties of the year-old campaign, with 100 killed. More than 700 have died since the war began.
General Myers also revealed that the cost of the war had increased to $US4.7 billion ($6.44 billion) a month.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said last night he expected the UN Security Council to approve a new resolution for Iraq in May.
The surge in violence has come at a political cost to the Bush administration, with hawkish Republicans calling for the head of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
One influential Republican senator has even urged the White House to consider reinstating the draft.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice have spent the past two days phoning coalition partners to check their commitment. Britain, Poland, Japan, Italy and Portugal all remained strong, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
But there is doubt about Poland's commitment after Leszek Miller, the outgoing Prime Minister, suggested the Government was having second thoughts. "We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Spain and others are leaving Iraq," he said.
Honduras, with 360 troops, and the Dominican Republic, with 300, exploited Spain's decision to withdraw its 1300 troops to make their own moves. Both Britain and Australia, with 7500 and 800 troops in Iraq respectively, have vowed to stay the course - but have not offered more personnel.
As a result the Pentagon is drawing up contingency plans to either maintain US forces in Iraq at 135,000 or to increase numbers over the northern summer. Many families are unhappy that 20,000 troops due home this month have had duties extended by 90 days.
But US President George W.Bush said yesterday: "The Iraqi people are looking at America and saying are we going to cut and run again? We're not going to cut and run if I'm in the Oval Office. We will do our job,"
"The Australian is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Headquartered in Sydney, but with bureaus around Australia, it was founded in 1964, famously losing money for nearly thirty years."The Australian treads the Murdoch editorial line on most issues, in favour of free-trade economic policy and, particularly, relaxed regulation of the media sector, a realpolitik approach to foreign policy, and, unlike its downmarket stablemates, a reasonably liberal approach on social issues. It has a particular focus on foreign news and especially Australia's immediate neighbours in South-East Asia."
Correction. The Iraqi Bourgeoisie does not want freedom and democracy.
Thousands of Iraqis, who were previously members of Hussein's broad ruling structure and personality cult, are currently unemployed or no longer part of local control.
Obviously, they support a religious totalitarian government. It's the only way that they can keep control of the Islamic social structure--control, by the way, which includes annihilation of all non-islamic peoples and suppression of the masses (women, children, non-Muslims, non-Orthodox Muslims and men who do not "toe the line").
Thank Tax for a ping.
Ok, let me put a record straight here - WE ARE NOT WAVING, OR MOVING AWAY, ONCE AGAIN, MEDIA SHOT THE HELL UP AND STOP SPREADING STUPID NONSENSE!!!!!!!!.
We have responsibility over 9500 coalition forces, and we don not, and I repeat do not abandon our allies, it is total horseshit coming from the media.
We have Honor, dignity and obligation and that will be fulfilled with outmost respect. Adding more troops in Iraq, has nothing to do with Poland - media better get their facts straight.
We will not cut and run, we there because we were approach by our ally USA to help them, and that is what we intend to do.
I don’t know how many times I have to type reaffirmation of my country strong friendship with USA and that we are not going anywhere till job is done. Demit, stop listening to media bs, and look beyond what they say.
I agree with ThomasUSMC. I have complete faith in our troops but it seems to me the political will to do what is necessary is once again lacking. The incident with the sailors being lost and injured if the ROE was "COme into the restricted zone" and your boat WILL be fired on and sunk, we'll investigate later." IMHO, those losses and injuries to our troops where totally avoidable.
Anyone not wearing a uniform and carrying an military weapon should be shot on sight. Everytime these clowns are in the street waving their RPG's and AK's an air/artillery/gunship strike should be targetd on them, fire comes from a house the house gets a laser guided munition through the door.
If we're there to beat the Islamofacists, then lets let the military get serious about it.
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