Posted on 06/25/2005 8:08:08 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
With Democrats and even a few Republicans escalating their criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, and with polls indicating shrinking public support, a top terrorism strategist Friday said the president should "stop talking down" to Congress and the American people.
Anthony Cordesman, a strategist with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, blamed the Bush administration for "major strategic mistakes in preparing to deal with Iraq once Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
Cordesman, who traveled to Iraq earlier this month, said he "did not see progress in aid. I did not see progress in economics. I did not see that the U.S. has a plan for using the aid they are providing."
On Tuesday night, President Bush will deliver a nationally televised speech on the situation in Iraq, at a time when at least one poll indicates nearly two-thirds of Americans feel it would be wise to bring the American troops home in the next year, rather than waiting for Iraq to stabilize.
The latest Harris Interactive survey showed that 63 percent of Americans want the troops brought home in the next year, up from only 47 percent who felt that way on Election Day last November.
Still, as he hosted Iraq's prime minister at the White House Friday, the president assured the new Iraqi leader that "there are not going to be any timetables," for the departure of U.S. troops from Iraq.
"There's no question there's an enemy that still wants to shake our will and get us to leave," the president told reporters. "They try to kill and they do kill innocent Iraqi people - women and children - because they know that the carnage that they reap will be on TV and they know that it bothers people to see death."
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari added that "this is not the time to fall back."
Cordesman said the U.S. demonstrated "that it could fight the war it planned to fight -- a conventional regional war with remarkable efficiency, at low cost, and very quickly." But, he added, "the problem was that the U.S. chose a strategy, whose post-conflict goals were unrealistic and impossible to achieve and only planned for the war it wanted to fight and not for the 'peace' that was certain to follow."
The lack of adequate planning will result in an Iraqi insurgency that will last at least several more years, Cordesman said. Thousands of additional coalition forces and tens of thousands of Iraqis will die, he added. "Iraq is five to ten years of instability regardless of military outcome."
On Thursday White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said President Bush agrees with the earlier remarks of Vice President Dick Cheney, who said the Iraqi insurgency will end "in the months immediately ahead."
And Friday, Bush said American forces retain a clear goal in Iraq: "a democratic and peaceful Iraq that represents all Iraqis.
"Our troops will continue to train Iraqi security forces so these forces can defend their country and to protect their people from terror. And as Iraqis become more capable in defending their nation, our troops will eventually return home with the honor they have earned." Bush said.
Bush added, "There aren't going to be any timetables" because that would be "conceding too much to the enemy."
Cordesman agreed with President Bush that it would be unwise to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. "Anyone who calls for a timetable is part of the problem, not the solution," Cordesman said. "We cannot force them into readiness. An exit strategy, rather than a success strategy is not going to produce anything but serious issues."
Mr. Vice President, I'm going to make a prediction that has a 100% chance of materializing versus yours that has a 100% chance of failure.
I predict that the children of our troops in Iraq today will be serving there when they are of age to serve. That hell hole is going to bleed our treasury and the lives of our youths.
I recognize we're screwed and have no choice at this point.
But I will NEVER let you administration tools forget WHO screwed us and how.
It's truly sad that you find yourself clinging to such straws.
I know something and someone much sadder.
The unamed (I edited out the name) and unsourced (I edited out that too) email, as far as I'm concerned, was corroborated most recently by Austin Bay who saw Iraq both as a soldier and a journalist.
I am partisan. I am not blind. I've been through this before. I do not think this thing will "end soon."
From the day the fighting started I have been telling people we are probably never leaving, at least not in this generation.
And while our men (and women) are being picked off, one by one, the President cavorts with the enemy.
I'm absolutely sick of politicians in this country sending our people to war, then stabbing them in the back.
Good for you. No matter which side of the fence you eventually fall, you get to call yourself a winner.
But I will NEVER let you administration tools forget WHO screwed us and how.
First, someone has to take your rants with more than a fun-filled thimble of salt.
And yet you supported this pointless debacle?
What made you think the devil we don't know (a Bathist regime, most likely clerical) would be preferable to the devil we did know (and had under control).
Just how cheap are the lives of our children and grandchildren to you?
What on earth made you think for a moment that we were not simply creating our very own little Israel with regular bombings and bloodshed as far as the eye can see?
Whose word did you take on required troop strength before we invaded, the Generals or the three caballeros?
You don't sip kool-aid, you chugalug it.
Absolutely. And . . . gasp . . . I've advocated it since 1991.
What made you think the devil we don't know (a Bathist regime, most likely clerical) would be preferable to the devil we did know (and had under control).
First, we did not have the devil under control.
Short version is an unknown devil who kept his bloody hands off his neighbor's oil, and the world's energy supply, was preferable to the known devil with bloodlust in his eye.
Here, we have a chance to shake up the world for everyone's betterment, and maybe . . . just maybe . . . the exclusion of devils.
Just how cheap are the lives of our children and grandchildren to you?
You might ask my son that question. He's finished one tour in Afghanistan. He'll probably be heading into Iraq rather soon.
What on earth made you think for a moment that we were not simply creating our very own little Israel with regular bombings and bloodshed as far as the eye can see?
The question is rather bizarre. I have no idea what you're ranting about.
Whose word did you take on required troop strength before we invaded, the Generals or the three caballeros?
Simple, all time, all round answer, I subscribe to The Powell Doctrine.
You don't sip kool-aid, you chugalug it.
My favorite flavor is orange with lots of ice and not too much sugar. Methinks you prefer moon pie with yours.
"Rather frustrating that this is imagery we never seem to see? No wonder so many of the troops . . . and us . . . are ticked off at the MSM"
Absolutely!
I wish FNC would go back to airing positive stories.
They are better than the others, and apparently most folks think as I do,
but I am tired of nothing but negative stories about Iraq.
That is very good to read!
Too bad this kind of story isn't reported very often, if at all.
The MSM is doing it's level best to lose this war at home.
I thank the Good Lord for the men and women winning it over there.
"I've been through this before."
Are you a veteran?
You betcha!
Retired at it, actually Both my wife and I come from career military families. Indeed, we met while overseas attending a military run high school.
Our son is carrying on the tradition. Most likely, his children will do the same. Hope so, anyway.
Thank you for your service!
And, thank your son for me, please.
My husband was a Naval aviator in Viet Nam.
His family was, traditionally, Air Force.
He's the black sheep, but he really wanted to launch off of an aircraft carrier. ;o)
I've seen this before, too.
As the war goes on, I keep thinking, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
You're more than welcome. I'll pass along your kind thanks to my son. We talk as often as his schedule permits.
My husband was a Naval aviator in Viet Nam.
Reciprocal thanks to your husband. And a special thank you to you. If you were not a Navy wife at the time, thanks for marrying the guy! I'm sure he appreciated it. :-)
Service wives (and for a long time now husbands, too) are a special bunch. They do not receive anything approximating the praise and thanks they deserve. They sacrifice and put up with a lot. But sometimes, every so often, we did work in a few prize family moments . . .
His family was, traditionally, Air Force.
He's the black sheep, but he really wanted to launch off of an aircraft carrier. ;o)
I've seen quite a bit of that. There's no telling what choice the kids will make when they choose the military. Like your husband, whatever attracts them, that's the way they go. Kinda like my tagline.
I've seen this before, too.
As the war goes on, I keep thinking, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Yes. I'm determined that what was done to us will not be done to these guys and gals in uniform. They sure as heck deserve better from all of us . . . everyday.
There won't be a push for us to leave until the Iraqi government has faith in their own troops.
I kept thinking my son would be going into the Navy. He picked Armor instead... there is just no telling...
What's the latest on the road to the airport?
Your glibness boggles my mind.
I took exactly the same stance on the Viet Nam debacle. Neither I nor any other American "won" there either.
The saddest losers were the parents of the kids that gave their lives in vain for old men far too willing to put them in peril.
May god save you from that fate.
Route Irish is still a very dangerous stretch of road, at least according to British as 24 June.
26 June 2005 travel advisory from the British Foreign Office:
Travel by road is dangerous. In addition to the threat from terrorism/kidnapping, there is a continuing criminal threat from car-jacking and robbery. There have been random and premeditated attacks against civilian as well as military convoys killing numerous foreign and Iraqi nationals. These have often occurred on the main supply routes into Iraq, particularly the Baghdad-Amman highway. The road between Baghdad and Baghdad International Airport and the Abu Ghraib-Ramadi corridor are considered to be particularly dangerous. The British Embassy no longer uses the road between the International Zone and the airport. Attacks, particularly those involving vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), have increased and are likely to continue. There have also been attacks using armour-piercing rockets.There have been numerous attacks against British vehicles and convoys throughout Iraq, particularly in the areas around Baghdad and Mosul. British civilians have been killed whilst travelling on roads in Iraq since March. On 20 April a British civilian was injured when a convoy was involved in a small arms attack and on 21 April, one British civilian was killed and another injured, when a convoy was hit by a VBIED on the BIAP road.Some roads and areas have been closed and more closures should be expected. The area between Baghdad, Fallujah and Al Ramadi is particularly dangerous, and there has also been widespread violence in a number of other towns and cities, including Mosul, Al Kut, Nasiriya and Kirkuk. There also remains the potential for violence in Najaf and Karbala.There have been several attacks on military and civilian aircraft in Iraq. Missile attacks on aircraft in the Baghdad area and other parts of the country continue. Baghdad International Airport has been repeatedly targeted by rocket and mortar attacks, and an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was discovered on a commercial flight inside Iraq on 22 November 2004. Additional screening measures are being put in place, but British nationals are encouraged to review their travel plans. The British Embassy currently advises its staff against travel by commercial airlines in Iraq.Each Multi National Deployment (MND) in Iraq has imposed curfew times, which range from 22:00 to 05:00. These must be strictly adhered to. If you require specific information on the curfew times in the area you are located you should consult your MND headquarters or the British Embassy in Baghdad.
The last vehicle borne IED on Irish was done about ten days ago, I believe. Bad guys ran a vehicle into Iraqi police doing a shift change.
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