Posted on 08/13/2005 6:43:39 PM PDT by blam
Bush slaps down top general after he calls for troops to be pulled out of Iraq
By Philip Sherwell in Washington
(Filed: 14/08/2005)
The top American commander in Iraq has been privately rebuked by the Bush administration for openly discussing plans to reduce troop levels there next year, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
President George W Bush personally intervened last week to play down as "speculation" all talk of troop pull-outs because he fears that even discussing options for an "exit strategy" implies weakening resolve.
General George Casey
Gen George Casey, the US ground commander in Iraq, was given his dressing-down after he briefed that troop levels - now 138,000 - could be reduced by 30,000 in the early months of next year as Iraqi security forces take on a greater role.
The unusual sign of US discord came as Iraqi politicians and clerics drafting a new constitution continued their own wrangling over autonomy demands by various factions.
Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president and a Kurd, predicted that a draft of the new constitution should be ready today, 24 hours ahead of Monday's deadline, but other delegates were less optimistic.
"If God is willing, tomorrow it will be ready," Mr Talabani told a news conference in Baghdad yesterday, but admitted that two significant issues remained unresolved: the question of federalism in the south, and the relation between religion and state.
Shia Muslims, who lead Iraq's interim coalition government, are pushing for a clause saying that all laws passed by parliament must be compatible with Islam - a proposal most other participants oppose.
Meanwhile, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, threatened to kill any imam who backs the constitution, according to a statement posted on the internet yesterday but whose origin could not be independently verified.
Cindy Sheehan protesting outside Mr Bush's ranch
Mr Bush is expected to place phone calls to some of the senior Iraqi negotiators in Baghdad if the deadlock remains. Last week as he came under renewed pressure from anti-war protesters to pull out, he dismissed any prospect of an immediate troop withdrawal. Mr Bush was responding to calls by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who has set up a protest camp outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where Mr Bush is on holiday.
Politically, the administration will be under pressure to signal a significant cut in the US presence by autumn next year to help Republicans fighting mid-term elections in November 2006. Military commanders, however, also need to wind down numbers, the imperative that prompted Gen Casey's comments, according to Dan Goure, a Pentagon adviser and vice-president of the Lexington Institute defence think-tank.
"It's number-driven," Mr Goure said. "The military can only maintain these levels in Iraq if it has absolutely no choice. Otherwise, the current pattern of rotations and other commitments mean that they will have to lower numbers."
There will, in any case, be a short-term increase in US troop levels to cover the Iraq elections scheduled for December. After that, said Mr Goure, the military has drawn up three broad strategies for cutting troops.
Their "best scenario" target is to reduce numbers to 60,000-70,000 by next autumn if Iraqi forces start to make progress against the insurgents. The fall-back option would be Gen Casey's minimum 30,000 reduction by the summer.
There is also a rarely-mentioned "Plan C" - complete withdrawal if all-out civil war erupts between the Shias and Sunnis, both of whom are engaged in a last-ditch battle for political territory in the current negotiations.
The Kurds and Shia Arabs want strong regional governments to be created in their northern and southern strongholds. But the minority Sunni Arabs, who dominated the country under Saddam Hussein, fear that they will be left with the central dust-bowl.
Sunni religious leaders, who led the boycott of January's elections, are now calling for their followers to register to vote in case they decide to oppose the constitution's federalism clauses in October's referendum.
The constitution will be considered void if it is rejected by two-thirds of voters in three provinces. Sunnis form a majority in four provinces.
A chemicals production plant thought to have been built by insurgents was found by US forces last week in a raid near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
And .. probably accounts for Rumsfeld's recent "surprise visit" ..??
"Iran on the way to Syria"
Where does it end? Beijing?
Better upgrade the military by a couple million folks...
You are right, MikeinIraq -- there are indeed at least two odd things about this article.
yeah
He is...
I think this is just a case of the General getting out ahead of the President a bit.
Believe me the Administration communicates VERY clearly with the generals in Iraq. They don't give them marching orders per se, but they give them an idea of where they want to go....
He didn't call for them to be pulled out, he merely stated a possible timeline for doing so. This article is designed to mislead, as so many MSM articles are, to make you think the General actually said we SHOULD get the troops out. Implying that the top General was for getting out of Iraq, but of course this angers Bush and he jumps the General.
In reality none of what is reported here is new, just more MSM propaganda.
Loose lips, sinks ships!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What the hell does this have to do with Gen. Casey?
Maybe nothing - but there have been quite a few very questionable Capts, Colonels, Lt Cols, Generals - Clark for example! with definite anti-capitalist republic leanings.
Clinton didn't get rid of most of the high level officers during his term for nothing! He put in the leftist military leadership into the pentagon, the state dept, and into all the intel agencies. They must be expunged ASAP!
======
"Gentlemen, Comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about glasnost and perestroika and democracy in the coming years. These are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal change within the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep".
Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, to the Politburo in Nov 1987.
Then Clinton was president .....
It seems that many generals do have "executive hair", to borrow a Dilbert phrase. However, his hair conforms to standards, or is "within regs" in military slang.
Iran currently exports 2.5 million barrels a day of oil http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iran.html#oil
As you can see in the below image supply and demand are currently very closely matched. If you remove 2.5 million barrels a day or a substantial fraction of that from the supply side the demand side won't be looking that pretty. Due to the global nature of the oil market even though we don't ourselves import oil from Iran, we will be affected. You like gasoline at $2.50-$3.00 now? Expect to see a minimum premium of $1.00-$2.00 on top of that if we invade.
That's what I thought.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army vice chief of staff, has been nominated for a newly created post that would make him the top U.S. commander and only four-star general in Iraq.
The nomination, which had been expected, was announced yesterday by the Pentagon along with several other major command assignments, including Navy Vice Adm. Timothy J. Keating to be commander of Northern Command, the military command that was created after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Adm. Keating was the commander of naval operations during the initial phase of the Iraq war.
The nominations have to be confirmed by the Senate. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez is currently the top American commander in Iraq. His role in the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse case has come under question recently and, although there is no accusation against him, senior Pentagon officials believed he could not be confirmed quickly by the Senate for the newly created position of commander of Multi-National Forces Iraq. Gen. Casey, who has been Army vice chief only since last October, is not expected to face Senate opposition.
As a four-star general in Iraq, Gen. Casey would be responsible for overseeing the U.S.-led military operation and interacting with the new Iraqi government that takes over June 30 as well as the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, John Negroponte. A three-star, Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, would manage day-to-day military activities.
Gen. John Abizaid, head of Central Command, will remain the top military officer responsible for the Iraq mission and also has responsibility for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and other countries in that region.
Gen. Abizaid and Gen. Casey have worked together previously and their Army careers have had some recent parallels. Both were assistant commanders of the 1st Armored Division in Germany in 1996-97, both were division commanders in Germany in 1999-2000, and Gen. Casey was head of strategic plans for the Joint Staff in the Pentagon in 2001 while Gen. Abizaid was director of the Joint Staff.
When Gen. Abizaid was promoted to deputy commander of Central Command in January 2003, Gen. Casey succeeded him as Joint Staff director. Gen. Casey, whose first duty assignment in the Army was as a mortar platoon leader in Germany in 1971, has never commanded troops in combat.
Iraq and Afghanistan will make good staging areas on both sides of Iran if push comes to shove. Funny how it works out that way but I'm not complaining one bit.
Then Clinton was president .....
Reagan was President in November of 1987, hombre_clueless
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