Impatience With Progress in Iraq Troubles Marine Commandant

American Forces Press Service ^ | Jim Garamone

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007 – Many Marines are concerned that Americans aren’t willing to invest enough time for success in Iraq, the Corps’ top officer said here yesterday.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway makes a point during a May 17 media roundtable at the Pentagon. The general answered reporters’ questions on a broad range of Marine Corps issues and programs. Photo by R.D. Ward  
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway told Pentagon reporters that defense officials must do a better job of communicating to the American people the cost of leaving Iraq too soon.

While Americans disagree on the reasons for going into Iraq, there is much more agreement on what would happen if coalition forces left before achieving success, Conway said.

Americans have to understand that defeating an insurgency is a long-term proposition, he said.

“Historically, (defeating insurgents) has (taken) somewhere between nine and 10 years, with various levels of effort,” he said. “I think that there is less of an appetite in our country than we the military might think we need to sustain that kind of effort over that period of time.”

The general said coalition forces in Iraq see incremental daily progress. “They want to be able to sustain that progress, because they want to be able to succeed and come out with our credibility high and the credibility of the United States … where it was when we went in,” he said. “So in that context, I think that our servicemen and women would wish for as much time as it takes to do the job, realizing that incremental progress will one day take us over the top.”

Conway, who has been commandant for about six months, said he is encouraged by coalition progress in Iraq’s Anbar province.

“What we are seeing transpire in the al Anbar province today is a clear, discernible wedge between the Sunni tribes and the al Qaeda in Iraq,” he said. “It has taken four years for these folks to realize that the al Qaeda in Iraq could offer no more than a future filled with fear and instability.”

Tribal leaders and sheikhs in the Sunni province have thrown their lots in with the Iraqi government. “Some very brave people have stepped up to speak out against al Qaeda and encourage their fellow tribesmen to work together toward an Iraq that is stable and at peace with its neighbors,” Conway said. “Now more than ever, it's imperative for the power of the (United States) to continue to support the people of Iraq economically, politically and militarily.”

Progress in Anbar province has been so great that it has changed strategy in the region, Conway said. At one point, U.S. and Iraqi officials viewed the situation in Anbar province as bleak and forecast that it would be the last province to transition to Iraqi provincial control. “That has changed,” Conway said. “We now have Sunnis in large numbers joining the Iraqi army in the al Anbar province. We have more Sunni tribesmen wanting to become police than we have the opportunity to train on a monthly basis.”

As part of the military surge to quell violence, two battalions are scheduled to go to the province. “Any plus-up effort … (is) in a very real sense reinforcing success,” Conway said.

The situation is so much better that the additional battalions may be shifted to other areas in the country, Conway said, adding that much of the province could fall under the control of the Iraqi police and army.

Conway said he is pleased with moves to rush procurement of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, which are more effective than up-armored Humvees at withstanding the deadly effects of roadside bombs. “These vehicles will truly have a positive impact on our ability to better protect our Marines and sailors operating at the tip of the spear,” the commandant said.

Conway also reported on efforts to increase the size of the Marine Corps to 202,000 personnel through 2011. Recruiters are doing a superb job in a constrained environment, Conway said. He noted that growing casualty lists have made it tougher for recruiters to convince “influencers” -- parents, coaches, teachers etc. -- to encourage qualified young Americans to consider the military.

Surveys show that the propensity for all major ethnic groups in the United States to join the all-volunteer military is down. Still, Conway has tasked recruiters with ensuring that the Marine Corps reflect the ethnic diversity of America, he said.

[SandRat]

FR WAR NEWS!

WAR News at Home and Abroad You'll Hear Nowhere Else!

All the News the MSM refuses to use!

Or if they do report it, without the anti-War Agenda Spin!

[pissant]

The impatience of the chickenshits does not matter a whit. We need to support these guys and take care of the traitor party here for them.

[mdefranc]

On the contrary, such impatience matters a great deal.

Any particular foreign war will be supported by the electorate only for a given amount of time. A President should choose a strategy which can achieve victory within that limited timeframe. Otherwise, our nation suffers disasters like Viet Nam and, perhaps, Iraq.

[El Gato]

“Historically, (defeating insurgents) has (taken) somewhere between nine and 10 years, with various levels of effort,” he said.

The only significant insurgency that we ever fought for that long, that I can think of off the top of my head was the Revolutionary war... IIRC the insurgents won that one.

Maybe the Moro (Filipino Muslims) rebellion in the Philipines... wait one...

Ah yes the resistance started about 1898 and lasted until 1913. The Moros are of course still a problem today. Some aspects of the Philippine Insurrection (the non Muslim parts of it that is) lasted that long as well, but for the most part the main insurrection was over by 1902 or so.

So our only other battle against Muslim insurgents lasted 15 years or so. I think the Commandant is correct, when he says:

“I think that there is less of an appetite in our country than we the military might think we need to sustain that kind of effort over that period of time.”

We just can't sustain the political support for that long, especialy with the Rats going into their "Peace Now!" mode (not that they are out of it for very long)

[El Gato]

Conway also reported on efforts to increase the size of the Marine Corps to 202,000 personnel through 2011. Recruiters are doing a superb job in a constrained environment, Conway said. He noted that growing casualty lists have made it tougher for recruiters to convince “influencers” -- parents, coaches, teachers etc. -- to encourage qualified young Americans to consider the military.

The lists were much longer in WW-II, Korea and Vietnam, but that didn't stop those from a smaller overall population from enlisting in a larger Corps than we have today. (size was about 485,000 in WW-II , Peak in Korea was about 250,000, peak in the Vietnam era was a little over 300,000) (IIRC the Marines did take some draftees during those conflicts, although proportionally not many. But then again they were also in effect competing with much larger Navy, Army (and Air Force) establishments than we have today.

[pissant]

We have not chosen this enemy, it chose us. The war against islamo fascism is going to be decades long. Better re-adjust your expectations.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[BnBlFlag]

General “Be nice to the Terrorists” Conway: We’ve got too many Whites in the Corps. We gotta diversify.

[MizSterious]

While there is some truth in what you say, these days most Americans don’t have enough of an attention span to watch a two-part miniseries, let alone accomplish something worthwhile. Yes, it matters what the electorate thinks, but it matters even more how the case is made for a particular cause.

In this case, the President has failed to stand up to our internal enemies who want us to fail, as though “making nice” would grant some kind of special grace. It didn’t, and never will. Lies told by the media and the left have been allowed to stand unchallenged, except by a few folks like us.

In these times, wars are not fought only on a battlefield. They’re fought in the media as well. In that area, we’ve failed horribly. Recent polls show that an alarming number of people actually believe the pap spouted by Michael Moore and Rosie O’Donnell (who by all rights should be dismissed as loons) that the President was behind 9/11—and that, as the cliche goes, “Bush lied and people died.”

Referring, of course, to the WMD, about which the Bush admin has never (NEVER!) properly educated the citizens. Just two days ago a story was posted on FR describing how over 100,000 Gulf War I troops might be suffering from SARIN poisoning—yet these people continue to insist there never were any WMD in Iraq. (Also, I have a long list of things they found right after we went in that no one talks about any more.)

Without someone to make the case for a foreign war, no matter how just, how necessary the war is, people will not support it.

And that is the failing of this administration—they have not made a strong enough case, and they have not defended themselves or this cause when attacked by the liberals and media. Rightly or wrongly, many people will almost automatically assume that if someone doesn’t defend their cause when it’s attacked, that the attackers are right.

If we lose this one, it won’t be because of the troops. It will be the politicians in Washington DC who will have lost the war—and much, much more if we leave Iraq before we’ve finished the job.