Posted on 05/19/2007 12:14:20 PM PDT by SandRat
CHICAGO, May 18, 2007 By September, military officials will have a pretty good feel for whether the military part of the presidents surge strategy is working, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace said here today.
On the surge, Pace explained that four of the five brigades of about 3,000 to 3,500 troops each that the U.S. military is plussing up are currently in Iraq. The fifth is in Kuwait and will be in Iraq by the beginning of June. From June until September, he said, well have the opportunity to watch the increased U.S. presence on the ground, and the increased Iraqi unit presence on the ground, and the effect that it has on security, primarily in Baghdad. The increase in troops is only one part of a three-pronged approach to ending the war in Iraq, he noted. Increased troop strength in and of itself is not going to be sufficient, he stressed. You must have an increase in governance and an increase in economics. Success in the war on terrorism, Pace said, is not like the success of World War II. The end state will be much more like the current state of a U.S. city, such as Chicago. Is there violence here? Yes, he said. Is there a police force that keeps that violence below a level at which the government can function and the citizenry can go about their daily business? This is what youre looking at with the war on terror. Youll never stop all terrorist acts, he said. The goal is to have the security is solid enough so that the government can provide leadership and so the business world can provide jobs so people can prosper. |
Biographies: Gen. Peter Pace, USMC Related Sites: |
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I hope this is not a deadline. However, it seems he is telling the terrorists 'hang in there until September and if you succeed we will be on our way out."
Youll never stop all terrorist acts, he said. The goal is to have the security is solid enough so that the government can provide leadership and so the business world can provide jobs so people can prosper.
The MSM will make the standard of success a gated retirement community.
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