Military action won't end insurgency, growing number of U.S. officers say

[Barrett808]

Military action won't end insurgency, growing number of U.S. officers believe
BY TOM LASSETER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Posted on Sun, Jun. 12, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - (KRT) - A growing number of senior American military officers in Iraq have concluded that there is no long-term military solution to an insurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and more than 1,300 U.S. troops during the past two years.

Instead, officers say, the only way to end the guerilla war is through Iraqi politics - an arena that so far has been crippled by divisions between Shiite Muslims, whose coalition dominated the January elections, and Sunni Muslims, who are a minority in Iraq but form the base of support for the insurgency.

"I think the more accurate way to approach this right now is to concede that ... this insurgency is not going to be settled, the terrorists and the terrorism in Iraq is not going to be settled, through military options or military operations," Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said last week, in a comment that echoes what other senior officers say. "It's going to be settled in the political process."

Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, expressed similar sentiments, calling the military's efforts "the Pillsbury Doughboy idea" - pressing the insurgency in one area only causes it to rise elsewhere.

"Like in Baghdad," Casey said during an interview with two newspaper reporters, including one from Knight Ridder, last week. "We push in Baghdad - they're down to about less than a car bomb a day in Baghdad over the last week - but in north-center (Iraq) ... they've gone up," he said. "The political process will be the decisive element."

(more)

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/world/11879261.htm

[quaoar]

1. This is exactly correct

The only solution to Iraq is political.

[roughandtumble]

19. Amen. The real traitors to America is the Repug party

What in Gods name must be done to silence the Fucking repuglican party? Fuck them 1700 times.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

2. Well, HELL!

We all (most of us here anyhow) knew this to be the case before all this crap started...............If the troops are starting to say this, the cause is lost as far, as * is concerned. Unfortunately the momentum of the invasion will not slow to a halt for a lonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg time.

[EST]

3. Fuc**rs a little slow on the uptake, huh?

[Ilsa]

4. Makes me wonder what they were really studying when attending

War College. How can this be so obvious to everyone else but them?

[tabasco]

21. Bush fired the officers who opposed his insane plans ....

and promoted those who went along. There was intense opposition within the Army to the Iraq war because the Army knew it would be left holding the bag of shit at the end of the day. Rummy and the Bush yes-men told them all to STFU. Now that the war has gone to shit, it is not so easy to silence the voices of dissent.

[Ilsa]

27. Excellent explanation. 5 years of Cmdr. Bunnypants is making me lose my

mind and memory. I didn't think to tie Shinseki's dismissal into the equation.

[99Pancakes]

5. Here you go, Doughboys

[TahitiNut]

6. "Gasoline won't douse fires," growing number of arsonists say.

Fucking d'oh!?! :silly: :dunce:

[LibDemAlways]

7. The Iraqi insurgency will be over

as soon as the last American leaves. Then the civil war, which is already underway, will intensify. This entire enterprise was a no-win for the Iraqi people.

[IndianaGreen]

8. It is called quagmire!

Many of these military officers were quite happy planning and conducting this war, but now as it becomes apparent that the US is losing this war, they are beginning to sound panic-stricken. Not one of these guys backed up General Shinseki when he warned us about the folly of invading Iraq with a handful of divisions.

[BikeWriter]

17. “Beware the 12-division strategy for a 10-division Army."

Outgoing Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Eric Shinseki.

[tabasco]

22. Casey is probably a yes-man since he's the big dog in Iraq ...

right now, but I've never heard of Alston. Do you have any info on these guys and what they were saying during the build-up?

I know there's a lot of senior officers that opposed the insane war, but couldn't do jack about it when the big bosses were lapdogs. Overall I'm highly disappointed that more generals/colonels didn't fall on their swords to do the right thing and speak out against the war. But I do know it was not just Shinseki that had the moral courage to oppose Bush and Rumsfeld.

[jimshoes]

9. Didn't unka dick assure us

that the insurgency is in its death throes?

[tabasco]

25. Yeah, he's a big expert on war, isn't he?

Cheney watched "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and "Leathernecks of the Pacific" during his five deferments from Vietnam, so he's pretty much qualified to call the shots for the Nation's armed forces. :mad:

Somebody should send a memo to the Iraqi resistance that they are in their death throes, eh?

[ckramer]

10. "It's going to be settled in the political process."

If that is the conclusion then why did bush get rid of Saddam in the first place?

Maybe bush should admit he made a big mistake by getting rid of saddam, who successfully united Iraq, by Iraqis, by whatever means.

This war is stupid beyond imagination. Where was the brain in Washington in 2001? Where were the democrats and republicans when the country needed them for a correct direction? Anti-war protestors were right.

When bush said "fuck saddam, I am taking him out", almost all of these congressmen/women followed his mad idea like a brainless anthropoid.

There was no leadership. Shame !

[Robbien]

11. Why is the military allowing these guys to talk to the press? Its a no no.

So it follows that the military wants this story to get out there. They seem to putting forth the story we did our part but the politicans are screwing up.

[DemExpat]

12. Oh, really.......?

Dumbies like most of us "know" all about this stuff, knew it would work out like this, predicted it too, yet the professionals, politicians, and people in charge and responsible act so surprised and disappointed......"aw, shucks, lookin' like we can't win this militarily"......"sorry, folks, we need a draft since kids aren't lining up to die for us"......:nuke:

Mind boggling all of this is in our present world....:wtf:

And that they all are not accountable for their crimes too....:-(

:nuke:

DemEx

[rodeodance]

13. didn't bush make and issue of listening to the cammanders in the field?

i know rummy says it often 'the commanders in the field////////"

[IndianaGreen]

28. The biggest lie is that the GOP cares for the troops and their families

It is sad that all that Bush has to do is to put a backdrop of green troops behind him, and lots of flags, and his TV audience becomes enthralled with this POS we have for Commander-in-Chief.

The real truth is that it is the Democrats that have done the most for the military and the military families. The GOP only talks about it!

[Captain Hilts]

29. True. The Bush Admin tried to cut funding to...

the schools military kids attend. By 20%. Somehow, that got lost in the electoral fracas.

And letting the 'temporary' combat pay increase expire while making permanent the 'temporary' moratorium on the Estate Tax.

[LynnTheDem]

14. Yeah, winning against the insurgency via politics worked so well in 'Nam.

*snark*

Worked just fab in Iraq with Britain's first attempt at occupation too.

Well, until the insurgency overthrew the UK's puppet government.

[NNN0LHI]

15. This is more lies from the liberal media dammit!

There needs to be limits to freedom.

Don

[tabasco]

26. Haha! I'd like to hear one of the liberal media ask Bunnypants ...

about these generals' comments. I'm not holding my breath. I would like to see Shrub squirm as the truth is thrown in his face.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

16. Maybe, just maybe, a little protracted Diplomatic Negotiating

instead of bombing the s**t out of cities and shooting women and children at roadside checkpoints might be the direction to go.

Iraq government will never look like Iowa government. Let's start pulling the troops and bring in the players to figure out what to do with this country.

Gosh, it may even end up being several countries, ala, the USSR breaking up.

I think the hardest thing for the neocons will be loosening their death throe grip on the oil fields. MKJ
:patriot:

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[daleo]

20. Try tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and more than 1700 U.S troops

"has killed thousands of Iraqis and more than 1,300 U.S. troops during the past two years."

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. Gee. Who could have guessed that the Iraqis would be....

...so resistant to an illegal invasion and subsequent occupation by US troops? I mean really!

[MadisonProgressive]

24. If the GENERALS believe this, it means that

every person killed now is dying for nothing. On all sides, innocent or not. How do we make a BIG issue out of this. What does Bumpkin have to say???

[ngGale]

30. No kidding...

learned this less in Vietnam also. The military concluded that a long time ago, like before we went in. Remember when * fired all the brass who said we needed at least 150,000 to begin with. Of course, they fired everybody who had actual military combat experience.
The whole crew need to go to jail for getting our military killed in a no planned war. Flowers, my butt.:mad:

[Barrett808]

31. "We can't kill them all. When I kill one I create three." n/t

[enough]

32. Same story appears on front page Philadelphia Inquirer Monday morning

Strange to read in the paper that the US military cannot do exactly what it wants whenever and whenever it wants. Superpower? Not only have we spread suffering, misery and hatred throughout Iraq, but we have demonstrated our own weakness, and the fallacy of violence.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/health/11880331.htm