[Texgreen] Stuck in Iraq with a broken army

[Roger Baker]

We're trapped there, damned if we do and damned if we don't.  So we =20
can't keep the political promises of the Democrats to withdraw. The =20
army and the CIA are at war. At times like this stalling for time and =20=

hoping for a miracle can be the best plan of action.  -- Roger

                     **********************************************

<http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=3D1-292925-2363642.php>

November 16, 2006

General: Cut Iraq strength by one-third

By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer
The U.S. would have to slash combat forces in Iraq to 10 brigades by =20
Christmas to keep the Army from breaking, said retired Army Gen. =20
Barry McCaffrey. See McCaffrey=92s GWOT presentation.

Saying he thinks =93we=92re stuck now,=94 he acknowledged that pulling =
out =20
five of the 15 brigades now on duty in Iraq by the end of December is =20=

not feasible.

=93We can=92t precipitously withdraw. It will ignite all-out civil war, =20=

possibly among not only Iraq but its six neighbors,=94 he said in a =20
telephone interview Nov. 16.

McCaffrey predicted that the Army, particularly the National Guard, =20
is on the verge of breaking because the effort is vastly =20
underresourced and cannot be sustained for long.

=93You=92ve got a foreign policy, a national security policy in =20
Washington and they=92re not resourced to carry it out,=94 said =20
McCaffrey, who called for an increase of 80,000 soldiers and 25,000 =20
Marines in each service. =93The country is not at war. The United =20
States armed forces and the CIA are at war. So we are asking our =20
military to sustain a level of effort that we have not resourced,=94 he =20=

told Army Times.

=93That=92s how to break the Army is to keep it deployed above the rate =20=

at which it can be sustained,=94 he said. =93There=92s no free lunch =
here. =20
The Army and the Marine Corps and Special Operations Command are too =20
small and badly resourced to carry out this national security strategy.=94=


In a recent presentation to the National Defense University in =20
Washington, D.C., McCaffrey, who served as commander of the 24th =20
Infantry Division during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and as commander =20
of U.S. Southern Command, offered a host of observations on the war =20
on terrorism.

He touched on everything from current combat operations to the state =20
of homeland security.

McCaffrey=92s review of conditions in Iraq, including a briefing paper =20=

obtained by Army Times, began with the morale, fighting effectiveness =20=

and confidence of U.S. combat forces, which he described as =93simply =20=

awe-inspiring,=94 quickly pointing out, nonetheless, that =93our allies =20=

are leaving.=94

He also states that the Maliki administration is dysfunctional, and =20
Iraqi governance is broken in a nation =93gripped with fear and =
distrust.=94

=93Interagency support for U.S.-Iraqi strategy is grossly inadequate,=94 =
=20
he continued, noting that =93only the armed forces and CIA are at war.=94

The strategic dilemma the U.S. faces, he said, was a question of =20
whether U.S. forces were =93conducting a police action governed by the =20=

rule of Iraqi law or acting as a coalition military force supporting =20
a counterinsurgency campaign in a nation with almost no functioning =20
institutions.=94=