Iraq: 5 Years Later

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/iraq On April 8 and 9, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus will present his assessment of the security situation in Iraq to Congress. But if Petraeus is again allowed to testify without his superior officers, as he did last September, neither Congress nor the American people will be receiving the complete picture. It is clear that the Bush administration wants to keep it that way. In a recent media briefing, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said: "I've asked Gen. Petraeus to make his evaluation ... completely based on what's going on in Iraq. He doesn't need to look over his shoulder, think about stress on the force or anything else." Moreover, President Bush has indicated that he will allow Petraeus alone to decide whether to continue the troop drawdown. FOR THE RECORD: Generals: A March 14 Op-Ed article about Gen. David H. Petraeus' upcoming Iraq testimony used two branches of service, the Army and Marines, to identify Gen. Peter Pace. He is a Marine. — But other military leaders who are looking at the larger national security picture need to be consulted. They know well how maintaining an average of 130,000 troops in Iraq over the last five years has not only decimated our ground forces, it also has compromised our security interests around the globe. "The Army is out of balance," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee last fall. That's a polite way of saying it's broken. Casey, who is responsible for the Army's overall health, is rightfully concerned. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, echoed Casey's unease. In January, Mullen told the Marine Corps Times that there was reserve capacity in the Navy and Air Force but that ground troops were a different story. "Clearly, if we had to do something with our ground forces, a significant substitute would be a big challenge," he said. Mullen's predecessor, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, also has expressed his discomfort with ...

» View the original video «

Daily Motion | March 25, 2008

Tags:. .january. .broken. .jr. .progressive. .situation