US Think Tank Urges Reteat from Iraq! (Council on Foreign Relations)

[KoKo]

US think tank urges retreat from Iraq

by Dave ClarkFri Feb 9, 9:02 AM ET

An independent think tank warned that the situation in Iraq was beyond repair and urged that US forces should be pulled out whatever the result of the current "surge" of troops into Baghdad.

A report from Washington's Council on Foreign Relations concluded that a US military victory was impossible in Iraq, where "amateurish" post-invasion rule by American officials had seen Iraq collapse into civil war.

The respected institute's stark assessment comes at a time of collapsing public support for the war in the United States and mounting opposition to President George W. Bush's strategy within Congress.

"The United States has already achieved all that it is likely to achieve in Iraq... Staying in Iraq can only drive up the price of those gains in blood, treasure and strategic position," wrote Steven Simon, author of the report.

"The time has come to acknowledge that the United States must fundamentally recast its commitment to Iraq. It must do so without any illusions that there are unexplored or magic fixes, whether diplomatic or military," he warned.

"Some disasters are irretrievable," he continued, calling for troops to be pulled out by the end of 2008.

Simon, in a paper entitled "After the Surge: The Case for US Military Disengagement from Iraq," said troop levels are still too low to quell the fighting but more reinforcements would make little difference in any case.

The US invasion "plunged the country into a civil war that brought about the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, wrecked the country's already debilitated infrastructure, and spurred violent sectarian rivalries."

"The crisis has now moved beyond the capacity of Washington to control on its own... The United States lacks the military resources and the domestic and international political support to master the situation," Simon warned.

more at........
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070209/pl_afp/iraqstrategyus_070209140225&printer=1;_ylt=AoAKdj_MUVdHnCt943XQr9itOrgF

[halobeam]

1. k & r

[ray of light]

2. then they should be heard here:

http://www.setadeadline.com/

setadeadline.com!

[Cerridwen]

3. self-delete

[Poiuyt]

5. Could you provide a little more information?

[KoKo]

6. Here's a link to CFR's Web Page with their Members and History

if you want to know more about what they do.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_on_Foreign_Relations

[Hubert Flottz]

4. The worm is turning on the worm!

The CFR should disband along with the other "Think Tanks"...Think Tanks are the Devil's Workshop.

[many a good man]

7. No one disobeys the CFR!

The masters of the universe have spoken.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. I'm glad to see that some of the bigshots realize the war is lost.

Unlike the politicians and brass-bedecked generals.

[KoKo]

9. A kick...because this is pretty good news...and all those C-Span

callers back in Clinton's time used to accuse CFA and TriLateral Commission of being Globalists who were ruining America! :eyes: