Is it any wonder why there's skepticism about whether we'll ever end the Iraq ocupation?

[bigtree]

Pentagon: US Ready to Keep Troops in Iraq For Another 10 Years

May 26, 2009 - While US officials have continued to insist that the timetable for removing troops from Iraq remains in place, a growing trend of violence and a delay to Iraq’s national parliamentary elections has led to considerable speculation that the US won’t ultimately abide by the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) deadline to have troops out of the nation by the end of 2011.

That speculation seemed well-founded today, when Army Chief of Staff General George Casey said that the world “remains dangerous and unpredictable” and that his planning envisions leaving combat troops in Iraq for another decade “to fight extremism and terrorism.”

Gen. Casey’s planning was focused on troop rotations, and he emphasized that he wasn’t responsible for making decisions about policy, but that he believed the US would need to be ready for “sustained” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which he saw a similar timeline.

read: http://news.antiwar.com/2009/05/26/pentagon-us-ready-to-keep-troops-in-iraq-for-another-10-years/


. . . they just can't let go.


Casey would not specify how many combat units would be split between Iraq and Afghanistan. He said U.S. ground commander Gen. Ray Odierno is leading a study to determine how far U.S. forces could be cut back in Iraq and still be effective. Casey said his comments about the long war in Iraq were not meant to conflict with administration policies.

When asked whether the Army had any measurement for knowing how big it should be, Casey responded, "How about the reality scenario?"

This scenario, he said, must take into account that "we're going to have 10 Army and Marine units deployed for a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Casey added that training of local police and military in Afghanistan was at least a couple years behind the pace in Iraq, and it would be months before the U.S. deployed enough trainers. There's a steeper curve before training could be effective in Afghanistan, requiring three to five years before Afghanis could reach the "tipping point" of control.

He also said the U.S. had to be careful about what assets get deployed to Afghanistan. "Anything you put in there would be in there for a decade," he said.

read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdE_56XyHbB6NPQQ_Mt-KKGgg5EgD98E833O0


. . . why are we still having to deal with these warmongers?

[msongs]

1. the military is the BIGGEST welfare recipient in US history - it's a jobs program just like

the police/courts/prison industry will oppose drug legalization, because their fortunes and power and influence depend on drugs being illegal.

Msongs

[spanone]

2. 3 words....military industrial complex

[knowbody0]

3. that huge embassy,

life in the green zone. they are pretty attached me thinks

[lib2DaBone]

4. Permanent military Bases under construction in Iraq....

.. The key word is "permanent". Along with the world's largest embassy.

We will never leave Iraq. It's all smoke and mirrors.

[masuki bance]

5. When you say "they" just can't let go

Who's "they"?

We have a CIC, his name is Barack Obama, what he says goes. He replaced the head in Afghanistan, if he opposed this he could do the same with this guy.



*edited four speleen

[bigtree]

7. sure, why does he keep these folks on?

That's the root of the question of why the Pentagon is still able to hold on to every inch of their 'terror war' in Iraq and elsewhere, fearmongering from the highest levels of the military leadership.

The political value of these holdovers is dubious and a weak approach to the change promised. We're told to 'wait' for the administration to make good on their promises, but what I'm waiting for is a house-cleaning in the leadership at Foggy Bottom to make that happen. I'm not holding my breath.

[mmonk]

6. They are worried the Vichy government won't hold.

[frog92969]

8. If every American were starving to death...

"we" would still be bombing and killing in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan and...

[ProgressIn2008]

9. We still have to deal with the warmongers because the warmongers are still in power. nt

[BuyingThyme]

10. Obama's Iraq policy is bullshit. He's staying. Don't be fooled.