Losing control of Iraq's Diyala Province

The Diyala Province, which spans from Northeast Baghdad all the way to the Iranian border, is rapidly slipping out of control.  General Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of the 25th Infantry Division, complained in front of reporters yesterday that he does not have enough manpower to obtain a grip on security in that province.  He also voiced displeasure about the Iraqi government's lack of cooperation:

Mixon, speaking Friday by teleconference from Camp Speicher, outsideTikrit, to a Pentagon news conference, said that he did not have enoughsoldiers to provide security in Diyala. The local government is"nonfunctional" and the central government is "ineffective," he said.

"I'mgoing to need additional forces," he said, "to get that situation to amore acceptable level, so the Iraqi security forces will be able in thefuture to handle that."

It is rare for an officer of Mixon'srank to publicly call for more troops. When Donald H. Rumsfeld wassecretary of Defense, there was intense pressure on officers to notmake such requests, even privately, according to officers who served inIraq.

This news came as the military announced on Friday that in Diyala Province yet another U.S. soldier was killed and nine were wounded.  And later that day, around 6 PM Baghdad time, simultaneous car bombs went off in the capital -- one of them on the Diyala bridge that leads into the province -- killing 23 people.  That very bridge was built by American contractors back in 2003.  Fortunately, the blast did not collapse the bridge.

As stated in the LA Times article that I excerpted above, it is unprecedented during the Bush years for any general to come out and publicly demand more forces.  Usually they wait until they retire or say something privately before putting down the hammer like that.  Instead, Mixon chose to use a press conference as the venue to make his plea.  It probably is an indicator that many of the generals are unhappy with the current war strategy, and are less afraid to say it.

Also, if the Iraqi government is not cooperating, as Mixon stated, then that adds legitimacy to the current Iraq bill that calls for the Iraqi government to meet benchmarks.

Comments

[Tony]

"General Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of the 25th Infantry Division"

Prediction: Ben will be looking for a job within 2 weeks.