Under the cover of the New Hampshire Democratic debate, Defense Secretary Robert Gates addressed a Senate panel. When pressed, he admitted that the Administration is seeking to establish a long-term presence in Iraq. It will consist of 5 brigades -- at least 3500 soldiers per brigade -- conducting combat operations.
But according to the , twice as many soldiers will have to back up those five brigades, bringing the grand total of troops needed to around 35,000:
A combat brigade has 3,500 to 4,500 soldiers, leaving a minimum of17,500 combat troops in Iraq under the plan Mr. Gates described. Thetotal American force required would probably end up being at leasttwice that, because of the need for support troops and other relatedpersonnel.
In related news, Gates and Bush are asking Congress for another to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is an increase of from last year.
Citing war and Congress, Gates changes chairman and vicechairman
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he has decided toreplace the chairman and vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff rather thanhave them go through contentious hearings before Congress.
Speaking to reporters, and referring to the debate over the war in Iraq,Gates said he envisioned "a confirmation process that would not be in thebest interest of the country" were he to re-nominate Marine Gen. Peter Paceas chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Adm. Ed Giambiastiani as vicechairman.
Although we have enough reasons to be skeptical of every Bush cabinet member, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is as close as any of them get to being level-headed. Gates is parting with Bush on the issue of benchmarks for the Iraqi government. According to , Gates and the President are not on the same page:
"I believe Gates is on a completely different page than President Bushand Gen. Petraeus," a former senior Defense official told the LA Times. "He wants to see some results by summer, and if he doesn't see those results, he seems willing to throw the towel in."
That former defense official might have been referring to Gates' recent , where he warned the Iraqi government that Americans are running out of patience and the U.S. occupation is not open-ended.
Although he disagrees with putting a deadline on the mission, he said such debate in Congress actually "." For a Bush Administration official, this kind of language is unprecedented since the war began.
We should at least give credit where credit is due. Now of course, whether he follows through or not is another story. We may disagree with the Bush-Cheney rhetoric that is inserted into his speeches. But in the end, he is the only realist in the Bush Administration -- and having one realist is certainly better than having none.
Does the democrat's (and America's) push for a time frame for our troops toget out of Iraq have anything to do with the Defense Secretary's recent trip toIraq? Either that or the administration all of a sudden decided that the Iraqi'sstepping up to the plate by is important. This might be the"out" Bush was waiting for, or another way to show the Americanpeople he doesn't want us there either. (It seems we have told the Iraqis thisbefore)
— After a day of meetings withIraqi leaders and U.S. military commanders, Secretary of Defense Robert Gatesdeclared the American occupation of Iraq will not continue indefinitely.
Gates suggested the decision on whether to keep extra U.S. forces sent tosecure Baghdad in place will depend in part on whether the Iraqi governmentmakes progress on political reconciliation.
"Our commitment to Iraq is long-term, but it is not a commitment to haveour men and women patrolling Iraqi streets open-endedly," Gates said at ajoint press conference with Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al Qadr al Mufriji.
So, what about all the those successes that are going on in Iraq?
The defense secretary called the surge of an additional 28,000 U.S. forces inIraq now under way "a strategy of buying time" for the Iraqigovernment to make progress on political reconciliation. So far that isnot happening.
What makes this administration think that opposing religious groups and governments inIraq will "get along"? Not only has that been tried before, but letthe record show things are getting worse in Iraq.
Gates said a decision on whether or not to continue that surge past Augustwill be made "late summer" and a key factor in that decision willbe whether the Iraqis have made progress on reconciliation.
In a suggestion of how he will measure that progress, Gates told Iraqi PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki that the Iraqi parliament needs to move quickly onpassing long-delayed laws to heal the rifts between Iraq's Shia and SunniMuslims.
Gates also responded to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's comment onThursday that "the war is lost."
"I have great respect for Sen. Reid. But on the question of whetherthe war is lost," he said, "I respectfully disagree."
Well of course you have to disagree, if you don't you'll find yourself in the"I don't agree with Bush" fired group.
Worth mentioning: Last night on The Military Channel's "", it was mentioned that KBR (Haliburton) charges $28 a plate during chow time. They put the plates out then count whats left and that's how they determine what to bill the US. The soldiers were saying they sometimes use a plate to cover their food (to keep it warm), KBR counts that as 2 plates. Even if you can argue the $28 for the food, how do they get away with charging by the "plate" inventory? Note: The plates are Styrofoam.
I've seen the number of deaths vary between 160 and 180, this video puts thetoll at 170 (one bomb alone killing 82). I couldn't imagine living likethis, just look at their faces. Mulling around in a daze, no looks ofsurprise...this really is sad.
There isn't much to say about this one, it speaks for itself.
If you would like to see this in a larger window click .
Don't forget to drop by tomorrow for The Blue States live blogging event. We will be posting during the Alberto Gonzales hearings live as it happens. Thursday morning 10 AM EST/7 AM PST. Come and join the discussion.
I wonder what take would be on the latest violence in the capital?He did say he would have gone into the market without an escort.
marketplace today killing 160 (so far) andwounding 137. This came at a time when the administration (and I am sure FOXnews) was about to do the happy dance for the hand-off of Maysan province fromthe British to the Iraqis.
The blasts overshadowed a key development for Iraq in which the country'sforces took over the security control of an oil-rich southern province from theBritish forces.
The British military, as part of its plan to withdraw its forces from Iraq,yesterday handed over the security control of the southern Maysan province at a colorfuloutdoor ceremony and military parade.
The spokespeople mustcringe when they speak, or at least when they are around friends and family andare asked "do you really believe that crap you said today?"
We've seen both inspiring progress and too much evidence we still face manygrave challenges," US military spokesman William Caldwell said last night."We've always said securing Baghdad would not be easy."
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that failure in Iraq would unleashsectarian strife and extremism and would be felt across the Middle East.
Speaking to a US Chamber of Commerce lunch in Cairo on the third day of hisMiddle East tour, Mr Gates urged Arab countries to use their influence tocounter the insurgency and encourage political reconciliation.
"Whatever disagreements we might have over how we got to this point inIraq, the consequences of a failed state in Iraq - of chaos there - willadversely impact the security and prosperity of every nation in the Middle Eastand Gulf region," he said. Mr Gates warned that while some who disagreedwith the war might be cheering for US failure in Iraq, "these sentimentsare dangerously shortsighted and self-destructive".
The initial effects of failure in the Iraq conflict, he said, would first befelt in Middle East capitals and communities "well before they are felt inWashington or New York".
Is Gates telling us that if welose, it would be because of the people cheering for a US loss? ( I'll assumethe democrats and liberals are in that mix) I think the administration knowsthey are in quite a jam and are positioning themselves to start tossing theblame around. Let them know while pointing a finger at someone, there are threepointing back
With the twisted thinking of this administration, I wouldn't be surprised if they say "we've got 'em right where we want 'em"
Lt. Col. Rick Francona: "Adjusting combat tour length doesn’t solvethe problem" posted on
The objective is to provide soldiers at least 12 months between combat tours,and at the same time provide higher levels of troops in the region. It’srobbing Peter to pay Paul. It will work in the short term, but at somepoint, you run out of soldiers.
There are proposals to increase the size of the land component, the Army andMarines, by as much as 100,000 troops to supplement the existing 500,000 plustroops. That’s the minimum that is required if we are going to maintainpresence in the world’s hot spots – right now that is Iraq and Afghanistan– and be prepared to defend our interests around the world whereverchallenged. That challenge might come elsewhere in the Middle East –Iran comes to mind – or in Korea, Taiwan, or the Horn of Africa. We mustbe ready to act when needed, not worry about raising the required numbers afterthe crisis presents itself. When we decide that a deployment of U.S.forces is required, we need to send them in numbers that indicate we meanbusiness.
We can’t do that now. On at least one occasion in the last year, thePentagon was forced to deploy the 82nd Airborne Division’s “ready brigadeâ€to Iraq. This is the unit that is supposed to be on call to respond to acrisis anywhere on a moment’s notice. It’s hard to do that whendeployed to Iraq.
I personally think that the tour extensions arethe administration's way of saying "look!, we're making changes in the newway forward"
The administration keeps asking us to endorse the new strategies...(well,more like tell us to endorse them), now
"Iunderstand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war," he said."I sympathize with the fatigue of the American people. . . . But I alsoknow the toll a lost war takes on an army and a country."
"Democraticleaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were theycelebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering,"he added. "The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not thetemporary favor of the latest public opinion poll."
"We have along way to go, but for the first time in four years, we have a strategy thatdeals with how things really are in Iraq and not how we wish them to be,"McCain told the VM cadets in his speech.
Yesterday weposted GatesExtends Troop Tours. Today reports on how it affects the soldiers and theirfamily's.
CNN: " what do you think about the extended tour? Will iteffect someone in your family or a close friend? Share your thoughts and send usphotos of your loved ones".
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said "U.S. Army units would bedeployed to Iraq for 15 months instead of 12 months, effectiveimmediately".
Sending National Guardsmen, wounded soldiers and reservists to war, nowextending the soldier's tours of duty, means one thing to me...things aren'tgoing so well for us. Gates sees it differently.
The new policy is aimed at keeping enough forces in the field while givingsoldiers and their families more predictability, Gates said, adding that thepolicy doesn't apply to Marines.
``This new approach will allow the Army to better support the war effort,''Gates said. The change was necessary because, ``We were looking at a growingnumber of troops in the active component who were going to be home less than 12months,'' Gates said.
The policy doesn't necessarily mean that the surge aimed at quelling violencein Iraq will last a year, Gates said. ``Whether it will be kept in place dependsentirely on conditions on the ground,'' he said.
Forces Stretched
The shift comes as a 73 percent of Americans said Bush's plan for Iraq hasmade the situation there worse or has had no effect on the country's stability,according to a Bloomberg Los Angeles Times poll. Just 27 percent said setting atimetable for withdrawal helps U.S. troops on the ground, and 15 percent said itwould have no effect.
Gates said the change recognizes that ``our forces are stretched, there's noquestion about that.'' He rejected suggestions that the Army is broken as aresult of the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Gates and General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, acknowledged in January that the Pentagon hasn't kept to its own policies on howlong U.S. troops must serve in Iraq.
This war has become quite a quagmireto say the least. While strategies change during a war, the changes which havetaken place so far are off the charts.
Today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates helped blur any difference between him and Donald Rumsfeld. On , Gates said the following about Bush's troop escalation:
"I think that the way I would characterize it is so far so good – it's very early," Gates told Bob Shieffer."I would say that the Iraqis are meeting the commitments that they havemade to us, that they have made the appointments; the troops that theyhave promised are showing up. They are allowing operations in allneighborhoods. There is very little political interference withmilitary operations. So here, at the very beginning, the commitmentsthat have been made seem to be being kept."
That actually is not true. According to a Washington Post report on Thursday, Bush Administration officials said that behind the pace set under the Bush plan.
Also, were killed this weekend. Insurgents are continuing to use chemical weapons (chlorine, to be precise) in their attacks. So no, it's not "so far so good."
This morning, famous GOP pollster that appeared in the Washington Post. He reminded GOP leaders that they will not regain the support of a majority of voters until they start acknowledging reality. Robert Gates is definitely not helping with that effort.
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