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| Iraq |
| McCain: U.S. Must Evaluate Iraq Mission |
| 2003-08-21 |
| Sen. John McCain said Wednesday the United States should spend "whatever it takes" to complete its mission in Iraq after a bomb ripped through U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people including the top U.N. envoy. McCain, R-Ariz., is leading a seven-member delegation of U.S. lawmakers to Iraq for meetings with soldiers, military officers and civilian administrators. The group - on the second day of a three-day visit - had just toured a mass grave site near Hilla, 34 miles south of Baghdad. "After an event like this (the U.N. bombing) we have to evaluate whether we have enough people, whether we have the right kind of people and whether we are spending enough money, and I think it’s appropriate to make that evaluation," McCain told reporters at Baghdad International Airport. Sounds like good congressional oversight here. Wearing a floppy canvas hat and mopping sweat from his brow in 120 degree heat, McCain said he looked forward to a congressional hearing in September that would review the "size of the United States’ commitment, the expenses" and the number of forces positioned in Iraq. "It’s going to be interesting when we sit down and see how much money is being spent," said McCain, who supported the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein. L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civil administrator in Iraq, has said he hoped that most of the money for Iraq’s reconstruction would come from its oil exports. But the lucrative oil pipeline has been the routine target of saboteurs, and oil exports are not flowing as they should. As a result, Bremer said he was preparing a list of projects together with their price tags to present to an international donors conference in Spain in October. Ugh, I don’t like the hat-in-hand image. One delegate, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said the United States needed to stand firm in the face of insurgents and attackers such as those who exploded a truck bomb outside the U.N. compound on Tuesday. Over 100 people were injured and many were still missing Wednesday. "I think they will go to any means to stop the process of peace and prosperity in Iraq, which means our commitment must be even more firm and more resolute," Hutchison said. McCain and the other lawmakers were to visit the southern city of Basra on Thursday before leaving for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Turkey, said Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. Before Iraq, the delegation was in Israel. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #16 byw? yeow! how about btw....nite all! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-21 11:18:19 PM |
| #15 byw - AP's off on a trip or I'm sure he'd comment as well, thanks |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-21 10:13:42 PM |
| #14 . com: both Alaska Paul and I are licensed Civils - his is more water resources oriented (he knows his sh*t IMHO); I'm more structural - bridges and buildings are my thing |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-21 10:11:52 PM |
| #13 Rumsfeld is right - a good portion of our tropprs are mowing the grass and standing gate guard duty CONUS. Hire Pinkerton to guard the gate and free up soldiers. Also offer anyone in Levanworth a one year for 3 off their sentence to direct traffic in downtown Bagdad. |
| Posted by: Steve D 2003-8-21 12:48:59 PM |
| #12 Regardless of how things are going in Iraq, we do have a major problem in the Department of Defense. It boils down to simply too many commitments for the manpower and resources available. The only solution is to cut commitments, or increase the size of the military. A compromise, consisting of dropping a few commitments where it's possible to do that, and at the same time beefing up both the standing military (army, navy, air force, marines) and the reserve/guard force, would be the best solution. All of it will take time, money, and manpower. Right now, we're a bit short of all three. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-21 12:44:21 PM |
| #11 .com: Ignore the ankle-biters and the press-release junkies. Their sky falls everyday. The real one remains in place - as it always has and always will. Words to live by... and steal :-) |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-8-21 11:09:06 AM |
| #10 females not useful??? whenever i hear complaints about Iraqi women being body searched by male american soldiers, I wonder where are all the females? Of course I suppose if their not in a combat unit they cant be used for that - and it may not be logistically feasible to attach one female GI to each combat unit just for body searching females. Does make you wonder if standard combat units are the best for these kinds of search missions though - would a dedicated, linguistically and culturally trained (and coed) peace-keeping corp do a better job? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-8-21 10:20:50 AM |
| #9 dcreeper - Only when someone's being pretentious - software development. All sorts of oil & gas stuff to web apps - 30 yrs so far. There are some Real engrs around, like Frank G. I won't pretend to be in his class! |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-21 9:18:28 AM |
| #8 .com .... engineer? |
| Posted by: dcreeper 2003-8-21 9:08:37 AM |
| #7 I can't figure out why anyone wouldn't expect we'd be facing precisely what we're facing in Iraq - and will be for many more months to come - 2-5 years, I've read. Sounds about right to me. It takes time to do what we're doing. Always has and always will - the examples of the efforts of the US and others is easily located. And 6 months is all that has elapsed since the first cruise missiles flew. Add to it the facts about Arabs in general and the Iraqis in particular - they haven't known anything akin to civilized society for a very long time. Deep breaths should be issued to the breathless BBC, NPR, CNN, et al hacks and anyone else who seems not to get it. Then throw them all out, if that will help. This is our effort, our little test-tube baby. The average Iraqi wants the same things we want: home, family, safety, peace, a future. Many will like what they see as we progress. Keep the bad elements (UN, NGOs, Press, CAIR/ISM/ANSWER tools, etc) out, if needed. Foster the honeypot / flypaper game and kill asshats by the busload, and funnel it to a killing ground of your choosing, if that's needed. This isn't magic, it's good sense and hard work: Let the military make the best plan they can from the best available intel, let them handle the details and issue the kit and manpower and skills lists - they know what they're doing. Let them execute it. Let them update it as often as needed. Persevere. Don't second guess. Keep the press of their backs - using whatever means you need. Ignore the ankle-biters and the press-release junkies. Their sky falls everyday. The real one remains in place - as it always has and always will. There's a saying used in my business: Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two. Seems to apply to Nation-Building, too. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-21 8:46:01 AM |
| #6 I am forced to listen to NPR and yesterday they featured one of their reporters reporting that Iraqis hate the US, want them to leave and are taking steps to make that happen? WTF?!?! Why hasn't the CIA talked to this f*cker and made him tell where the opposition is? Why does an American reporter get away with anti-US reporting and the CIA does NOTHING about it? It seems to me that this reporter knows something and he needs to talk to the nation which gave him the freedom to shoot his mouth off, or get the f*ck out of Iraq. Intel is our biggest problem, apparently, but an element of that is to wreck our home grown commies' need to wreck what we are trying to do in Iraq. I think NPR and BBC need to be monitored closely and whenever a statement such as knowledge of terrorist attacks being planned (or indicated) is broadcast, the reporter need to have that information available to the good guys first, not the NPR's and BBC's traitorous allies. Preferably voluntarily. |
| Posted by: badanov 2003-8-21 8:09:18 AM |
| #5 DOD's position is that whatever additional security is provided must come from Iraqis. Certainly from a cost standpoint this is pretty persuasive. A 100-man unit of Iraqis costs much less to operate than bringing another 100 man unit over to Iraq. Steve's point is also well taken. While we have a large standing army and lots of reserves, many units are not qualified to do the Iraq work. And while it is not PC to say it, of the large number of females in the army, very, very few would be useful in Iraq (actually, most would be worse than useless). |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-8-21 8:05:36 AM |
| #4 .com Excellent advice. Are there ear-protection devices approved against H&C by OSHA? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-21 7:53:38 AM |
| #3 Steverossa, I bet you are thinking....too bad they don't have a backwards "k" and "s key.... |
| Posted by: anon 2003-8-21 5:52:19 AM |
| #2 problem is not more troopd problem is there r no more troops available to be sent there...despite having a 1.5 million man Army ..when broken down there just arent any men left |
| Posted by: steveerossa 2003-8-21 5:05:22 AM |
| #1 Ah. A rational man speaks. Indeed, the sky is not falling and we need only do a mid-course compass correction - something we should do frequently, anyway. Take stock, reassess needs and priorities, ignore the press and their incessant demands for information that can't be known in advance by mere mortals - and for scapegoats for everything that does or doesn't happen, and get on with the job. It's essential to complete it - and to get it right. Issue ear-protection to everyone involved so they can concentrate in spite of the endless Hue & Cry™. (http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-hue1.htm) |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-21 3:47:12 AM |