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| Iraq | |
| New US Iraq commander says may need three years | |
| 2007-01-08 | |
| BAGHDAD - The new commander of US combat forces in Iraq said on Sunday it may take two to three years to meet American goals but that an increasingly independent Iraqi government may change the US role there within a year. Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took up the second ranking US military post in Iraq a month ago, told reporters the American public would need patience to see a stable Iraq but also said he hoped Iraqi troops could be in control of Baghdad within months after a new operation mounted with US help. Speaking ahead of Washington’s expected announcement of a new approach in Iraq, Odierno said: ‘The mission now is to defeat the ... insurgency and to train Iraqi security forces. ‘Over time we can accomplish the mission. That time I put two or three years from now. The issue becomes are we willing to wait two or three years or do we want to speed it up?’ He said: ‘It takes patience and it takes time ... Unfortunately what we’re starting to show some lack of is patience ... I think it’s too important not to have patience.’ Among constraints, he said, was a possibility the Iraqi government would in December change the United Nations mandate under which the United States has charge of Iraq’s security. Saying Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had nearly changed the annual mandate last month, Odierno said: ‘They almost did it this time and I think by next December there’s a good potential that could happen ... They more and more want to move toward independence and so they might put some conditions on it. Asked if that could even mean a US withdrawal, he replied: ‘I don’t know. That all depends.’ US commanders have said they hope to complete a transition to Iraqi control of all of Iraq’s 18 provinces and of its army by this autumn, with US troops remaining in a support role.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Might get 3 weeks; esp. if LeftWwingNan gets her way regarding $$ for the cause. I expect the rank and file Dems to fall in place after the minimum required huffing and puffing about not cutting the funds, blah blah. Might as well start packing your gear, boys. game over. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-01-08 14:33 |
| #6 The metrics are important. If there were dramatically fewer Americans dying and it was a 6 month trend, it would get a fair amount of coverage. If Tater's milia was actually disarmed, it would get coverage. If the oil production in Iraq went up by 50% and stayed up, it would get a fair amount of coverage. If the Iraqi electricity problem were solved, it would get publicity. However, having the Iraqis take administrative control over this or that isn't going to get much coverage. |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-01-08 11:16 |
| #5 Now if only our troops are allowed to FIGHT, it will work. More and more I'm for pulling all the troops out of Iraq and using them to invade Washington DC. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-01-08 10:54 |
| #4 Besoeker, at least Saddam's hit men used to have the decency of putting the heads of his victims in plastic bags before depositing them on the doorsteps of the newly bereft. Those were the good old days in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-01-08 09:31 |
| #3 Nor will the US State Department share with you the mindless tribal brutality these Islamic morons are heaping upon themselves, ie, such practices as gutting their murder victims, stuffing them with a dead dogs, and depositing on the doorstep of the deceased. Lovely bunch of folks here, quite lovely. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-01-08 08:30 |
| #2 No matter how big a ceremony you have to transfer control - the MSM will squash the story like a bug. They never have let any signs of real progress be shown back home and they never will. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2007-01-08 08:22 |
| #1 I'll tell you right now, you got 1. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-01-08 08:11 |