No Troop Reduction In Sight
According to this article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times, after the extra forces sent to Iraq for the "surge" are pulled out in July, there will be no further troop reductions until after the election. However, it's not the US election being talked about; it's the Iraqi provincial election, the one that at this point doesn't look to be taking place.
The Bush administration believes a halt in troop reductions in Iraq after July is needed in part to ensure a large enough force is present to provide security for local elections, a senior administration official said Friday.
By tying troop levels to Iraq's provincial elections, officials in effect established a new milestone to guide U.S. policy during President Bush's last months in office. And by linking them to the elections, the administration is increasing pressure on the Iraqis to actually hold the balloting.
Iraq's presidency council, consisting of three top officials, vetoed legislation this week that set plans for the provincial elections, which the U.S. regards as one of the benchmarks of political progress in Iraq. [Emphasis added]
Apparently it hasn't occurred to the White House, or, for that matter, the Pentagon, that the Shiite majority government really has no incentive to hold the provincial elections while the US military is there to prop it up. Besides, it makes more sense to the Iraqis to let American soldiers take the dangerous roles than to place Iraqi forces in that position. That's the way the "benchmarks" have worked out and why "timelines" actually would have worked much better in extricating our troops.
But wait, there's more:
The official also cast doubt on Army plans to shorten combat tours from 15 months to 12 months after the current round of troop reductions is completed in July. Tours were extended to 15 months last year to support the U.S. buildup, but the extra time has added to strain on Army units. [Emphasis added]
In other words, this administration has no intention of cleaning up the mess it made, which certainly fits nicely with the president's personal history. In the mean time, American troops are being pushed to the limit and beyond because the administration, when it can't figure out what to do next, just keeps doing what it had been doing in the insane hope that maybe it will finally work.
323 days.
The Bush administration believes a halt in troop reductions in Iraq after July is needed in part to ensure a large enough force is present to provide security for local elections, a senior administration official said Friday.
By tying troop levels to Iraq's provincial elections, officials in effect established a new milestone to guide U.S. policy during President Bush's last months in office. And by linking them to the elections, the administration is increasing pressure on the Iraqis to actually hold the balloting.
Iraq's presidency council, consisting of three top officials, vetoed legislation this week that set plans for the provincial elections, which the U.S. regards as one of the benchmarks of political progress in Iraq. [Emphasis added]
Apparently it hasn't occurred to the White House, or, for that matter, the Pentagon, that the Shiite majority government really has no incentive to hold the provincial elections while the US military is there to prop it up. Besides, it makes more sense to the Iraqis to let American soldiers take the dangerous roles than to place Iraqi forces in that position. That's the way the "benchmarks" have worked out and why "timelines" actually would have worked much better in extricating our troops.
But wait, there's more:
The official also cast doubt on Army plans to shorten combat tours from 15 months to 12 months after the current round of troop reductions is completed in July. Tours were extended to 15 months last year to support the U.S. buildup, but the extra time has added to strain on Army units. [Emphasis added]
In other words, this administration has no intention of cleaning up the mess it made, which certainly fits nicely with the president's personal history. In the mean time, American troops are being pushed to the limit and beyond because the administration, when it can't figure out what to do next, just keeps doing what it had been doing in the insane hope that maybe it will finally work.
323 days.
Labels: Bush Legacy, Iraq War
posted by Diane at 4:03 AM
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