Not Enough Troops To Hold Ground

[Barrett808]

Not Enough Troops To Hold Ground
Charlotte Observer
June 3, 2005

U.S. Army officers in the deserts of northwest Iraq, near the Syrian border, say they don't have enough troops to hold the ground they take from insurgents in this transit point for weapons, money and foreign fighters.

From October to the end of April, there were about 400 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division patrolling the northwest region, which covers about 10,000 square miles.

"Resources are everything in combat ... there's no way 400 people can cover that much ground," said Maj. John Wilwerding, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is responsible for the northwest tract that includes Tal Afar.

"Because there weren't enough troops on the ground ... the (insurgency) was able to get a toehold," said Wilwerding, 37, of Chaska, Minn.

During the past two months, Army commanders, trying to pacify the area, have had to move in some 4,000 Iraqi soldiers; about 2,000 more are on the way. About 3,500 troops from the 3rd ACR took control of the area this month, but officers said they were still understaffed for the mission.

"There's simply not enough forces here," said a high-ranking U.S. Army officer with knowledge of the 3rd ACR. "There are not enough to do anything right; everybody's got their finger in a dike." The officer spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concern that he'd be reprimanded for questioning American military policy in Iraq.

(more)

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_enough_060305,00.html

[applegrove]

1. Exactly. Rumsfield is an ass for cutting the battle plans of the Generals

down by 2/3.

What hubris.

1) They went in for the wrong reasons

2) They didn't have a proper plan with enough troops on the ground.


Iraqis should not have to pay for neocon experiments.

[BikeWriter]

13. Rummy and Wolfowitz ridiculed Shinseki for wanting to follow Zinni's...

war plans. They should have had to eat those words long ago.

[applegrove]

14. Actually it was the one apology Rummy made - around Christmas.

[July]

18. Details on that apology, please?

Link?

I thought Shinseki was eased out.

[BikeWriter]

22. Shinseki was fired/retired. Franks told them what they wanted to hear...

[IndianaGreen]

33. Shinseki is a great soldier and patriot

Unlike the neocons, Shinseki was a war hero, having lost a leg in combat and remaining in active duty.

Shinseki told the truth! But as so many that told the truth about Iraq (remember Dr. David Kelly), Shinseki was treated badly even by our own "free" press for daring be truthful.

We cannot held anyone accountable for the Iraq folly without also including the American press and TV media. Newspapers such as the Washington Post and New York Times acted like cheerleaders for the warmongers in the Bush regime. TV networks, including the venerable CBS News, failed to report stories carried in the British press that debunked every claim about WMD made by war criminals such as Colin Powell at his UN appearance.

The press, the TV networks, and our political leaders failed the American people! What we must demand now is that they redeem themselves by bringing to the attention of the public all of the lies and deception of the Bush Administration. Let us begin with the Downing Street Memo!

[applegrove]

28. It was a few weeks of heat and then Rumsfield et all admitted that

they announced he had made a mistake in the past and offered his resignation but it was refused by Bush. (May have been offered for other reasons)

Perhaps a little bit after the election.

I don't know. I'll go google.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2005/02/04/rumsfeld_suggested_resignation_.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,141887,00.html

Well I tried to google. I can't find the conclusion to the calls for Rumsfield's resignation by McCain & others. Sorry.

[Barrett808]

36. Iirc, Rumsfeld claimed to have offered his resignation after Abu Ghraib

But Bush wouldn't accept it.

[tlcandie]

2. Just how much longer will those fingers keep that dike from exploding?

n/t

[Purrfessor]

19. Haven't they heard that the Dutch invented clogs to plug leaking dikes,

rather than to have to resort to using their fingers. This way they could plug the leak and still make their appointments on time.

[ElectroPrincess]

3. Well, you could knock me over with a feather!

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!



Guess they'll just have to deploy more Active Duty / Reserve Marines to those areas. However, soon even the proud tradition and history of The Corps may not be enough to counter act the "cannon fodder" death and/or dismemberment possibilities of signing-up.

[hootinholler]

5. ROTFLMFAO! nt

[Zorra]

9. Well, Gol-lee!

Which Bush brother is that one?

[converted_democrat]

23. I love that!!!!!!

My favorites are Surprise,surprise,surprise ---- From Gomer Pyle
And my other favorite is from Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show. Citizens arrest,citizens arrest,citizens arrest!!!!

[Career Prole]

4. Poor bastards. If they'd had any planning at all

they would have realized while staged in Kuwait before Shock and Awe™ even began that they wouldn't have enough troops to hold the ground they would take.

I guess that's what happens when you let toy soldiers tell real soldiers how to go about their jobs.

[lovuian]

6. Their solution Bring in more Iraqi troops who do we know who

they are fighting for??? I can see their stretch of land

Hey Insurgents come this way!!! Its what used in the borders of Mexico!!!

PLEEEAAASSSEEE!!!

But if they think there are more troops out there in America there is only bueracrat generals sitting around tables to give them!!!

[doublethink]

7. Call 'Mercenaries R Us' .....

Swear to God these guys think privatization of everything is the answer. What a bunch of dickwads.

http://www.alternet.org/story/18193

and here .... http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/628/628p19i.htm

[Supersedeas]

34. lowest bid wins -- democracy at gun point on the cheap

[expatriot]

8. Wasn't this the whole thing with "Hamburger HIll" in Vietnam?

Taking a geographic objective only to abandon it.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Exactly what I was going to say...it is Viet Nam all over again!

[llmart]

21. Hey! I just took your poll.....

glad to see that it's my age group in the majority here at DU - 50-59. We're still a bunch of activists at our ages. Woo hoo!!!

[IndianaGreen]

11. Who sent the troops to Iraq?

I would like to see some of these military whiners come out and place the blame where it deserves to be placed: their Commander-in-Chief!

[applegrove]

16. If you read Woodward's last book you see how long and hard

Rumsfield pushed for a smaller force. Again and again he kicked back the battle plan for Iraq until it fit with his 'new assumptions'. So Woodward did us a great service. Because we would not know this if he hadn't been their listening to them brag about the battle plans.

[Mika]

27. It'll be a cakewalk -remember?

:puke:



Good news Brothers and sisters - chocolate rations have been increased to 20 grams.

http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/1984/5

It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Parsons swallowed it easily, with the stupidity of an animal. The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grammes.

[hadrons]

12. not to worry, Maj. John Wilwerding, they'll just blame Syria ....

feel better???

[DS1]

15. George Bush will give the Commanders everything they need

If they'd just ask. Really. He said so. George Bush will rescue the military from its Clinton-era gutting.

:sarcasm:

[bpilgrim]

17. we will die a death of a thousand cuts in the sands of Iraq for Rummy's

FANTASIES about 21st century WARFARE.

they are running our country and military like these fools ran their tech companies during the 90s :crazy:

We DESPERATELY need new LEADERSHIP -> MP3
http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/aar/af/gore/we_desperately_need.mp3
more...
http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/aar/af/gore

peace

[fedsron2us]

20. The Bush regime went to live on Fantasy Island long ago.

Just like all the other CEOs in the western world. They are not planning on coming back.

[Seabiscuit]

24. A military campaign stretched too thin.

I imagine that kind of thing is going on all over Iraq and Afghanistan today. And Wolfowitz, Cheney, and their PNAC brethren imagined Iraq would be a cakewalk and imagined it was just the first step on their way to conquering the entire middle east? They're not just evil, they're delusional.

[splat@14]

25. Betcha Guantanamo isn't short of people. n/t

[noamnety]

26. 10,000 square miles without adequate patrols

10,000 soldiers kicked out of the military because they were gay.

[ConcernedCanuk]

29. US wants the oil - don't matter how many troops die to the Admin. .

.
.
.

Interesting article I found

I'm sure it will be no surprise to most - but an enlightenment just the same - -

Iraq oil - the target for years
By Ahmad Quni

Sunday 10 August 2003, 12:40 Makka Time, 9:40 GMT

/snip/

"In 1927, major oil explorations were undertaken and huge oil deposits were discovered in the Mosul province, which fuelled the rivalry among competing colonialist oil companies even further.

However, a settlement was arranged and Iraqi oil was divided up into five portions, 23.75% for each of several companies from Britain, France, Holland and the United States.

The Iraqi people were left with virtually nothing of their oil wealth, and this unfair situation continued until 1958 when the Hashemite monarchy was toppled in a military coup. "

/snip/

my comment - (that'd be Saddam I suspect?)

The 1958 revolution

By July 1958, a military coup overthrew the Iraqi monarchy, a development that the US regarded as detrimental to its vital interests and immediately landed 20,000 marines in Lebanon in the context of what was known as the “Eisenhower doctrine.”

/snip/

my comment - this invasion has been in the works since that time

in my opinion, the article is worth a total read,

[dbt]

30. MORE Viet Vu in Iraq Nam!

Why, it seems like it was only thirty-eight years ago that US forces were told to take that hill, abandon that hill and take that hill again.

And I MUST PROTEST the use of "unnamed sources" in this article! Goodness, we wouldn't want military.com to get Rathered the way Newsweak was!

:freak:

[teryang]

31. What happened to their full spectrum dominance lap tops?

Can't they just call in a satellite relayed targeting victory strike from outer space?

Tens of billions to Lockheed, Raytheon and Northrup but they can't find some people in the desert? I guess no one among the pentagon white collars knows anything about ground warfare.

What happened to the trillions in defense spending?

Lobbyists looking for increased dividends are making decisions about war and peace.

[brentspeak]

32. Didn't Bush fire the general who warned about this?

[Barrett808]

35. Shinseki, et al, retired

Kind of a velvet purge.