'Nobody knows' when Iraqis will be ready to takeover security: US general

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050809/pl_afp/usiraqforces_050809214738


General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iraqi security forces have been given responsibility for security in seven or eight places around the country, including a part of Baghdad.

But at a Pentagon press conference, he acknowledged major uncertainties ahead for the US goal of drawing down its 138,000-strong force next year, and replacing American troops in phases with Iraqi forces.

Asked how soon Iraqi security forces can take the lead in the counterinsurgency, Myers said: "Nobody knows."

"It's event driven. It's going to be ... driven by a lot of events," he said.

"So you can't predict your troop strength based on what you think is going to happen. You have to wait until events on the ground prove it," he said.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

1. hahah

"It's event driven. It's going to be ... driven by a lot of events,"

classic.

[DELUSIONAL]

2. when does he "retire"?

[despairing optimist]

3. "Event driven." I hope Laura's not at the wheel.

[Moondog]

4. We occupied

Germany for, what, over 50 years? And Korea, for 50-some years, and counting?

There is always an excuse; always an explanation.

[0007]

5. ......from the gang that couldn't shoot straight;

Myers is such a beautiful cat and he's learned so much from Rummy.

[mom cat]

6. "They" won't be able to take over till we leave.

[teryang]

7. We'll lower the troop numbers, but first we'll increase them!

That's a good message that fulfills any agenda.

[rodeodance]

8. well now we know huh???? gee, that was a tough one!!

[DemoTex]

9. Reminds me of Marvin the ARVN and "Vietnamization."

The ARVNs got their clocks cleaned during Lam Son 719 (winter invasion of Laos in 1971). I know. I was there. Lam Son 719 was supposed to prove that "Vietnamization" was working. It was, instead, a miserable failure. The events leading to the fall of Saigon in April 1975 proved that. Don't get me wrong, I had good friends in ARVN and VNAF who were excellent and dedicated military professionals. There were too few of them, though.

[norml]

10. Pentagon: Timetable unclear on Iraqi troops

Pentagon: Timetable unclear on Iraqi troops
Adequate forces key to US pullout
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | August 10, 2005

WASHINGTON -- In a blunt assessment of the situation in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday that ''nobody knows" when the new Iraqi government would be ready to provide for its own security.

The question of when sufficient numbers of adequately trained Iraqi soldiers, police, and border guards can take the lead in battling the insurgency is the key factor in determining when the US military can begin pulling out.

''It's going to have to be driven by a lot of events," Air Force General Richard B. Myers, the top military adviser to President Bush since 2001, said yesterday at a Pentagon briefing. ''You can't predict your troop strength based on what you think is going to happen; you're going to have to wait until events on the ground prove it."

Myers and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld stressed that significant progress is being made in establishing viable security forces. Myers noted that 29 of 35 operations conducted throughout the country Monday and yesterday included US and Iraqi forces. Some Iraqi units are now fully self-sufficient, including providing for their own food and fuel. As of yesterday, more than 170,00 Iraqi security forces with varying levels of skill were on duty, they said.


snip


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/08/10/pentagon_timetable_unclear_on_iraqi_troops/