U.S. says cannot "subdue every bad guy" in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13196788.htm

U.S. says cannot "subdue every bad guy" in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Amid unrelenting violence in Iraq, President George W. Bush's spokesman said on Wednesday the top goal of U.S. troops is to train Iraqi forces, and not trying to "subdue every bad guy in the country."

"As a matter of fact, the central mission to the United States is to train Iraqi forces so they can do the job. They get better intelligence. They know the people who are there. It is their country. And it's their obligation and responsibility," spokesman Tony Snow said on MSNBC.

A classified assessment by Col. Peter Devlin, parts of which became public this week, concluded that the situation in Anbar province, a vast western desert considered the Sunni Muslim insurgency's heartland, is grim and will deteriorate without an infusion of U.S. troops and aid.

...

"The key in Iraq is not for the United States to go in and subdue every bad guy in the country. That would be failure. That would mean that we have to occupy Iraq forever. We don't want to do that," Snow said.

[Avalux]

1. WTF? We'll never win the GWOT with that kind of attitude!

Since Iraq is the central battle in the GWOT, if we can't suppress all the bad guys, aren't we admitting defeat? :silly:

[saigon68]

9. "BRING EM ON" shouted the DRAFT DODGING CHIMPANZEE

[cspanlovr]

2. No Shit!

[fed-up]

3. "And it's their obligation and responsibility" -nt

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. How do you fight a war when there is..............

no one to surrender?

[Solly Mack]

5. My, my.my....but that's an interesting way of framing it

Thanks for posting!

"But his and Snow's comments seemed to de-emphasize the military's operations against insurgents 3-1/2 years into the war."

Yes...that's what so interesting...I sense a new twist on an old spin being tested

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Couldn't this statement have a “demoralizing effect”...

...on U.S. troops and the entire war effort?

Why not train the Iraqi forces to get Bin Laden, too?

[eccles12]

7. There they go "abetting the enemy" again.

What a crock of bullshit. We can't go after every bad guy in Iraq let alone the world but Bush promised us that we would win...whatever that means.

[bamacrat]

8. So we'll kill his innocent family and friends, you know to make up for it.

[ckramer]

10. Apparently Saddam could "subdue every bad guy in the country"

Politics is local. Is our children learning?

[Anakin Skywalker]

11. I Didn't Think You Could, Morons!

[truthisfreedom]

12. wow. just wow. "that would be failure." basically, anything that we aren't

doing right now would be failure. leaving would be failure, fighting harder would be failure, adding troops would be failure, reinstating the draft would be failure... they're message to all Americans is this: shut up and let us handle this our way because we don't give a flying crap what ANYBODY but bushcheneyrove thinks.