Iraq war can't be won: British army chief

[cal04]

Source: AFP

THERE is "no way" the war in Iraq can be won by the United States and its allies, a former British Army commander said as he called for the troops to be withdrawn.

General Sir Michael Rose, who commanded the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 1994 to 1995, said coalition forces in Iraq were facing an impossible situation.

"There is no way we are going to win the war and (we should) withdraw and accept defeat because we are going to lose on a more important level if we don't,'' he said.

Though the coalition could not simply "cut and run,'' Gen Rose said announcing a withdrawal date would help to dampen down the violence between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions.



Read more: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21836084-1702,00.html

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"Give them a date and it is amazing how people and political parties will stop fighting each other and start working towards a peaceful transfer of power,'' he said.

he has also written a book on the American War of Independence, made comparisons with the 1775-1783 conflict between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies.

[ananda]

1. that's the point, isn't it?

.. to keep us there forever trying to win it.

[cliss]

2. General Rose doesn't need to call

the White House. They already got the memo. Back in 2003, there was a write-up on the Iraq war. Even back then, they knew the conflict was unwinnable. No solution on the horizon.

None.

Since then, they've been trying a variety of measures, because Hope springs eternal doesn't it?

Also, they have no idea how to get out.:smoke:

[Doctor_J]

3. He must be a terrorist

or at least a terr-symp

[MadHound]

4. This was obvious from the beginning, and just another reason we shouldn't have gone

Apparently we have no military historians either in Congress or in the White House, for any military historian would tell you that fighting a guerilla war, on ground that is friendly to the guerilla movement, is an unwinnable war. History has shown us this time and again, from the U.S. revolution to Vietnam to USSR in Afghanistan, you simply can't win. The guerillas have no specific base to protect, thus they have freedom of movement. They are supported, supplied and protected by the local people, and they blend into the local population easily. Fighting a guerilla war will bleed you of men, money and materials to the point where war becomes untenable.

Sadly, nobody in power took this into consideration before we got into this mess. And apparently nobody wants to consider it now either.

[Kyad06]

5. Even Chimpie can't define winning

Bush can't even define what "winning" in Iraq is. Other than "fight them there so we don't have to fight them here b.s. that he used in a speech in NJ last week.