Sen. McCain: More Troops Needed to Tackle Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030819/pl_nm/iraq_usa_troops_dc&cid=615&ncid=1473

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading Republican Sen. John McCain said on Tuesday the United States needed additional troops in Iraq to deal with increasingly more sophisticated attacks against U.S. forces and strategic targets.

McCain, a member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, said from Baghdad where he met U.S. civilian governor Paul Bremer and U.S. generals that troops had a tough time ahead of them and needed help.

"I don't think any of us -- including them (U.S. troops) -- anticipated the amount and sophistication of these attacks," the Arizona senator told NBC's "Today" show.

"I think they may need more people, both in the military overall and perhaps here on the ground. That's one of the things, I think, we will be looking at," he added.

more

[sujan]

1. good luck

[NNN0LHI]

2. Anyone feel a draft yet?

>>>"I think they may need more people, both in the military overall and perhaps here on the ground.<<<

[liberalnurse]

3. I sense they, the *bush regime ,want to install

the draft like yesterday...but not before the election......It will be a long, long 14 months...... Too big a risk.....easier to tell lies, shoot reporters.

[MUAD_DIB]

8. It will be a political bloodbath for the repugs

if the chimp initiates the draft before or after the *election. All the kids that don't pay attention to anything will suddenly prick up their ears. That may be the best thing that has happened to this country in a generation!
They won't go willingly to die for Dick's oil war.

It will be a political bloodbath. I hope that it doesn't get any worse than that.



*Chimpy will never get a chance to do it. He's going down in '04!

[Zeke]

10. Brrrrrrrr

Kinda drafty in here, huh?

Bush's entire life is DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.

A miltary draft is coming...after the election if he wins.

The congress will then go Democratic in 2006.

[leesa]

4. Millions of people anticipated the amount and sophistication

of the attacks. They were in the streets trying to prevent this catastrophe...where was this cowardly thug? What else would people do but defend themselves when a country invades them without any kind of provacation on the part of the invadee.

[Cha]

18. I know! john mccain is a disingenuous idiot and is insulting to

our intelligence! he's a chauvinistic asshole, too.

[PaDUer]

25. Send him

a message or 2 or 3 and let him know what we think.

[glarius]

5. France, Germany & others should be asked to send troops to Iraq

to relieve some of the American troops, according to CNN's annalist Ken Pollack...Why would these countries, which were against this war from the beginning, and whose citizens demonstrated against it, send troops over there to be shot at?...It is pretty unbelievable that Bush and company would expect these countries to come to their rescue after they have been insulted and alienated.

[Kellanved]

14. RE: German troops

Very unlikely.
Since the last UN incident it's "Afghanistan first".
And there aren't many troops left; The 280000 troops Germany has are distributed as follows:

- 100000 are conscripts, they won't be deployed abroad
- 92000 are with the Airforce or the Navy - no use in Iraq.
- 22000 are in training
- 8000 are part of peacekeeping missions
- the remaining Soldiers are either back from an international mission (and thus out for two years) or of no use abroad.


Most Soldiers are equipped for a tank battle in central Europe; desert warfare is a problem; the Army is artificially immobile for historic reasons.

Soldiers are only deployed abroad for 6 months, followed by two years at home - this might be changed, but it's not likely.

At the moment the army is maxed out - a fact criticized in Parliament, but a fact nonetheless. The Reforms (new Transport planes, NATO rapid response Force, new Equipment; less bureaucracy; new laws) will take a few years to take effect.

And: the Troop strength is being reduced : 170000 is the desired size .

[NNN0LHI]

17. Thank you for this information. Do you have a link to where you found it?

Not because I don't believe what you say. But because I would like to look for some additional details. Only if possible of course. If you know this from personal experience don't worry about the link. I will just do some Googling later on today. Thanks again.

Don

[Kellanved]

27. it was a Spiegel story this week

The numbers aren't new - there should be other sources for them around. Sadly it's not included in the English Edition (only Blackout stories this week: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/english/ )

Here is the German Story - you might want to Babelfish it.
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,261555,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,285996,00.jpg

[eleny]

23. I would guess that...

... there is too much to lose if the huge oil resources were in jeopardy. But we need to share in the spoils... erm... I mean we need to share the ... hmmm ... Sure isn't easy discussing this, but I'm sure you know where I'm going.

The other countries are probably more then willing to get ivolved to be able to get the goods. But I think they want Bush to grovel as well as meet their demands for spoils. I'm too cynical to believe that the lives of the military mean much to those in power around the world - unless it hurts their chances of stay in power.

[underpants]

6. Hmm just like Shinseki tried to tell them

Wolfowitz is an a**hat.

[Dhalgren]

7. Isn't it amazing

how a four star general with thirty years service and experience was just summarily cashiered for making an accurate assessment of the situation? And now these neo-con shit heads are saying "gee, no one knew we'd need more troops." This simply can't go on much longer. This whole house of cards is gonna come crashing down and it will not be pretty. I just hope that there are enough true patriots in the military to pick up the pieces and reconstitute the legal authorities - once all the blood-letting is over.

[underpants]

13. Tell me about it

I lost a fortune investing in the Iraqi rose market.

[leftchick]

16. unfortunately rummy is purging all of the patriots left

in the misadministraion till there is nothing left but the insane neocons and their stooges.

[eleny]

26. yes, all that experience

working at a pharmaceutical company gave rumsfeld the vast experience necessary to manage a war. why, he didn't even need the experience and counsel from shinseki or powell for that matter.

i wonder why bush only gave an audio address? perhaps he looked too casual in his golfing duds. but i'm sure rove will spin this one like all the rest of the messes.

and i couldn't be happier that wesley clark has been on the tv in recent days. hammering at the bad policies surrounding this war. i'd like to hear from the other candidates. probably only a matter of hours before we get their thoughts on all this, too. thank god the election is on the horizon.

[Cha]

22. They always Lie and try to rewrite history. It's part of their creed..

to Lie, Cheat, Steal, and Murder to get what they want.

[catmandu57]

9. Draft is a death knell for g.w. since

I thought we'de be looking right down the barrel of a draft by labor day, and it's getting closer. The attacks are going to show that there isn't enough manpower to even begin to occupy this country. According to sources the shiites have'nt started rebelling yet, when they do nothing will stop the Iraqis from kicking our asses out of their country.
Kkkarl must be shaking in his boots right now, they know the only way to clamp down is to put more soldiers on the ground, but we don't have the numbers. The rest of the world with very few exceptions have told us you broke it you fix it.
A draft before the next selection pounds spikes not nails in the chimps coffin, but they've painted themselves in a corner.

[gratuitous]

11. McCain said that?

Well, he's crazy you know. All that time as a POW in 'Nam. And he has a black kid. Did you know that? You don't see her at any of his campaign stops, do you?

Note: The above is the strategy used by the Bush campaign to discredit McCain in South Carolina during the 2000 primary season. After Bush walloped McCain there, the Republican nomination was his. Why John McCain gives this administration the time of day after those shameful attacks is anybody's guess. He's a much better man than I, though; I wouldn't piss on Bush if he was on fire.

[wabeewoman]

33. I wouldn't piss on Bush if he was on fire.

LOL! That's a good one and a better visual. Thanks I needed a laugh after the news today.

[Mari333]

12. FUCK YOU MCCAIN

Bring them all home NOW you sorry bastard...dont send my son into that quagmire you bootlicking bastard.

[Cha]

19. Exactly!

[sujan]

20. exactly

easier said than done.

[dArKeR]

35. Send the GOP/CEO children and bring our children home!

[leftchick]

15. Well all of the anti-war protesters anticipated the chaos

you shithead mccain!

[Cha]

21. Yep! We're a hell of whole lot smarter than those neanderthals

in Washington!

[PaDUer]

24. then send

his and his buddies and their family right there, give them the best flight going..it's their turn..

[Dhalgren]

28. Yes, there will have to be a draft.

If this illegal empire is to be sustained, then more bodies are needed (unfortunately, "bodies" is the right word). But the Emperor will not be able to wait until after Nov. '04, because of the logistics. It will take at least a year - 8 months, tops - to get the draft going and get new recruits into Iraq. These of course will be slaughterd almost immediately, but the pipeline of men will be flowing and that's all that matters. Will this country sustain a draft? it depends on how much in control the neo-cons really are - it will be the lithmus test of their power.

[lebkuchen]

29. Cheney/Rummy are "starving" the troops in order to privatize

They want all US military who aren't already on the front lines, but are performing support roles, to go to the front lines with the support roles being performed by Haliburton.

Nixon did the same thing with the trans Alaska pipeline, as he didn't want it built across Canada, so he created the faux energy crisis.

[pfitz59]

30. Recruitment commercials on the rise!

Anyone else notice the recent increase in Army and Reserve recruiting commercials? I know "stop-loss" is preventing folks from leaving the service. (Stop-loss = Involuntary enlistment extension.) What are the figures on recruitment and retention? Will the Army draft Sailors and Airmen for ground combat duty? (Has been done, you know!) Will the sheeple finally "get it"?

[symbolman]

31. Here's a recruitment commercial for ya

http://www.takebackthemedia.com ARMY OF ONE

[ignatius]

32. I know ths has been said before, but with a crappy economy,

few jobs and cutbacks at the state and federal level to university students, the military may be a last stop for some children.

And I remember reading that funding could be withheld from public high schools if information on students wasn't divulged to the government. Easier to institute the draft when it comes.

On edit, here is a link to the hs story.

http://registerguard.com/news/2003/06/10/a9.ed.col.mandrapa.0610.html

[IndianaGreen]

34. How about withdrawing the troops, bring the troops home NOW?

Or did McCain learn anything from his Vietnam experience?

[NNN0LHI]

36. McCain knows what he is doing IG. War is good for bidness n/t

[teryang]

37. Apparently not!

McCain is programmed for loyalty. Once shots are fired, all critical faculties are lost.

[Robbien]

38. Support Bush, Send your kid to die in Iraq

Once again I am sharing my protest sign today. Maybe McCain would like to borrow the slogan.

[tom_paine]

39. Hammer meets Anvil: Going to be a draft

There has to be...do the numbers.

We don't have enough bodies for Imperial Occupation Duty.

And yes, after 2004, the Imperial Subjects of Amerika will be getting a surprise that makes Emperor Tiberius* throwing off of his phony mask of moderation after the Bloodless Coup of 2000, look like a tea party.

National ID Cards
The end of Posse Commitatus
Draft.

All on the table...because I believe that in 2005 we will see Lame-Duck Fuehrer throw off not his Phony Mask of Moderation, but his Phony Mask of Humanity (rhetorically speaking...he's not an alien, I trust)

[Sagan]

40. Sorry, John.. I anticipated exactly this...

My analysis of a postwar Iraq has been almost spot-on.

So don't give me that Condoleeza Rice "oh, NO ONE could have foreseen this" bullshit....