Guardian UK: US commanders admit: we face a Vietnam-style collapse

[marmar]

US commanders admit: we face a Vietnam-style collapse


Elite officers in Iraq fear low morale, lack of troops and loss of political will

Simon Tisdall
Thursday March 1, 2007
The Guardian


An elite team of officers advising the US commander, General David Petraeus, in Baghdad has concluded that they have six months to win the war in Iraq - or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat.
The officers - combat veterans who are experts in counter-insurgency - are charged with implementing the "new way forward" strategy announced by George Bush on January 10. The plan includes a controversial "surge" of 21,500 additional American troops to establish security in the Iraqi capital and Anbar province.

But the team, known as the "Baghdad brains trust" and ensconced in the heavily fortified Green Zone, is struggling to overcome a range of entrenched problems in what has become a race against time, according to a former senior administration official familiar with their deliberations.

"They know they are operating under a clock. They know they are going to hear a lot more talk in Washington about 'Plan B' by the autumn - meaning withdrawal. They know the next six-month period is their opportunity. And they say it's getting harder every day," he said. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2023865,00.html

[Captain Hilts]

1. Already posted earlier. nt

[Leopolds Ghost]

2. If it's getting harder every day, then the plan's not working, is it? n/t

[ConsAreLiars]

3. And for the same reasons.

Somehow, people of other nations don't seem willing to submit to US Imperialism. They resist. They fight back. And they defend themselves against the soulless murderers who have invaded their lands.

By any means. Any means.

Eventually, even the people of the invading country realize that their rulers are heartless monsters driven only by greed and and the lust for power.

[Swamp Rat]

4. k&r