Army chief says US ready to be in Iraq 10 years

[The Straight Story]

Army chief says US ready to be in Iraq 10 years

By TOM CURLEY – 22 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars. "Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction," Casey said. "They fundamentally will change how the Army works."

He spoke at an invitation-only briefing to a dozen journalists and policy analysts from Washington-based think-tanks. He said his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a sustained U.S. commitment to fighting extremism and terrorism in the Middle East.

Casey's calculations about force levels are related to his attempt to ease the brutal deployment calendar that he said would "bring the Army to its knees."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdE_56XyHbB6NPQQ_Mt-KKGgg5EgD98E833O0

[derby378]

1. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it...

Pentagon brass is going to try and wear Obama down on this one.

[Oregone]

2. No way! I thought we were going to turn that huge embassy into a shopping mall there!

Straight from the "Obama is cool, but no shit!" department.

If we left now, it would yield a miserable ROI (return on invasion)

[TheWatcher]

3. People should probably try to realize at this point

WE ARE NEVER LEAVING.

America will stop getting a Bill Of Goods when it stops it's willingness to buy one over, and over, and over, and over again.