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November 18, 2008
Retired General Cautions Obama on Iraq Tactics
Retired General Cautions Obama on Iraq Tactics
By: Dave Eberhart
U.S. leaders have reversed the Iraq situation from being a “bloody disaster” into one of increasing stability, and President-elect Barack Obama must take care not to squander those gains, says retired Army Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey.
McCaffrey also excoriates what he describes as the “misjudgments and denial” of Department of Defense leaders during the first years of the war, which he said burned through $750 billion and resulted in death or injury to 36,000 U.S. troops.
“The genius of the leadership team of Ambassador Ryan Crocker, General Dave Petraeus, and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates has turned around the situation [in Iraq] from a bloody disaster under the leadership of Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld to a growing situation of security,” McCaffrey wrote in the far-ranging “after action” report he filed recently with the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy.
Newsmax obtained a copy of the report, in which the adjunct professor at the academy expressed hope that the Obama administration will be cautious in evaluating military options during the next six months.
“The available U.S. Army and Marine combat forces are insufficient to support continued robust presence in Iraq while also rapidly reinforcing our presence in the Hindu Kush [Afghanistan] with mountain infantry capable units,” wrote McCaffrey, who is an adjunct professor at the academy and a military analyst for NBC and MSNBC.
“The likely strategic outcome will be a more rapid forced drawdown than desirable in Iraq in order to enhance combat power for Afghanistan,” he wrote. “It will be a tricky balance — but in my judgment, we will pull this off successfully. Iraq will stabilize with the rapidly increasing power of the Iraqi Security Forces, while we reinforce the inadequate NATO combat power in Afghanistan.”
Developments during the weekend may have provided the Obama administration with breathing room, if they succeed in preventing the U.S. from being forced out of of Iraq after the U.N. resolution authorizing its presence expires at the end of this year.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Cabinet approved a security pact with the United States that would allow U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for three years after the U.N. mandate expires. The agreement is subject to the approval of Iraq’s 275-member Parliament, but no vote has been scheduled, according to an Associated Press report.
The agreement would provide for U.S. forces to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 and give Iraq the right to try U.S. soldiers and defense contractors accused of serious crimes committed off-duty and off-base. It also would prohibit the U.S. from using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors, such as Syria and Iran.
If the agreement failed to move through the Parliament, McCaffrey said it would be “a shameful outcome, which would return our U.S. military units to their base areas and begin a unilateral withdrawal and the cessation of formal U.S. support for the Iraqi government.”
McCaffrey, who based his after report on fact-finding trips to the Middle East, wrote that he believes the U.S. “is now clearly in the end game in Iraq to successfully achieve what should be our principle objectives.” Among those objectives, he listed:
Withdrawing the majority of U.S. ground combat forces in Iraq in the next 36 months.
Leaving behind a functioning government and security forces.
Fostering the end of civil war among various factions.
Helping create an Iraqi nation at peace with its neighbors.
It would be devastating if the new administration rushed a withdrawal, he wrote, noting his concerns about Iraq’s lack of preparedness.
Wild Thing's comment......
I sure hope Obama listens to all the Generals, and especially General Dave Petraeus, and military about the war. He has his mind made up and has only shown that he will follow his own agenda so we will have to wait and see what he does. But if he does anything that makes it even more dangerous for our troops I hope and pray he gets it back at him10 fold.
General McCaffrey more than paid his dues, leaving his his lower arm was essentially amputated by a .50 bullet. It was reattached, but he never regained its use in SEA, and was a key factor in the rout of Saddam’s “vaunted” Republican Guard armored forces commanding the 24th ID (Mechanized) in the Kuwait and Iraq desert in February 1991. He led his people farther and faster than any unit in US history. His is a voice of influence.
Posted by Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 04:55 AM
Comments
Now that General Petraeus is in command for both Iraq and Afghanistan he should be making the decisions, not Obama. Obama has no experience and no politician is able to asses the situation like General Petraeus despite what they claim as international or military experience.
Posted by: Bob A at November 18, 2008 08:18 AM
With the economy now #1 concern and bailouts coming from every direction and the media still Obama-fied, I doubt the Iraq situation will get much airplay. So whatever The O decides to do will probably be done pretty much without much external discussion.
Plus with the fact that The O doesn't seem to care to meet with generals who don't tow the party line of defeat, I can't see him starting now. His minions will hold the line so he's not "gotten to".
The only reason he even brought up Afghanistan at all was because it's the valid war and the Dems had been harpng on it as a political play against Bush.
Talk about "above his paygrade"...he is so out of his depth here. Reminds me of another Dem President unfortunately, and that didn't turn out good at all.
Posted by: yankeemom at November 18, 2008 09:03 AM
General Barry McCaffrey is a very good military leader.
I sure agree with General McCaffrey about the "misjudgments" of SecDef Rumsfeld. Gates and Petraeus turned the Iraq War around and have given us a victory.
I don't like some parts of the potential Iraqi Security Pact. Prohibiting the US from using Iraqi territory to attack Syria or Iran could prove to be a problem. Iraq themselves may need US help in the future against a neighbor.
Posted by: TomR at November 18, 2008 09:46 AM
Will obama listen to the Generals, probably not. Afterall, they got John Kerry, Jack Webb, and Dick Durbin, and, Oh yeah almost forgot, John 'my constituents are Racist Crackers' Murtha, to give obama the straight skinny on what should be done around the world. With that kind of line up we should have peace for at least...a month.
That of course is after the Obama's move into Government Housing.
Posted by: Mark at November 18, 2008 02:03 PM
Stupid question Team Theodore... Why in Allah's name would Osama, Hamas, the PLO, Hezbollah, Madinthehead Ahmadinejad and the Syrians want to do anything in Iraq after their infidel is now in the White House?
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at November 18, 2008 04:16 PM
Bob A, I would love that. General Petraeus is so awesome and the troops love him.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 06:05 PM
Yankeemom, your right, even people in general don't want to hear about the war. Just like drilling for oil. Now that the prices have dropped I have not seen anything about getting drilling started.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 06:11 PM
Tom, I agree with you and for the reasons you stated about Syria and Iran......"I don't like some parts of the potential Iraqi Security Pact.".....
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 06:18 PM
Mark, good one for Murtha.
...."With that kind of line up we should have peace for at least...a month.".....
Yes and Obama has just started his choices of people. The nightmare will grow.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 06:22 PM
Darth, there is that, yes, unless Obama ticks them off. But Muslims do kill Muslims so I guess that can happen to for motivation.
We will still be the great Satan even with Obama as Number 44.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 18, 2008 06:26 PM
Hey Mark, I heard tonight that Murtha can't be sud because he was acting in an official capacity. If you or I had said that we could. Congress should not be allowed to exempt themselves from what we are exposed to. Murtha sucks. I have two of these POS's Clintoon and Scummer.
Posted by: Bob A at November 18, 2008 07:14 PM
Pardon my spelling.
Posted by: Bob A at November 18, 2008 07:17 PM
Barack Obama campaigned on immediately ending the illegal war in Iraq where American troops were murdering, raping, and killing innocent women and children. Conservatives must throw this as well as his other campaign promises (using his own words) at him every day he is in office. If he realizes for whatever reason that he has to act more responsibly when he actually becomes President then he should admit his mistakes as George Bush was mocked to do and apologize to the American people (and the world) for lying to them.
If conservatives let Obama get away with ignoring his own campaign promises without being held accountable then they can count on eight years of President Barack Hussein Obama and a Democrat majority in the House and Senate.
Posted by: Les at November 18, 2008 07:19 PM
