More...
 

Pentagon Divided Over Iraq Strategy

Pentagon Divided Over Iraq Strategy

LA Times   |  Julian Barnes   |   March 20, 2008 09:15 AM

Read More: David Petraeus, General Petraeus, Iraq, Iraq Surge, Iraq War, War In Iraq, Warwire, Breaking Politics News
digg Share this on Facebook Huffpost - stumble reddit del.ico.us RSS

By many important measures, the U.S. military has reason to feel better about Iraq. Violence has declined, casualties are down, the president is touting the current strategy and the public's anguish has ebbed.

But inside the Pentagon, turmoil over the war has increased. Top levels of the military leadership remain divided over war strategy and the pace of troop cuts. Tension has risen along with concern over the strain of unending cycles of deployments.

In one camp are the ground commanders, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, who have pushed to keep a large troop presence in Iraq, worried that withdrawing too quickly will allow violence to flare. In the other are the military service chiefs who fear that long tours and high troop levels will drive away mid-level service members, leaving the Army and Marine Corps hollowed out and weakened.


 
Comments
2
Pending Comments
0
iPhone App Promo

Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to

View Comments:
- nyboomer I'm a Fan of nyboomer permalink

The more political minded commanders will sacrifice as many American lives at it takes to solidify their future positions with the GOP and its corporate sponsors. Those who care about the military itself will try to safeguard our men and women's lives. This is the dichotomy of working to enrch the already overprivileged over and above the needs and wishes of America's citizenry.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:49 PM on 03/21/2008
- ErikW65 I'm a Fan of ErikW65 permalink

What I want to know is, what % of our manpower and $12 billion/month is going to fight AQ, and what % is being spent providing internal security for the Iraqi government?

Further, to what extent does the presence of US military in Iraq inflame the general situation, and create a viscious circle?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:26 PM on 03/20/2008
Comments are closed for this entry

You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in  or  Connect