9.08.2004
Good Times In Iraq
The New York Times ran a story stating that the US is conceding control of certain parts of Iraq to insurgents.
...top Pentagon officials said Tuesday that insurgents controlled important parts of central Iraq and that it was unclear when American and Iraqi forces would be able to secure those areas.
...Mr. Rumsfeld said Iraqi officials understood they must regain control of the insurgent safe havens. "They get it, and will find a way over time to deal with it,'' he said.
But General Myers said the Iraqi forces would probably not be ready to confront insurgents in those areas until the end of this year.
The officials' assessment also underscored the difficulty of pacifying Iraq in time for elections scheduled for January. The cities of greatest rebel control are Ramadi, Falluja, Baquba and Samarra, in the so-called Sunni triangle, west and north of Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein remains popular and many forces loyal to him have gathered strength.
This is not to say our military isn't doing its best over there. There's simply too few of us and too many of them. We've opened Pandora's Box, folks, and it isn't closing anytime soon.
...top Pentagon officials said Tuesday that insurgents controlled important parts of central Iraq and that it was unclear when American and Iraqi forces would be able to secure those areas.
...Mr. Rumsfeld said Iraqi officials understood they must regain control of the insurgent safe havens. "They get it, and will find a way over time to deal with it,'' he said.
But General Myers said the Iraqi forces would probably not be ready to confront insurgents in those areas until the end of this year.
The officials' assessment also underscored the difficulty of pacifying Iraq in time for elections scheduled for January. The cities of greatest rebel control are Ramadi, Falluja, Baquba and Samarra, in the so-called Sunni triangle, west and north of Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein remains popular and many forces loyal to him have gathered strength.
This is not to say our military isn't doing its best over there. There's simply too few of us and too many of them. We've opened Pandora's Box, folks, and it isn't closing anytime soon.
