Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Monday dismissed suggestions that U.S. forces in Iraq are in a quagmire, likening the situation to the United States' own lengthy and bloody transition from British rule to constitutional democracy.
Fighting in Iraq will "go on for some time" with remnants of the former Baath Party that ruled Iraq for decades under Saddam Hussein , as well as Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary "death squads," he said.
"We are dealing with those remnants in a forceful fashion, just as we have had to deal with the remnants of al-Qaida and Taliban in Afghanistan and tribal areas near Pakistan," he added. ---
Rumsfeld became irritated when a reporter mentioned Vietnam as an example of a quagmire.
"There are so many cartoons where people, press people are saying, `Is it Vietnam yet,' hoping it is and wondering if it is," he said. "And it isn't. It's a different time, it's a different era, it's a different place."
The top American administrator in Iraq, confronting growing anti-U.S. anger and guerrilla-style attacks, is asking for more American troops and dozens of U.S. officials to help speed up the restoration of order and public services.
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld was reviewing the request from L. Paul Bremer, U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Bremer's request underscores how difficult it has been for his small civilian staff and some 158,000 U.S.-led troops to meet the demands of Iraqis for security and other basic needs. It also conflicts with upbeat public statements from President Bush, Rumsfeld and Bremer himself on the progress made on Iraq's political and economic reconstruction.
У иракцев тоже когда-нибудь будет свой день независимости. А пока что они почему то отказываются праздновать американский:
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Independence Day saw no respite for US troops from the ongoing violence in Iraq (news - web sites) as one soldier was killed and 10 were injured in separate incidents overnight.
And with angry protests expected in flashpoint cities following Friday's weekly prayers, the American day of celebration was not looking much like a holiday in prospect for many of the troops on the ground.
Published on Friday, July 11, 2003 by the Long Island, NY Newsday Dems: Iraq Analogous To Vietnam by Elaine S. Povich
WASHINGTON - Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx) and other Democrats who supported the Iraq war complained yesterday that the Bush administration is mishandling the war's aftermath, and compared it to the intransigence they said America showed in the Vietnam War.
Engel and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who also voted for the war, separately called for more international troops to be sent to Iraq to secure the peace. Engel called for NATO to take over the operation and for getting more Iraqis involved in leading their nation.
"Vietnam was much longer, but we can see the same kind of thinking that got us involved in Vietnam and refused to change course," Engel said. "It's so obvious to anyone that what we're doing in Iraq in terms of the occupation is not working."
"We cannot let complacency continue to lead us into another situation like Vietnam where failed policies undermined the mission," he said.
Fallujah, Iraq -- U.S. troops were partially withdrawn from this tense city west of Baghdad on Friday in an attempt to tamp down a growing wave of anti-American sentiment.
The local Iraqi police force, which had been chosen and trained by the Americans, had staged a demonstration the day before, saying the U.S. presence was putting their own lives in danger from guerrilla attacks. They demanded that the U.S. troops be withdrawn from the police station and the mayor's office.
In response, U.S. commanders agreed to cut back their forces at the police station from more than 20 to just one or two men, and two M2 Bradley fighting vehicles that had guarded the mayor's office were driven away.
Много шума в прессе про это "стратегическое отступление". Не столь важно, действительно ли отступили или нет, главное, что местная полиция там настойчиво требует их ухода.
MaxSt.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
PARK CITY, Utah - The man who leaked the Pentagon (news - web sites) Papers more than 30 years ago said there are striking parallels between Vietnam and Iraq (news - web sites).
"This war could go on forever, no matter how unpopular it gets. That's very like Vietnam: a stale, hopeless occupation," Daniel Ellsberg, 71, said.
snip
"It was clear we were being lied into a war again ... being lied into what amounted to another Tonkin Gulf Resolution, with the Congress signing a blank check. To see Congress sleepwalking into another war was disheartening," Ellsberg said.
snip
Ellsberg believes there are many people in the Bush government who stay at their posts because they want to help from the inside, as he hoped to do during Vietnam.
Я лично слова Рамсфельда всерьёз не принимаю, чтобы он ни говорил. Он - никто. Но его последняя фраза неоспорима - "It's a different time, it's a different era, it's a different place."
Сегодня по местному радио "говорящая голова" сообщил о первых (?) случаях невозврата из отпуска в Ирак. Служащие скрываются, не являются на рейсы, "косят". Вспоминал и Корею, и Вьетнам, упомянул, что последний случай казни дезертира случился во вторую мировую. К перемене в общественном мнении готовиться?
"Я хотел бы устроиться в вашу мусарню… Я хочу ходить с волыной и шмалять в людей." "Триод и Диод"
Из письма раненого в Ираке сержанта в Конгресс, про то, как армия обращается со свими ранеными:
I have served this country for 30 Ѕ years (3 active and 27 Ѕ reserves) and never thought I would see the Army "take care of their own" like they are doing. I feel so strongly against the military service now that if they start the draft and it appears my son would be drafted I would pack my family up and learn to live in Canada or elsewhere.
MaxSt.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
MaxSt wrote:Из письма раненого в Ираке сержанта в Конгресс, про то, как армия обращается со свими ранеными: ... MaxSt.
Так в чем проблема?
В етом?
I attempted to schedule a follow-up appointment with Ortho for back pain using the online sytem at Winn Army Hospital but with my SSN I received a web page message stating "RESERVIST/MOBILIZATION have no available appointments. As a Reservist, assigned to the Holding Battalion, we can not go to regular sick-call and have no Primary Care Providers. We have to go to a special sick call and are often told we will have to come back or will not be seen.
И ето после MRI, X-ray и т.д.
As a Reservist, we deserve the same level of care a person of Active Component receives. We deserve to be seen more promptly, and treated with equal respect.
Видимо Active Duty обслуживаются в Армии лучше чем резервисты. А Армия предлагает им
We have been told numerous times to accept what is offered because when we get home the VA will take care of us
Washington -- The U.S. military death toll after 10 months of engagement in Iraq surpassed 500 this weekend, roughly matching the number of U.S. military personnel who died in the first four years of the U.S. military engagement in Vietnam.
Saddam should not be the only one who is put on trial. The Americans backed him when he was killing Iraqis so they should be prosecuted," said Ali Mahdi, a builder.
"If the Americans escape justice they will face God's justice. They must be stoned in hell."
The United States continued to feel the backlash of its move to give Saddam prisoner of war status Tuesday as thousands of Iraqi protesters called for his execution.
