Listen to a sensible American as opposed to those leftist propaganda websites. Retired Army general Wayne Downing appeared today on MSNBC. He recently returned from his 12th trip to Iraq. When asked his impression of the situation over there, the general stated there are some pluses and some minuses. In his opinion the casualty figures are probably over-inflated due to double counting by the Iraqis. He's very impressed with the Iraqi military which increased to 10 divisions from 2 divisions during his last trip. He said their military is professional and first class by any standard; however, the Iraqi police are corrupt. Whenever the Iraqi military suppresses terrorist fighters and turns the area over to the Iraqi police, the situation usually regresses. Their military now numbers 325,000. Gen Downing said the secular violence is a result of a very complicated political landscape. He stated the violence won't subside until the Iraqi government finds political solutions to the problems. He never advocated with-drawing from Iraq and sounded optimistic about future improvements on the ground.
Here's some background on Gen Downing:>>General Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army (Retired) is a highly decorated combat veteran who retired after a 34-year career in the U.S. Army. While on active duty he served in a variety of command assignments in infantry, armored, special operations, and joint units, culminating in his appointment as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command. He commanded the special operations of all services during the 1989 invasion of Panama and commanded a joint special operations task force operating deep behind the Iraqi lines during Operation DESERT STORM. Following retirement, General Downing was appointed by the President to assess the 1996 terrorist attack on the U.S. base at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and to make recommendations on how to protect Americans and U.S. facilities worldwide from terrorist attack. From 1999-2000, General Downing served as member of the congressionally mandated National Commission on Terrorism (the Bremer Commission) charged with examining the terrorist threat to the US, evaluating America's laws, policies, and practices for preventing and punishing terrorism directed at US citizens, and recommending corrective actions. Most recently, General Downing served in the White House as National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism (Department of Homeland Security).<< |
