To: Road Walker who wrote (318488 ) 1/3/2007 7:07:15 PM From: tejek Read Replies (1) | Respond to STILL MORE EVIDENCE THAT JOE LIEBERMAN FUDGED TRUTH ABOUT WHAT THE COMMANDERS TOLD HIM ABOUT "SURGE." I've now stumbled across evidence that suggests even more strongly than before that Joe Lieberman didn't tell the truth about what the commanders told him they thought of a "surge" in troops to Iraq. Now check this out, then. As noted below, GOP Rep. Susan Collins of Maine was also in the Senate delegation to Iraq and was in on those discussions, as was John McCain. The outstanding question, then, is: What was said in them? that is, when the British first arrived, their presence was welcomed by the population, but as time has gone on, their presence is less and less tolerated. Needless to say, there was much discussion in all of our meetings -- whether with Iraqi leaders, American or British commanders, or rank-and-file troops -- about whether or not more American troops are needed. My conclusion is that it would be a mistake to send more troops to Baghdad. Prime Minister Maliki did not welcome the prospect of more American troops and indeed seemed frustrated that he did not have more control over his own troops. One American general told me that a jobs program in Baghdad would do more good than additional troops.... The one region where an American commander, General Kilmer, did specifically express the need for more troops was in Anbar province. General Kilmer told us that he could use another brigade (about 3,000 troops) or even two to build on the positive developments in the region. I agree with his assessment, but think that a reallocation of troops, rather than an overall increase, could meet his need. According to Collins' account, then, not a single commander came anywhere near saying anything that could be construed as desiring -- or even supporting -- any kind of large scale increase. prospect.org
