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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (220810)	2/24/2007 9:44:06 PM
From: bentway	Respond to of 281500

"Do you doubt that OBL would like to have nuked New York if he had the means?" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on Sat, Feb. 24, 2007 Army chief of staff shares views on finding bin Laden By CHRIS VAUGHN STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER FORT WORTH -- The Army's highest-ranking officer and the former leader of the secretive world of Special Operations offered his thoughts on the importance of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden during a luncheon Friday. They're probably not what anyone expected. "I don't know whether we'll find him," said Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff. "I don't know that it's all that important, frankly." Schoomaker, pulled out of retirement in 2003 to lead the Army, pointed to the capture of Saddam Hussein, the killings of his sons, Uday and Qusay, and the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as evidence that bin Laden's capture or death would have little effect on the threats to the United States. "So we get him, and then what?" Schoomaker said. "There's a temporary feeling of goodness, but in the long run, we may make him bigger than he is today. He's hiding, and he knows we're looking for him. We know he's not particularly effective. I'm not sure there's that great of a return" on capturing or killing bin Laden. Then Schoomaker moved to the next question from the audience at the Rotary Club of Fort Worth. As a result, it is not possible to know fully what Schoomaker's position is or whether there is a more nuanced view he didn't share. But his comments would put him in rare company in this country, according to the chairman of the history department at the University of North Texas and a former Army infantry officer. "I don't think the vast majority of American people would agree with him," said Adrian Lewis, the author of a new book, The American Culture of War. "They want that son of a bitch. For overall effect, General Schoomaker may be right. If we kill Osama, al Qaeda is not going to go away. "But my own estimate is that there would be considerable psychological and morale benefits, not just for the American people but for our credibility around the world, if we captured Osama." Schoomaker, 61, made his first appearance at the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, introduced by his sister-in-law, Jane Schoomaker, who belongs to the organization. Earlier in the day, he greeted soldiers home on leave at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, and he spoke Thursday night to the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. Schoomaker is due to be replaced as chief of staff in April, handing the reins to Gen. George Casey. Schoomaker said that his Army is in the middle of its "greatest transformation since World War II." The Army is in the process of reducing its top-down division structures for more quickly deploying brigades. It is trying to refit and repair thousands of vehicles worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is attempting to field new vehicles that are safer from roadside bombs. The Army, traditionally billions in spending below the Air Force and Navy, is also operating under extreme budget pressure and a recruiting problem that has forced it to accept young men and women it would have rejected just a few years ago. It is doing all that, Schoomaker said, while deploying units over and over for the operations overseas. As it is, soldiers are barely getting one year between yearlong deployments. "The demand on the force is so huge," he said. "While we are building this new force, we are consuming forces at the same time. This puts an extraordinary amount of stress on the force." As a soldier trained in unconventional warfare, Schoomaker said the Army needs to develop leaders who are more than soldiers, officers he likened more to explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who can solve problems, be culturally sensitive and speak more than one language. Chris Vaughn, 817-390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com © 2007 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. dfw.com

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (220810)	2/24/2007 10:11:13 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

If Egypt, say, declared they wanted to "destroy America, and restore the Caliphate" would you be quaking in your booties? I certainly wouldn't be. They just don't have the means. and they've got 70 million people. And you think a few hundred thousand can "destroy America"? This isn't about neo-colonialism, this is about realism, or "neo-realism"- if you need to put a "neo" in there.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (220810)	2/24/2007 10:19:14 PM
From: SARMAN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

As long as the US holding the Israeli cord there is a threat to the US. It is time to cut the cord and let Israel do something on their own. You claim that Israel is advanced, has democracy, has industry, etc. so it is a mature state. They should wean themselves from the US. Unless what you speak of is bull shit, than it is a different story.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (220810)	2/24/2007 10:36:32 PM
From: Katelew	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

You and your brethren confuse what someone 'would like to do' with what they are capable of doing. Especially their capacity for doing what they would like with this country.....not Israel....this country. I assume that, going forward and no matter which party is in power, there will be great resources and training put into surveillance, infiltration and covert ops type of activities. Through these type of activities on an international scale, we all should be able to break up or keep on the run terrorist groups before they reach critical mass. I know you think the world would sit by and let another Hitler emerge.....but I don't. I don't share this dark world view that you and the Cheney's of the world have. Maybe you need anti-depressents.