thedrifter
08-22-06, 01:40 PM
August 28, 2006
Troops query Pace concerning Iraq war support
FALLUJAH, Iraq — The top U.S. general dropped into this volatile city Aug. 13 to hear from Marines doing battle daily with a resilient and deadly insurgency.
Some of what he heard sounded like a sign of creeping doubt — not about the Marines’ mission but about the wider purpose it is supposed to serve as U.S. troop deaths top 2,600.
On his first visit to Fallujah as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace stood before 1,300 troops — mostly Marines — and assured them that the American public supports them. And he predicted that Americans would continue to support the war.
“I think sometimes when you are out here at the tip of the spear, you wonder what’s going on back in the United States and do you all still have the support of your fellow citizens,” Pace said. “The answer is, yes, you do.”
Public support for the troops doesn’t extend to the Iraq war itself, however. More than half, 58 percent, said in a Newsweek poll that the U.S. is losing ground in Iraq, and opposition to the war has been growing.
During his meeting with the troops, the general also took questions.
How much more time, one Marine asked, should the Iraqi government be given to achieve the political unity necessary to stabilize the country?
“I guess they have as long as it takes,” Pace replied, quickly adding, “which is not forever.”
Pace said that setting a deadline by which the U.S. would withdraw its support would risk pushing the Iraqis into unviable political decisions. On the other hand, he said, “You do not want to leave it open-ended.”
Another Marine wanted to know whether U.S. troops would stay in Iraq in the event of an all-out civil war. Pace repeated what he told a Senate committee the previous week: A civil war is possible, but not expected. He did not say what the U.S. would do if it happened.
An end in sight?
One Marine wound up his question about the pace of U.S. troop deployments to Iraq by asking, “Is the war coming to an end?”
Pace didn’t answer directly. He said Pentagon officials and military leaders are trying to keep enough troops in Iraq to achieve the mission of training Iraqi troops to take over security, while avoiding having so many that it creates an Iraqi dependency.
There are about 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
At each stop on Pace’s two-day visit to Iraq, which included Baghdad and Mosul as well as Fallujah, he thanked troops for their service and assured them that the American public supports them.
Pace did not explicitly mention the political debate in Washington over when to withdraw from Iraq, but the senior commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, said in an Aug. 13 interview that he is concerned about the effects of that debate.
Asked about the tenor of some questions put to Pace by Marines who seemed to harbor doubts about the long-term viability of the U.S. military mission, Zilmer said he is confident that virtually every Marine here is satisfied that their work is noble and just.
“But they are not immune to the discussions they see in public communications,” Zilmer said. “Like all of us, they want to be assured that what we’re doing is the right thing for the nation. Watching the Iraqi national government develop here has not been easy.”
— The Associated Press
Ellie
Troops query Pace concerning Iraq war support
FALLUJAH, Iraq — The top U.S. general dropped into this volatile city Aug. 13 to hear from Marines doing battle daily with a resilient and deadly insurgency.
Some of what he heard sounded like a sign of creeping doubt — not about the Marines’ mission but about the wider purpose it is supposed to serve as U.S. troop deaths top 2,600.
On his first visit to Fallujah as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace stood before 1,300 troops — mostly Marines — and assured them that the American public supports them. And he predicted that Americans would continue to support the war.
“I think sometimes when you are out here at the tip of the spear, you wonder what’s going on back in the United States and do you all still have the support of your fellow citizens,” Pace said. “The answer is, yes, you do.”
Public support for the troops doesn’t extend to the Iraq war itself, however. More than half, 58 percent, said in a Newsweek poll that the U.S. is losing ground in Iraq, and opposition to the war has been growing.
During his meeting with the troops, the general also took questions.
How much more time, one Marine asked, should the Iraqi government be given to achieve the political unity necessary to stabilize the country?
“I guess they have as long as it takes,” Pace replied, quickly adding, “which is not forever.”
Pace said that setting a deadline by which the U.S. would withdraw its support would risk pushing the Iraqis into unviable political decisions. On the other hand, he said, “You do not want to leave it open-ended.”
Another Marine wanted to know whether U.S. troops would stay in Iraq in the event of an all-out civil war. Pace repeated what he told a Senate committee the previous week: A civil war is possible, but not expected. He did not say what the U.S. would do if it happened.
An end in sight?
One Marine wound up his question about the pace of U.S. troop deployments to Iraq by asking, “Is the war coming to an end?”
Pace didn’t answer directly. He said Pentagon officials and military leaders are trying to keep enough troops in Iraq to achieve the mission of training Iraqi troops to take over security, while avoiding having so many that it creates an Iraqi dependency.
There are about 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
At each stop on Pace’s two-day visit to Iraq, which included Baghdad and Mosul as well as Fallujah, he thanked troops for their service and assured them that the American public supports them.
Pace did not explicitly mention the political debate in Washington over when to withdraw from Iraq, but the senior commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, said in an Aug. 13 interview that he is concerned about the effects of that debate.
Asked about the tenor of some questions put to Pace by Marines who seemed to harbor doubts about the long-term viability of the U.S. military mission, Zilmer said he is confident that virtually every Marine here is satisfied that their work is noble and just.
“But they are not immune to the discussions they see in public communications,” Zilmer said. “Like all of us, they want to be assured that what we’re doing is the right thing for the nation. Watching the Iraqi national government develop here has not been easy.”
— The Associated Press
Ellie