[antimedia] antimedia: Another general speaks out....

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Posted by antimedia:
Another general speaks out....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1146718149.shtml


   ....and this time the media is ignoring him. I'm certain my readers
   will know intuitively [1]what he had to say, but here's a few tidbits.
   By the way, this general was opposed to the war in 2003 and spoke out
   strongly against it.
   On American troops:

     The morale, fighting effectiveness, and confidence of U.S. combat
     forces continue to be simply awe-inspiring. In every sensing
     session and interaction - I probed for weakness and found courage,
     belief in the mission, enormous confidence in their sergeants and
     company grade officers, an understanding of the larger mission, a
     commitment to creating an effective Iraqi Army and Police,
     unabashed patriotism, and a sense of humor. All of these soldiers,
     NCOs and young officers were volunteers for combat. Many were on
     their second combat tour - several were on the third or fourth
     combat tour. Many had re-enlisted to stay with their unit on its
     return to a second Iraq deployment. Many planned to re-enlist
     regardless of how long the war went on.

   On Iraqi troops:

     The Iraqi Army is real, growing, and willing to fight. They now
     have lead action of a huge and rapidly expanding area and
     population. The battalion level formations are in many cases
     excellent - most are adequate. ... The recruiting now has gotten
     significant participation by all sectarian groups to include the
     Sunni. The Partnership Program with U.S. units will be the key to
     success with the Embedded Training Teams augmented and nurtured by
     a U.S. Maneuver Commander. This is simply a brilliant success
     story.

   The Iraqi police are beginning to show marked improvement in
   capability since MG Joe Peterson took over the program. The National
   Police Commando Battalions are very capable - a few are simply superb
   and on par with the best U.S. SWAT units in terms of equipment,
   courage, and training. Their intelligence collection capability is
   better than ours in direct HUMINT. ... The police are heavily
   infiltrated by both the AIF and the Shia militia. They are widely
   distrusted by the Sunni population. They are incapable of confronting
   local armed groups. They inherited a culture of inaction, passivity,
   human rights abuses, and deep corruption. This will be a ten year
   project requiring patience, significant resources, and an
   international public face. This is a very, very tough challenge which
   is a prerequisite to the Iraqis winning the counter-insurgency
   struggle they will face in the coming decade. We absolutely can do
   this. But this police program is now inadequately resourced.You'll be
   happy to know that Major Gen. Lynch, whom I [2]wrote about earlier,
   addressed this issue in his press briefing.

     So just know we're going to focus on the police this year, like we
     did on the army last year, to improve their capabilities and
     equipment and in training and in the right people. And we'll
     continue to work that.

   Are you getting this information from your media outlet?

References

   1. http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/05/mccaffrey-trip-report.html
   2. http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1146714743.shtml