Time to Go? Top U.S. Generals in Iraq Want Withdrawals

Time to Go? Top U.S. Generals in Iraq Want Withdrawals, 'L.A. Times' Says
By E&P Staff
Published: October 01, 2005
NEW YORK

Top U.S. generals in charge of the war in Iraq now believe that the nearly 150,000 American troops in that country are part of the problem, not merely the solution, a Los Angeles Times article by Mark Mazzetti said today.

During a trip to Washington, "the generals said the presence of U.S. forces was fueling the insurgency, fostering an undesirable dependency on American troops among the nascent Iraqi armed forces and energizing terrorists across the Middle East," Mazzetti wrote. "For all these reasons, they said, a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops was imperative....this week's comments showed that commanders believe a large U.S. force in Iraq might in fact be creating problems as well as solutions."

Despite administration claims earlier in the week that more and more Iraqis were leading their own operations in Iraq, ground commanders told Congress on Thursday that the number of Iraqi units at the highest state of combat readiness had dropped from three to one since June.

During his congressional testimony, Army Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said that troop reductions were necessary to "take away one of the elements that fuels the insurgency, that of the coalition forces as an occupying force."

The latest Gallup survey suggests that 63% of Americans now want U.S. troops partially or completely withdrawn, up 10% since August. Only 32% approve of President Bush's handling of the war.
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E&P Staff

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