U.S. may shift to noncombat role in Iraq

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

U.S. may shift to noncombat role in Iraq
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - Pentagon planners are studying how soon U.S. forces in Iraq might shift from a mainly combat mission to one focused more on support roles and requiring fewer troops, the top U.S. general said Thursday.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said such a force transition was among changes that could be adopted after the top U.S. commander in Iraq reports to Washington in September on whether the current U.S. approach is working. He spoke at a Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The implications of such a possible shift are profound.

It implies either a conviction that the Bush administration's current policy soon will succeed soon in stabilizing Baghdad and facilitating a political settlement among sectarian rivals, or that it will fail and compel President Bush to abandon the fight against insurgents.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070524/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_military

[ShortnFiery]

1. Sure, right after our Idiot King bombs the hell out of Iran and stirs up the fires of Hell. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

2. And ChimpCo will say it was all THEIR idea.

[humbled_opinion]

3. I called it right..

Bush will eventually spin this as a win and then blame whoever has to clean up the mess in 09. Stand by for floods of good news out of Iraq... /sarc.

[youngdem]

4. Hey, call the pullout whatever the fuck you want to boys, just get us the hell out of there!

Whatever Bushco wants to call losing, FINE....Just get us out!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. /me slaps forehead

Oh yeah. This will happen Real Soon Now. You just wait and see. Dear Leader will definitely go for that.

[rurallib]

6. There should be laughtracks for stuff like this and

Bush news conferences etc.
Peter Pace is such a clown. Hard to believe that Meyers and Pace held ranks similar to the likes of Eisenhower, Marshall and Bradley. If we had Pace in WWII we'd be spriken ze deutch

[pinto]

7. I suspect Petraeus will publicly declare 'Mission Accomplished, Part C' while

privately letting Mr. Bush know 'it's over' and we need to pull back.

[Joe for Clark]

8. What a load of shit!!

Joe

[stillcool]

9. There's an uptick of strange news...

stories concerning what might or might not happen in the future. Noise and filler.

[Bigmack]

10. The US can "shift" all it wants...

... but the POIs (Pissed Off Iraqis) will still want the US out, and they will keep shooting, bombing, and mortaring US positions.

That's exactly the problem with this invasion clusterfuck... you can't turn a rape into a seduction. The rapee will continue to fight after the rapist is done and thinking about leaving.

In the end, the US will be lucky to end up getting the choppers out of the Green Zone.

[saigon68]

11. With the "Liberators" kicking in doors and throwing old women

to the ground and smashing up dishes and furniture, the average Iraqi is joining the resistance in droves to get a little payback.

Like Viet-Nam the only ones in the US camp are a few quislings who will change sides and slink away when the inevitable dreary end comes.

[Nihil]

12. "Noncombat role in Iraq"? As in "target"? (n/t)

[Javaman]

13. Shift to supporting the blackwater mercs. nt

[Barrett808]

15. Now that's a grim thought.

:scared:

[PurityOfEssence]

14. What? Isn't the splurge working?

Junior doesn't even have the slightest idea what he's doing.

[rcdean]

16. First stage of Redeployment

The right has been using the talking point "Why don't they tell us what THEIR plan is?" against us for months now.

But we already have a perfectly sensible plan, enunciated by Murtha, called Redeployment:
1 - Halt all offensive operations (No more godam bombing cities! No more kicking doors down in peoples' homes in the middle of the night! No fucking more!).
2 - Pull back into a support role.
3 - Redeploy substantial numbers into a nearby base (Kuwait) as an RDF.
4 - Redeploy others to Afghanistan.
5 - send the rest home.

THAT's our plan, and it's the only one that will work.

Looks like the Bushies are eyeballing Murtha's plan and realizing it's the only way out.

Of course they'll botch it. Only question is how.

[tabasco]

17. What this means is everybody goes and guards the oilfields & pipelines.

The cities can burn but as long as the oil is under control it is still mission accomplished!