Some US troops may stay longer in Iraq because of violence,Rumsfeld says

[Judi Lynn]

Some U.S. troops may stay longer in Iraq because of violence, Rumsfeld says

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

BY PAULINE JELINEK
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Some U.S. troops scheduled to leave Iraq soon might be kept there longer to deal with the surge in violence, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Wednesday.

Rumsfeld said the violence, which has claimed nearly three dozen American lives since last weekend, is the work of a few ``thugs, gangs and terrorists'' and is not a popular uprising over the U.S.-led occupation.

``The number of people involved in those battles is relatively small,'' Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference, accompanied by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers. ``There's nothing like an army or large elements of people trying to change the situation. You have a small number of terrorists and militias coupled with some protests,'' Rumsfeld said.
(snip/...)

http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm19253_20040407.htm

[thebigidea]

1. pssst. Rummy. the violence is caused by the troops staying there

[Kadie]

2. You hit the nail on the head.

[Endangered Specie]

11. Rummy must have a nail in his head or something.

[leesa]

14. Funny. You said it even better!

[leesa]

13. Oh man you said it! Sheesh. the ignorance and denial...

[latebloomer]

3. How can they do this to people?

It's a sure prescription for mental breakdown-- they think they are going to go home soon and then it's sorry, no, we made a mistake.

At least in Vietnam they knew exactly how long they had to stay, to the day. Of course you need a large crop of new blood to rotate in-- draft, anyone?

[Catfight]

4. Sounds familiar...like declaring independence or something.

Dumbsfield has no respect for the situation.
"There's nothing like an army or large elements of people trying to change the situation. You have a small number of terrorists and militias coupled with some protests,'' Rumsfeld said."

The thugs and gangs are a self-portrait, not to mention the jingoisms and orange alerts as a passive type of terror.

[mbperrin]

5. So if they're small and just protesters...

why have troops stay?

Offer 'em a podium and a First Amendment zone! problem solved!

Right?

[slappypan]

6. "That's some catch, that Catch-22!"

"Frankly, I’d like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private industry." — Milo Minderbinder, in Joseph Heller's Catch-22

[PartyPooper]

7. This kinda' reminds me when Rummy said there was no widespread looting...

rather, it was just a single vase being shown over and over again on TV.

*sigh*

:eyes:

[Magleetis]

8. Yeah right

a few thugs, gangs and terrorists that just happen to have killed approx. 30 marines. I would think that the marines could easily dispose of a few thugs, gangs and terrorists.

[whatelseisnew]

9. DUers predicted this when a 'rotation/reduction' was announced-

DU search it, folks were saying last fall that the schedule put

forward actually documented a troop increase , a rotation, and

then a promised reduction. Reasoning that the W* admin. lies

about everything it was a simple conclusion that the reality was

an increase in troop levels disguised by a massive rotation

which would just happen to reap billions for their corporate

buddies.

[Az_lefty]

10. They were hitting us with extensions last May...

the 3rd ID was the first to be extended and everyone else fell inder the same extension game. There's nothing new here, we were short handed from the very beginning.

[boobooday]

12. Thugs, gangs, and terrorists

The language these fascists use is so disgusting!

Their arrogance and callousness are the reasons Anti-American sentiment is rampant in Iraq, and all over the world.



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