Anthony Cordesman
Anthony Cordesman
Anthony H. Cordesmanholds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studiesand is a national security analyst on a number of global conflicts...
battalions broader essential iraqi leave line next situation troops
It's an essential part of the broader strategy. But you won't have a situation where Iraqi battalions come on line and U.S. troops leave the next week.
collapse far impact iraq pull quickly reasonable serious situation troops
If you pull troops out too quickly now, and you see the situation in Iraq collapse before the midterm elections, the impact is going to be far more serious than if you keep the troops in at reasonable levels.
collapse far impact iraq pull quickly reasonable serious situation troops
If you pull out troops too quickly now, and you see the situation in Iraq collapse before the midterm elections, the impact is going to be far more serious than if you keep the troops in at reasonable levels.
create divisions ethnic forces integrate national people scarcely simply within
These are scarcely people you want to integrate into a national force. This would simply create sectarian or ethnic forces or divisions within the forces that already exist.
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And to be perfectly blunt, I think only fools would bet the lives of other men's sons and daughters on their own arrogance and call this force a cakewalk or a speed bump or something that you can dismiss.
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There's so much spin in these numbers. A lot of facts get disguised. . . . Total manpower is meaningless. The army is the key force in direct combat.
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Everything I know about counterterrorism is, you deal with specific cells.
acceptance additional best clearly constitution months outcome prelude start vote wins
Even if the constitution clearly wins acceptance by most Shiites and Kurds and some Sunnis, this is only the start of a process, not the end. Even the best outcome of the vote is the prelude to months and years of additional effort.
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We essentially used a bull to liberate a china shop.
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You are dealing with an unproven prime minister. It's the beginning of a very contentious process. It's very unlikely that all of these issues are going to get resolved by the end of the year.
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will end in snatching defeat from the jaws of uncertainty.
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You can both vote and hold a rifle.
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We need to understand that this is a warning, ... Over the next few months we're going to see a referendum on a constitution that's going to trigger more debates on Shiite identity ... The idea that the constitution or referendum is going to clear this up is unrealistic.
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The problem is people don't live on economic statistics.