NSN Daily Update – 7/3/08 Posted by The National Security Network

NSN Daily Update – 7/3/08

War in Iraq Strains U.S. Military And Hurts U.S. Efforts In Afghanistan

“I don’t have troops I can reach for” –Admiral Mullen
“Afghanistan an “under-resourced war”- General McNeil
“When the five-brigade surge went in, that took all the stroke out of the shock absorbers for the United States Army.” – General Cody

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs acknowledged publicly what has been said quietly for a long time – our focus on Iraq is hurting our efforts in Afghanistan. Admiral Mullen said "I don't have troops I can reach for, brigades I can reach to send into Afghanistan until I have a reduced requirement in Iraq." This admission, taken with Admiral Mullen’s past comment that "In Afghanistan, we do what we can…In Iraq, we do what we must," is a clear sign that the Bush administration has failed to prioritize the war in Afghanistan and has pushed our military to its limits. Urgent action is required that returns Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan, to the center of our counterterrorism policy and provides the troops and resources that the mission requires.

   
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Michael Mullen says that the Iraq war is hindering crucial troop deployment to Afghanistan.  Admiral Michael Mullen noted that more U.S. troops are needed in Afghanistan to help control an increasingly active insurgency but, due to the war in Iraq, insufficient forces are available for such action.  "I don't have troops I can reach for, brigades I can reach to send into Afghanistan until I have a reduced requirement in Iraq," Mullen said. "Afghanistan remains an economy of force campaign, which by definition means we need more forces there. We have the ability in almost every single case to win from the combat standpoint, but we don't have enough troops there to hold. That is key to the future of being able to succeed in Afghanistan." [Washington Post 7/2/08]

Iraq War poses "significant risk" to all-volunteer army – the surge to out the Army’s “shock absorbers” says Army General. Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Cody said that the "heavy deployments are inflicting 'incredible stress' on soldiers and families and that they pose 'a significant risk' to the nation's all-volunteer military. 'When the five-brigade surge went in, that took all the stroke out of the shock absorbers for the United States Army,' Cody testified. 'Our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it. Lengthy and repeated deployments with insufficient recovery time have placed incredible stress on our soldiers and our families, testing the resolve of our all-volunteer force like never before.'" [Washington Post, 4/2/08. NY Times, 4/6/08 ]

General McNeil, who just finished a tour as Senior Commander in Afghanistan, has called the mission there an “under-resourced war.” American commanders in Kabul and military officials in Washington have said that coalition force levels remain too low. Before departing Afghanistan last month at the end of a tour as Senior Commander there, Gen. Dan K. McNeill called Afghanistan an “under-resourced war,” as he warned that Pakistan was not doing nearly enough to stem the flow of militant fighters across the mountain border it shares with Afghanistan. General McNeill said the Afghanistan mission “needs more maneuver units, it needs more flying machines, it needs more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance units.” [New York Times, 7/2/08]

Quick Hits

Will there be a status of forces agreement with Iraq? The Iraqi status of forces agreement negotiations are either going forward “in a constructive spirit”, as the Washington Post reports, or, according to the New York Times, bogged down in details and “no longer optimistic.” However, both newspaper outlets seem to agree that an interim pact is the most likely outcome.

Adm. Michael Mullen strongly discouraged an air strike on Iran as it would further strain US forces in the region. His comment came in shortly after George Bush said “that he believed the best way to deal with the Iranian nuclear program was through multilateral negotiations.”

Will the President close Guantanamo?  A decision on the future of the highly controversial prison camp is expected before the President leaves for the G8 meeting at the end of the week.

A Congressional committee has found that Bush friend Ray L. Hunt of Hunt Oil signed a deal with Kurdistan that undermines US security interests…and that State Department officials did nothing to discourage the deal and in some cases appeared to welcome it, documents show.

Comments

[marc]

There is no oil in either Afghanistan or Pakistan so neither is of much importance. Some small effort must be maintained though for appearances sake as they were the entree that was used to gain access to the much more lucrative target, Iraq.

BTW by the end of this month the US will have either Maliki's signature or his brains on a Status of Force Agreement and you can take that to the bank, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP sure do.

[marc]

Neither Afghanistan or Pakistan have oil so what happens there is really of minor importance. I think the administration decided years ago that Al Qaeda does not really comprise the type of major eminent threat it has been politically useful to suggest. Still a small effort in those countries can be maintained so as not to make the Iraq war seem completely cynical.

BTW at the end of this month the Bush Administration will have either Maliki's signature or his brains on a Status of Force Agreement. You can take that to the bank, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP sure as heck do.

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