US to call up thousands of troops for Iraq duty.

[chenGOD]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-11/06/content_1164000.htm

BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. defense officials said on Wednesday the Pentagon would begin ordering thousands of fresh troops to prepare for service in Iraq, on a day guerrillas launched a series of attacks on U.S. troops on northern Iraq./snip

---more: Marine Corps General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed that the troops would be part of a 2004 Iraq rotation plan, and that the 132,000 American troops now there could decrease to just over 100,000 in May.

Pace also told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee that the Bush administration had put off much of the planning for the aftermath of the Iraq war -- launched on March 20 -- out of concern such planning would bring on the conflict.

"We did not want to have planning for the post war make the war inevitable. We did not want to do anything that would prejudge or somehow preordain that there was definitely going to be a war," he said.

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Mods: Sorry I know this is a bit more than 12 hours old, but I didn't see anything about this, and I thought it was important, becuase of the quote from Pace about "no planning being done".

What are other people's thoughts, did this guuy just admit that the neo-cons didn't do any planning for the war, and they though ti was gonna be all roses and tea in Baghdad? I predict we won't be seeing any more press statements from Peter Pace for a long while.

[E_Zapata]

1. Now we are getting news from BEIJING?

What a strange world this has become.

[saigon68]

3. This general is a WHACK JOB

"We did not want to have planning for the post war make the war inevitable. We did not want to do anything that would prejudge or somehow preordain that there was definitely going to be a war," he said.

WHAT IDIOTIC DOUBLE SPEAK

LIKE YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR PLANS SECRET?

This jerk too apparently thought the subjugated,defeated populace was going to throw flowers.

What he got was a lot of RPGs at his troops and a lot of Gold Star parents mourning the loss of their children.

[chenGOD]

4. Well I actually read this in the Korea Herald...

and it was from Reuters. But a quick perusal of reuters turned up nothing (I mean quick, I'm an impatient bastard), so I decided to do a web search.

[JeebusH]

2. rotation will work like this ...

132,000 in ... 1,000 out at a time with "yeah, we'll get to it" for the others

[teryang]

5. thousands?

They need tens of thousands for the rotation.

[TahitiNut]

6. duplicate

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=204028

I'm locking this thread. Interested DUers are welcome to continue discussing this in the referenced thread.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
TahitiNut - DU moderator

[DrBB]

7. What a hilarious lie

"We did not want to have planning for the post war make the war inevitable. We did not want to do anything that would prejudge or somehow preordain that there was definitely going to be a war," he said.

Um, anyone see the front page of the NYTimes yesterday? Resulting in this editorial today?

Oh, they were so concerned to avert the war at all costs. No opportunity could be overlooked. They just didn't want to go to war unless they absolutely had to. We could all sense that, too. It was obvious in the way they suddenly started talking about Iraq five months after 9/11, even though there was no connection whatsoever. One of the great non-sequiturs in US foreign policy history, as if after Pearl Harbor we went off and attacked Nigeria. Yes indeedy, no more evidence of their reluctance to go to war could be adduced than all those lies about yellowcake 'n' mushroom clouds 'n' stuff. They had this dream that Saddam was going to blow up America, and woke up all scared and, well, who wouldn't go to war under those circumstances.

Oh, my, no, they didn't want a war with Iraq. It just kinda, y'know, happened.
The general's insistence on referring all detailed questions to a giant bunny called Harvey raised some eyebrows, but the committee found his testimony helpul. "You can't beat that for solid evidence," said Senator Bunkermentality, during a triumphant press conference after the hearing. Though some in the press corps were unable to discern the exact nature of the invisible aide's remarks, the staff promised a written clarification later today.