Powell Says U.S. Army `About Broken' Because of Iraq

[swag]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0kk9WiaajU0&refer=home

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. Army is ``about broken'' from the Iraq conflict and cast doubt on whether the military could or should boost the number of troops in the country.

``There really are no additional troops'' to send, Powell said on CBS's ``Face the Nation'' program. ``The current active Army is not large enough and the Marine Corps is not large enough for the kinds of missions they are being asked to perform.''

Powell, 69, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War and the nation's chief foreign policy official during President George W. Bush's first term, said the war has made the U.S. ``a little less safe'' because it has limited the military's ability to respond to another crisis.
. . .
Among the options the president is considering is sending 15,000 to 30,000 more troops to Iraq temporarily, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported last week, citing unidentified administration officials. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona has been the leading congressional advocate for such an increase, saying the U.S. never committed enough troops to the war to accomplish the mission.

``We have tried this surge of troops over the summer'' and it didn't work, Powell said, referring to an operation in which the U.S. shifted more troops into Baghdad to help local forces break a cycle of attacks and reprisals between Sunni and Shiite Muslim factions. The U.S. military has acknowledged that effort wasn't successful as bombings and other violence in the capital continues.

. . . more

[SpiralHawk]

1. That's what happens when an AWOL frat boy is running the show

and leaning on a sidekick like Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney.

They could screw up a free lunch.




Why do the republicons love these pathetic chickenhawks?

[reprobate]

23. Agreed. But like daddy told me long ago "There ain't no free lunch"

[BenDavid]

2. Excuse me, but Powell could

have stood tall and not given the U.N. speech. Hell, even his Press person said that Powell knew the intel was wrong....So what does Powell do? Yep, gives a speech based on lies and 150,000 troops get sent to Iraq. Powell is no longer credible....
To me, he is part of the custerfuck in Iraq...Yes, custerfuck, not cluster....

[Fridays Child]

4. Custerfuck...interesting.

As in the annihilation of U.S. troops by a grossly underestimated opposing force?

[porkrind]

3. They wouldn't be there if not for Powells lies to the UN

war criminal.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Exactly, Powell was as much a liar as Jack Straw

and like Straw, when his conscience got the better of him, he was let go by the regime he defended.

At least our broken military cannot be used to invade Venezuela or cause some other mischief elsewhere.

Americans better forsake their dreams of empire, it was not meant to be!

[Egnever]

29. Oh yes we would

The UN never authorized this war, and you better believe the shrub was getting this war no matter what he had to do to get it.

It was definately the low point in powels career. Dont try to fool yourself for a second though that we wouldnt be there without his little puppet show.

[Le Taz Hot]

33. Powell

could have RESIGNED rather than be Bush's lapdog during a time when we DESPERATELY needed reason and sanity. I think Powell could and should have provided that. You are correct that chimpy would have gone anyway but I think more of the country and the MSM would have started asking questions earlier than they did (3 years later) had he resigned his post and said why.

[Sherman A1]

5. Saw Powell speak recently in St. Louis

I am sure that I will be flamed for this, but I was exceptionally impressed with him and despite the UN speech and despite serving Mr. Bush, I believe that I would perhaps not vote for him if he ran for office (which I know he will not), but I would certainly give his arguments very serious and respectful consideration. I find him to be a serious Statesman, of which we are truly lacking these days.

[orleans]

30. "Mr. Bush" ?? you sound very respectful toward a man who never respected

anyone in his entire life.

as for powell being a "serious statesman" -- well, i realize we're hard up for serious statesmen and i'm sure he said some interesting things but he was the one who perpetrated a fraud on this entire country; he is the one people believed (if powell says it then it must be true). i think he is a dirty, lying, coward. i haven't forgotten what he did, and i certainly don't forgive him.

don't let yourself be seduced by his presence, his tone, his seemingly outspokenness. & what appears to be a forthcoming nature.

it's bullshit

all of it

people went along with this fucking war because of what that asshole said. thousands upon thousands are dead because we trusted that fucker to do the right thing.

[frylock]

7. was he holding up a vial of fake anthrax when he said that?

Go away, Colin. You're just as culpable for this shit as the rest of these murderers.

[ckramer]

8. Wait a minute, didn't Rummy say US military can fight two wars at same time?

Is he lying?

[calimary]

12. If you'll recall, that's a page directly out of the PNAC. Our success in

wherever it was/is is dependent on the U.S. military being able "to fight and decisively win multiple wars on multiple fronts."

Obviously few of any of the authors of the PNAC manifesto ever went to a war, ever fought in one or shed blood in one or lost a loved one that way (or even knew many close friends who did). Easy for them to say when they're sitting around in their nice ergonomic office chairs in their elegantly-appointed, luxurious, state-of-the-art offices with a lot of security guards around the presmises. I think guys like these, who advocate so forcefully for war, should be among the first to suit up and go fight it if their war wishes are granted. In fact, there ought to be some sort of law - if you vote for/push for/argue for/lobby for/ war, and you get your way, then YOU are among the first to suit up for that war and put your money where your mouths are. Or if you're too old, your kids get that privilege.

[wakeme2008]

9. Oh Colon

STFU liar

[Drum]

10. ...

[Joe Bacon]

11. Don't forget Mikey.

Hey, why isn't Mikey in Iraq?

[Jacobin]

18. LOL

He'll never live down being such a sycophant, pretending to be a wise statesman.

[Solly Mack]

13. Oh, shut up, Powell. You can't restore what you never had...

You know, integrity.

[Faygo Kid]

14. History has already judged you, Powell. Shut up and slink away.

Your reputation will end up somewhere between Robert McNamara and Spiro Agnew. The neocons are physical cowards, but you are a moral coward who could have tried to stop this and instead put your personal loyalty to George W. Bush above your sworn duty to the nation. I no longer care what Powell has to say. It's too late to take him seriously, one way or the other.

[hippiechick]

15. ... and that was the whole intent ...

... Break it so it can be replaced with privatized militia ... Halliburton/Blackwater Style ... paid for by no-bid contracts which will eat a whole in whatever may have been left of the national treasury.

[rodeodance]

16. He is giving a reasonable assessment. I wonder if Jr. consulted him?

[Deja Q]

17. I haven't kept up with the news, but I do recall one thing:

Powell wanted this war as much as anybody else.

[JoFerret]

19. Redemption

Fight for it General Powell

[Zorra]

20. The thing is, he's right. Our military is worn thin and needs to be

completely pulled out of Iraq.

Bu*h and the PNAC are fascist lunatics and they will continue to destroy our country in every way until we get them out of our government, and hopefully get them convicted and sent to a maximum security prison where the harm they can do will, be severely limited.

[LynnTheDem]

21. Well

DUH

[goforit]

22. I'm sure Putin and China are tickled pink at this weakness.

[Heidi]

24. Kick.

:kick:

[DeepModem Mom]

25. NYT: Colin Powell Doubts Need to Raise Troop Levels: Sees nothing to justify increase in troops

Powell Doubts Need to Raise Troop Levels
By DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: December 18, 2006

WASHINGTON. Dec. 17 — Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state and former chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that the Army was “about broken” and that he saw nothing to justify an increase in troops in Iraq.

“I am not persuaded that another surge of troops into Baghdad for the purposes of suppression of this communitarian violence, this civil war, will work,” he said in an interview on the CBS News program “Face the Nation.”

“But if somebody proposes that additional troops be sent,” Mr. Powell said, “if I were still chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my first question to whoever is proposing it: what mission is it that these troops are to accomplish?”

Mr. Powell said heavy demands on the Army had meant “a backlog of equipment that is not being repaired” and “repetitive tours” for soldiers assigned to Iraq. “So if you surge now,” he said, “you’re going to be bringing in troops from the United States who have already been kept there even longer.”

Mr. Powell said the United States should be talking directly with the governments of Syria and Iran in an effort to stabilize the region — a contrast to the policy of the Bush administration, which has not engaged in such talks....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/world/middleeast/18powell.html

[Erika]

26. He believes in diplomacy

Not ten gallon Texas cowboy hats and boots and the wanted dead or alive theory.

[truthisfreedom]

27. Everything Powell says now makes sense, but he should be screaming for full

withdrawl.

[BeyondGeography]

28. He's sticking it to Cheney and the neocons

the same people who authored his little speech at the UN in Feb. 2003.

[llmart]

31. Well, now will this put to rest..................

the mantra of the rightwing Repugs who keep repeating how the Dems and Clinton wrecked our military?

Probably not. They don't have the guts to admit that it's the Repugs who screw the military.

[Massachusetts]

32. FOUR letters

FUBAR

[AllexxisF1]

34. It amazes me how Fate works...

Here was a Man who did not agree with the President and his cronies for this war. Enough so that the decision was made long before he was told. Here Colin was, in a position where he could have stood up and slammed his resignation on the table standing up for his principles. A decision that would have been seen as historic and indeed powerful.

Fate offered this man (who many respected) a chance to really show the world that this War was wrong. Because if someone like Colin is willing to toss his whole career knowing that this soon to be war was a mistake, many would have followed him.

Instead up standing up and facing that most important moment, he cowered and countless lives may have been spared.

The lesson:
When Fate offers up the chance to really show your quality, face it and show your courage.

[tabasco]

35. Traitor Powell has a lot to do with it being that way !

When you lied for the Bush cabal you knew you would be sending troops to die for NOTHING.

TRAITOR !

[leftofthedial]

36. then the job is not quite done

[samsingh]

37. i guess he shouldn't have lied for the bush bunch.

[samsingh]

38. i guess those of us who predicted the invasion would be a

disaster for the West were right after all - and not no-nothing peaceniks.

[Rex]

39. Then why did you wag your finger in the UN right before the 2003

invasion and demand they do something to stop Saddam and his WMDs? YOU knew there were none there Colin, and yet you were successful in getting invasion orders for Iraq and left Afghanistan out to dry. How someone like Colon Blow can sleep at night (even on medication) is beyond me. How does a man live with the disgrace of what Colon has done?