How to withdraw quickly and safely

[unhappycamper]

How to withdraw quickly and safely
By Lawrence J. Korb and Max A. Bergmann | September 9, 2007


WHILE THE majority of Americans and a bipartisan majority in Congress now believe it is time to withdraw US forces from Iraq, considerable differences have emerged over how long it would take to accomplish a withdrawal.

Governor Bill Richardson has argued that all US troops could be withdrawn in a matter of months, while other top military and political leaders have insisted that a withdrawal would take at least two years and possibly as long as four. What this dispute really comes down to is the value placed on getting out equipment.

There is little question that a withdrawal could be completed quickly. If the president were to order the US Army to get to Kuwait, they could get to Kuwait. US military personnel would conduct an "invasion in reverse" that could be completed in months. Many US personnel and as much equipment as possible would also be flown out, using one of our four major airbases in Iraq. However, because so much equipment has been brought into Iraq over the last four years, billions of dollars worth of critical and sensitive equipment would be left behind.

A lengthy withdrawal, on the other hand, would play it by the book. The roughly 75 forward-operating bases scattered around Iraq would be meticulously shut down. Every piece of nonessential equipment from kitchen supplies to latrines would be dealt with according to military regulation. In order not to overload Kuwaiti ports and to meet stringent requirements of the Department of Agriculture - which requires each piece of equipment to be power-washed and shrink-wrapped before being transported to the United States - at most only about one combat brigade per month, roughly 3,500 troops, would leave Iraq through "Route Tampa," the one major road connecting central Iraq to Kuwait.

While such a lengthy and meticulous drawdown is often portrayed as the most "responsible" course, this plan would end up putting US forces in danger for the sake of extracting nonessential equipment. This is not just a morally dubious proposition, but one that hardly seems cost effective. The costs of maintaining US forces in Iraq - more than $10 billion per month - and the costs entailed in shipping nonessential equipment back to the United States are considerable.

~snip~

A withdrawal of US forces will be complex. But it can be accomplished safely within one year's time through careful planning and by focusing on getting out sensitive and critical equipment. While there may be disagreement over when and how to redeploy our forces, at least we can all agree that we must plan our exit more intelligently than how we planned our entrance.


Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/09/how_to_withdraw_quickly_and_safely/

[Lasher]

1. This is bullshit

An orderly retreat has been a basic tactic of warfare for centuries. A lengthy drawdown is just another way to delay getting out.

[TomInTib]

2. There is no "orderly retreat" here.

There will be massive quantities of equip left on the ground.