Washington Turning To
Vietnam Exit Strategy In
Iraq
11-9-3
- "Concerns have been raised over the policy, with
claims the US administration is more interested in improving public
opinion ahead of the November 2004 elections... than in Iraq's
stability."
-
- WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Moving
to pull US troops from Iraq amid intensifying attacks, replacing them
with a hurriedly trained Iraqi force, Washington is accused of seeking
an exit strategy similar to the Vietnam war.
-
- The move to "Iraqify" military and police forces is
reminiscent of the option taken by Washington over the so-called
Vietnamization that came before south Vietnam collapsed before northern
forces in 1975, observers and politicians say.
-
- Former president Richard Nixon chose to "Vietnamify"
-- progressively putting heavier military responsibility on the south
Vietnamese so as to disengage the United States, which lost 58,000
soldiers in the tortuous war.
-
- Though the Iraqi conflict is quite different and US
casualties nowhere near the levels seen in Vietnam, the analogy is being
seen increasingly, after Washington said it may cut US troops from
132,000 to 105,000 by next spring.
-
- Parallely, the United States is aiming to take the
number of Iraqi security forces -- army, police and border guards --
from 118,000 men to 170,000 by early 2004.
-
- Concerns have been raised over the policy, with claims
the US administration is more interested in improving public opinion
ahead of the November 2004 elections -- in which Bush will seek a second
term -- than in Iraq's stability.
-
- "Frustrated by the lack of quick progress on the
ground and fading political support at home, Washington is now latching
on the idea that a quick transfer of power to local troops and
politicians would make things better," states columnist Fareed
Zakaria.
-
- "Or at any rate, it would lower American casualties.
It was called Vietnamization; today it's called Iraqification," Zakaria
wrote in a column in The Washington Post and Newsweek.
-
- While political commentator Thomas Friedman said there
was "no question this is necessary," he added: "But it's not
sufficient".
-
- "We could have 100,000 Iraqis in the police and army
and it would not be enough without one other person. We need an Iraqi
leader (or a leadership council) elected as a result of an Iraqi
constitutional or political process," wrote Friedman in The New York
Times.
-
- Republican Senator John McCain, a former pilot and
Vietnam war veteran has added his voice to the debate, saying US forces
in Iraq must be increased not reduced in number.
-
- "When our Secretary of Defense says that it is up to
the Iraqi people to defeat Baathists and terrorists, we send a message
that America's exit from Iraq is ultimately more important than the
achievement of American goals in Iraq," McCain said Wednesday.
-
- "To win in Iraq, we should increase the number of
forces in-country, including Marines and Special Forces, to conduct
offensive operations," said McCain underlining his belief that at least
one more full division should be added to US troops there.
-
- US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, seeking to
reassure Thursday, said cutting troops would not be done to the
detriment of military objectives and that Washington aims to stabilize
the country it has its sights on transforming into a democratic model
for the Middle East.
-
- "We're bringing in forces that are appropriate to deal
with the evolving threats in Iraq today, including more mobile infantry
elements," said Rumsfeld.
-
- "So while the number of US forces may be level or
decline slightly, this much is certain: The overall capability of the
security forces in Iraq will increase," said the Pentagon chief,
stipulating that "numbers do not necessarily equate with
capability".
-
- Copyright � 2003 Agence France Presse. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior
written authority of Agence France Presse.
|
The
Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans
l'anarchie"
|
