Monday, June 27, 2005
Military RhetIraq: Gen. Abizaid
Who: General John Abizaid (Commander, US Central Command)
Source: Face The Nation
Quotes:
Gen. ABIZAID: The insurgents are targeting the Iraqi people. They are trying to cause chaos, kill people, grab headlines. Secondarily, they target the Iraqi security forces, and at a lower level, they target American security forces. The idea is to create the impression that we're not making progress, that we're not winning. Yet when I talk to my commanders in the field, as you've talked to many of them, you get a clear sense of progress, of confidence, and what was most encouraging to me in my most recent trip is that Iraqi commanders were confident. They knew that their capabilities were increasing. They were engaging more frequently and steadily in combat. They're not ready to stand alone yet, but they will be.
Gen. ABIZAID: ... I would say that it's clear to me that by the middle of--the early part of spring next year to the summer of next year, you'll see Iraqi security forces move into the lead in the counterinsurgency fight. That doesn't mean that I'm saying we'll come home by then. We'll have to judge how they're doing, how the political process is, how the situation is abroad. Let's face it. You know, we've got a lot of insurgents that are coming over from the Syrian border. They're not pouring across. They're coming across.
SCHIEFFER: Well, who--give us--talk to us a little bit about that. I mean, how many are coming across? How large do we think this insurgency is now?
Gen. ABIZAID: Well, the insurgency within Iraq is, as George Casey talked about at the congressional testimony, no greater than 1/10th of 1 percent of the population. At the high end, that could be as much as 20,000. I think it's less than that. There's probably about a thousand foreign fighters operating inside of Iraq and there's probably about 60 to 100 coming across the borders primarily from Syria.
SCHIEFFER: General, there's no question that public support for this effort in Iraq is fading in this country. Every poll suggests that. Does that concern you? How important is that?
Gen. ABIZAID: The public support for our troops in the field has always been important. It's always been important especially for American soldiers. They don't want to be looking over their shoulder wondering what folks back home are thinking. They want to know that people understand what we're fighting for, why we're fighting, and how we can win this thing. And it's a challenge for us to be able to talk about this most complicated region, this most complicated war and put it in the common sense necessary for folks back home to talk about it. But it's clear to those of us that are in the middle of it. And sure, you can always find one or two soldiers in the field that might have a different view, but the vast majority of us that are in the middle of it know we are winning and know that it's better for us to fight abroad than to fight at home.
Source: Face The Nation
Quotes:
Gen. ABIZAID: The insurgents are targeting the Iraqi people. They are trying to cause chaos, kill people, grab headlines. Secondarily, they target the Iraqi security forces, and at a lower level, they target American security forces. The idea is to create the impression that we're not making progress, that we're not winning. Yet when I talk to my commanders in the field, as you've talked to many of them, you get a clear sense of progress, of confidence, and what was most encouraging to me in my most recent trip is that Iraqi commanders were confident. They knew that their capabilities were increasing. They were engaging more frequently and steadily in combat. They're not ready to stand alone yet, but they will be.
Gen. ABIZAID: ... I would say that it's clear to me that by the middle of--the early part of spring next year to the summer of next year, you'll see Iraqi security forces move into the lead in the counterinsurgency fight. That doesn't mean that I'm saying we'll come home by then. We'll have to judge how they're doing, how the political process is, how the situation is abroad. Let's face it. You know, we've got a lot of insurgents that are coming over from the Syrian border. They're not pouring across. They're coming across.
SCHIEFFER: Well, who--give us--talk to us a little bit about that. I mean, how many are coming across? How large do we think this insurgency is now?
Gen. ABIZAID: Well, the insurgency within Iraq is, as George Casey talked about at the congressional testimony, no greater than 1/10th of 1 percent of the population. At the high end, that could be as much as 20,000. I think it's less than that. There's probably about a thousand foreign fighters operating inside of Iraq and there's probably about 60 to 100 coming across the borders primarily from Syria.
SCHIEFFER: General, there's no question that public support for this effort in Iraq is fading in this country. Every poll suggests that. Does that concern you? How important is that?
Gen. ABIZAID: The public support for our troops in the field has always been important. It's always been important especially for American soldiers. They don't want to be looking over their shoulder wondering what folks back home are thinking. They want to know that people understand what we're fighting for, why we're fighting, and how we can win this thing. And it's a challenge for us to be able to talk about this most complicated region, this most complicated war and put it in the common sense necessary for folks back home to talk about it. But it's clear to those of us that are in the middle of it. And sure, you can always find one or two soldiers in the field that might have a different view, but the vast majority of us that are in the middle of it know we are winning and know that it's better for us to fight abroad than to fight at home.
