Monday, August 22, 2005
Military & Republican RhetIraq: Gen. Schoomaker & Sen. Hagel
Who: General Peter Schoomaker (Army's Chief of Staff) & Sen Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Source: Independent UK
Quotes:
A senior army commander has said the US might have to keep more than 100,000 troops in Iraq for the next four years, a scenario that apparently contradicts recent White House noises about a gradual pull-out.
General Peter Schoomaker, the Army's Chief of Staff, said such a protracted troop deployment was a "worst-case scenario" but that he and other planners were already considering their options up to 2009.
"I don't know where he's going to get these troops," Senator Hagel said. "There won't be any National Guard left ... no Army Reserve left ... there is no way America is going to have 100,000 troops in Iraq, nor should it, in four years. It would bog us down, it would further destabilise the Middle East, it would give Iran more influence, it would hurt Israel, it would put our allies over there in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a terrible position. It won't be four years. We need to be out."
Source: Independent UK
Quotes:
A senior army commander has said the US might have to keep more than 100,000 troops in Iraq for the next four years, a scenario that apparently contradicts recent White House noises about a gradual pull-out.
General Peter Schoomaker, the Army's Chief of Staff, said such a protracted troop deployment was a "worst-case scenario" but that he and other planners were already considering their options up to 2009.
"I don't know where he's going to get these troops," Senator Hagel said. "There won't be any National Guard left ... no Army Reserve left ... there is no way America is going to have 100,000 troops in Iraq, nor should it, in four years. It would bog us down, it would further destabilise the Middle East, it would give Iran more influence, it would hurt Israel, it would put our allies over there in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a terrible position. It won't be four years. We need to be out."
