Saturday, January 28, 2006
Military RhetIraq: Troop Force Levels
Who: Donald Rumsfeld (Secretary of Defense) & General George Casey (Leader of US Forces in Iraq)
Source: Associate Press via San Jose Mercury News
Quotes: From article titled, "`Forces are stretched,' top U.S. general in Iraq says"
The top U.S. general in Iraq on Thursday called Army forces "stretched" in the war on terror just a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said they weren't.
"The forces are stretched," said Army Gen. George Casey, "and I don't think there's any question of that."
Underlining the political sensitivity of the remarks, the military quickly put out a clarifying statement saying that Casey "was speaking about Army forces in general and not specifically about forces in Iraq."
The Army is hard-pressed, Casey said, "but the Army has been for the last several years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and more-ready units."
Casey denied that he had approved modest troop withdrawals from Iraq to ease the strain on the Army.
"That's not true, and the recommendation to begin the reduction of forces came from me based on our strategy here in Iraq," Casey said.
"So, yep, folks are stretched here," Casey said, "but they certainly accomplish their mission, and the forces that you've seen on the ground are absolutely magnificent."
Source: Associate Press via San Jose Mercury News
Quotes: From article titled, "`Forces are stretched,' top U.S. general in Iraq says"
The top U.S. general in Iraq on Thursday called Army forces "stretched" in the war on terror just a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said they weren't.
"The forces are stretched," said Army Gen. George Casey, "and I don't think there's any question of that."
Underlining the political sensitivity of the remarks, the military quickly put out a clarifying statement saying that Casey "was speaking about Army forces in general and not specifically about forces in Iraq."
The Army is hard-pressed, Casey said, "but the Army has been for the last several years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and more-ready units."
Casey denied that he had approved modest troop withdrawals from Iraq to ease the strain on the Army.
"That's not true, and the recommendation to begin the reduction of forces came from me based on our strategy here in Iraq," Casey said.
"So, yep, folks are stretched here," Casey said, "but they certainly accomplish their mission, and the forces that you've seen on the ground are absolutely magnificent."
