US ARMY Planning For 4 More Years!

[TXSTYLE]

Wow...... Just Wow.....

WASHINGTON - The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq — well over 100,000 — for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

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In an Associated Press interview, Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the Army is prepared for the "worst case" in terms of the required level of troops in Iraq. He said the number could be adjusted lower if called for by slowing the force rotation or by shortening tours for soldiers.

Schoomaker said commanders in Iraq and others who are in the chain of command will decide how many troops will be needed next year and beyond. His responsibility is to provide them, trained and equipped.

About 138,000 U.S. troops, including about 25,000 Marines, are now in Iraq.

"We are now into '07-'09 in our planning," Schoomaker said, having completed work on the set of combat and support units that will be rotated into Iraq over the coming year for 12-month tours of duty.

Schoomaker's comments come amid indications from Bush administration officials and commanders in Iraq that the size of the U.S. force may be scaled back next year if certain conditions are achieved.

Among those conditions: an Iraqi constitution must be drafted in coming days; it must be approved in a national referendum; and elections must be held for a new government under that charter.

Schoomaker, who spoke aboard an Army jet on the trip back to Washington from Kansas City, Mo., made no predictions about the pace of political progress in Iraq. But he said he was confident the Army could provide the current number of forces to fight the insurgency for many more years. The 2007-09 rotation he is planning would go beyond President Bush's term in office, which ends in January 2009.

Schoomaker was in Kansas City for a dinner Friday hosted by the Military Order of the World Wars, a veterans' organization.

"We're staying 18 months to two years ahead of ourselves" in planning which active-duty and National Guard and Reserve units will be provided to meet the commanders' needs, Schoomaker said in the interview.

The main active-duty combat units that are scheduled to go to Iraq in the coming year are the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. Both did one-year tours earlier in the war.

The Army has changed the way it arranges troop rotations.

Instead of sending a full complement of replacement forces each 12-month cycle, it is stretching out the rotation over two years.

The current rotation, for 2005-07, will overlap with the 2006-08 replacements. Beyond that, the Army is piecing together the plan for the 2007-09 switch, Schoomaker said.

With the recent deployments of National Guard brigades from Georgia and Pennsylvania, the National Guard has seven combat brigades in Iraq — the most of the entire war — plus thousands of support troops.

Along with the Army Reserve and Marine Reserve, they account for about 40 percent of the total U.S. forces in Iraq. Schoomaker said that will be scaled back next year to about 25 percent as newly expanded active-duty divisions such as the 101st Airborne enter the rotation.

August has been the deadliest month of the war for the National Guard and Reserve, with at least 42 fatalities thus far. Schoomaker disputed the suggestion by some that the Guard and Reserve units are not fully prepared for the hostile environment of Iraq.

"I'm very confident that there is no difference in the preparation" of active-duty soldiers and the reservists, who normally train one weekend a month and two weeks each summer, unless they are mobilized. Once called to active duty, they go through the same training as active-duty units.

In internal surveys, some in the reserve forces have indicated to Army leaders that they think they are spending too much time in pre-deployment training, not too little, Schoomaker said.

"Consistently, what we've been (hearing) is, `We're better than you think we are, and we could do this faster,'" he said. "I can promise you that we're not taking any risk in terms of what we're doing to prepare people."

[O. L. T.]

We don't need to "pull out", however we do need to swap at least HALF of our troops presence for other nations military. This keeps the number of assistance high, but gives us a much needed break.

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by O. L. T.

We don't need to "pull out", however we do need to swap at least HALF of our troops presence for other nations military. This keeps the number of assistance high, but gives us a much needed break.

Gotta agree with Mr. Mod here.................and let Alawi's new government shoulder a little more of the load itself. We, the Brits, and a few other countries went over there, fought the war, got rid of Saddam, and are fighting the " insurgents " ( really terrorists ) for them and the Iraqi people....and have taken our share of casualties for it. Now let THEM do a little more of the work themselves. I think this is really Bush's long-range plan....correctly.

[bitkahuna]

Once they get more on their feet they can PAY for our military presence with their oil revenues.

[mmarshall]

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

Once they get more on their feet they can PAY for our military presence with their oil revenues.

Yes, but the whole idea is to end that presence as much as possible and let Alawi's government fight the Iraqi terrorists themselves.....while we focus more on getting Osama Ben-Laden in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

[bitkahuna]

Not going to happen. We're going to be in Iraq in one way or another for decades.

We're still in Korea. We're still in Europe. We're still in Kosovo.

[AJL0365]

my uncle got deployed there today (monday august 22) im gonna miss him. seriosuly this thing need to stop

[bitkahuna]

Originally Posted by AJL0365

seriosuly this thing need to stop

You mean the war in Iraq needs to stop? Are you proposing our military just leaves, now?

[chicagoblknazn]

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

You mean the war in Iraq needs to stop? Are you proposing our military just leaves, now?

Yes......why are we even still over there?

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by chicagoblknazn

Yes......why are we even still over there?

Hey back off, we are trying to ensure that civil unions get recognized over there from the start. Is that such a bad thing? LOL!

On a more serious note, what do you think would be the consequences of an immediate pullout? Nothing? Get real!

[chicagoblknazn]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Hey back off, we are trying to ensure that civil unions get recognized over there from the start. Is that such a bad thing? LOL!

On a more serious note, what do you think would be the consequences of an immediate pullout? Nothing? Get real!

Who cares about the consequences.....It's Iraq and not America. We were supposed to be out of that country a long time ago. Give those people back their country.

[UDel]

Originally Posted by chicagoblknazn

Who cares about the consequences.....It's Iraq and not America. We were supposed to be out of that country a long time ago. Give those people back their country.

We never took their country from them. We are trying to help them rebuild and eliminate the terrorists who are killing innocent Iraqis everyday. We want to leave but it is terrorist attacks and instability that is keeping us there. Our soldiers are not kicking them out of their homes and forcing Iraqis to live a different way of life then they used to. There are many reasons why we should not just immediately leave right away. Right now the Iraqi military is not strong enough nor large enough to deal with the insurgent/terrorists all by themselves so if we left right away their would be a overwelming number of terrorist who would claim and take over that land because they would see a golden opportunity. There is also a good chance that Sadam could possibly be let free and return to ruling that country from a Sunni uprising. The country may also go into civil war because the U.S. military is not there to stop it and they may feel America abandoned them. There is also the possibility that Iran or a neighboring country could see the presently small weaker defenceless Iraqi military as a opportunity to attack and conquer them.

I care about the consequences as well as many people around the world because it would mean many more innocent Iraqis would be murdered. Iraq could easily turn into a terrorist haven like Afghanistan did and look what it led to and how it affected America. Iraq has the possibility to lead the way for Democracy, change, and hope in the middle east which would lead to less radical figures and terrorism. Many of the soldiers and people who are there say that most of the Iraqis are glad we are there and want our help contrary to what many news agencies and celebrities try to report and say. Although most soldiers hate being in that country and want to come home they do not want to just leave right away and see the country fall into terrorists and radicals hands and all that the soldiers worked for and hoped for will be lost and have failed. If we get enough Iraqis trained to take over security and eliminating terrorists then we can start reducing our numbers and be there mainly as a backup which will reduce the danger our troops are in and eventaully lead to a major reduction in numbers, but we will still keep a smaller number of highly trained heavily armored troops and equiptment there for sometime after the insurgency is beat. Just because it is not America and some other country does not mean you can say the hell with it and not do anything because it can and will eventaully effect us like 9-11 and other attacks on America and Americans.

[chicagoblknazn]

So now we are Team America - World Police. If they want to blow themselves up...let them. If they want to harbor terrorists and ruin their country.....let them. We have more important issues that need to be dealt with here in our own country. What about our people here in America fighting to stay alive.....we know them as homeless people....why aren;t we helping with THAT fight. What about all these starving kids in low income rural areas....shouldn't we spend money on redeveloping those areas and providing some relief...instead of trying to do it in another country....say Iraq? So what, if those people there wish we would help......I'm sure the Isreali people wish we were there to help stop the evictions there, but we can't save the world, nor is it our job.

I could go on and on and on about why I think this war is stupid, and maybe I'm a bit extreme with my views that America should help America.....and stop trying to be the World Police......but why bother.....I don't have the energy or interest to.....i ain't got no power, anyways....they said my vote is power, and look what happened?

http://www.rx7club.com/images/smilies/soapbox.gif

[MarkMacGS4]

[quote=chicagoblknazn] If they want to blow themselves up...let them. If they want to harbor terrorists and ruin their country.....let them.


We let the same thing happen in Afghanistan...well actually Clinton did. Now we are back there doing the hard work again. Lets do it right the first time.

[UDel]

Originally Posted by chicagoblknazn

So now we are Team America - World Police. If they want to blow themselves up...let them. If they want to harbor terrorists and ruin their country.....let them. We have more important issues that need to be dealt with here in our own country. What about our people here in America fighting to stay alive.....we know them as homeless people....why aren;t we helping with THAT fight. What about all these starving kids in low income rural areas....shouldn't we spend money on redeveloping those areas and providing some relief...instead of trying to do it in another country....say Iraq? So what, if those people there wish we would help......I'm sure the Isreali people wish we were there to help stop the evictions there, but we can't save the world, nor is it our job.

I could go on and on and on about why I think this war is stupid, and maybe I'm a bit extreme with my views that America should help America.....and stop trying to be the World Police......but why bother.....I don't have the energy or interest to.....i ain't got no power, anyways....they said my vote is power, and look what happened?

http://www.rx7club.com/images/smilies/soapbox.gif

What issues are more important in this country then making sure this country is safe from terrorist attack and trying to ease the climate around the world that breeds terrorists and attacks? If we do not actively engage them which pretty much happend in the 90's then we will be dealing with more terrorists attacks on our soil in the future. Most countries do not want terrorist in their country even the countries where most terrorist come from and if we can cooperate with them and eliminate these radicals and terrorist which is what we are actively doing now it will make us and the world safer. It is not "team america" world police it is just a better foreign policy then turning away and allowing these groups to go on training terrorists and killing innocent people in different countries and we are the country with the most power and resources to do it .

You can fight a war on terror in other countries and still help homeless poor people in our country etc, but it is not entirely Americas responsibility to help someone get a home, job, car, etc. Homeless people are not the biggest problem facing this nation and many people who are homeless living on the street choose to live that way. They do not want the responsibility of paying bills, they don't want jobs, they don't want to live in the "system" like everyone else. Many would rather not work or have any kind of responsibility and waste what money they have on alchohol and drugs. I have seen it several times when I have given money to beggers where I see them go right to the liquer store instead of buying food or at least trying to save it. I am not saying all homelss people are like this but practically anyone can get a job at some fast food restaraunt or department store if they really wanted too, earn some money and afford food and a cheap apartment., I see adds all the time for these places, but some people do not want to do that. Yes if a veteran is injured or someone has a disability where they cannot work then they should be helped more but you do not have to pull out of Iraq to help them. We do have systems in this country to help poorer people which often get abused and lead to people relying on them too much instead of a quick fix until they can get on their feet but that is for another topic. The reason we have such a high standard of living and have not had that many terrorists attacks on our soil is because we do take care of Americans and we try to help and encourage countries to do better things for their and our interests and one of the main ones right now is freedom, democracy and getting rid of radicals and terrorists.