Anthony Cordesman
Anthony Cordesman
Anthony H. Cordesmanholds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studiesand is a national security analyst on a number of global conflicts...
army direct facts force key manpower spin total
There's so much spin in these numbers. A lot of facts get disguised. . . . Total manpower is meaningless. The army is the key force in direct combat.
collapse far impact iraq pull quickly reasonable serious situation troops
If you pull out troops too quickly now, and you see the situation in Iraq collapse before the midterm elections, the impact is going to be far more serious than if you keep the troops in at reasonable levels.
collapse far impact iraq pull quickly reasonable serious situation troops
If you pull troops out too quickly now, and you see the situation in Iraq collapse before the midterm elections, the impact is going to be far more serious than if you keep the troops in at reasonable levels.
broader essential
It's an essential part of the broader strategy.
cripple largely
This was a largely punitive operation. It did not cripple any of Saddam's capabilities.
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You are dealing with an unproven prime minister. It's the beginning of a very contentious process. It's very unlikely that all of these issues are going to get resolved by the end of the year.
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Usually they'll place an array of explosives locked to a single infrared sensor, ... What you get is an array of shaped charges, so you're not going to get hit with just one.
bull china liberate
We essentially used a bull to liberate a china shop.
army create dependent iraqi plan roughly strategy success three
We did not plan three years ago to create more than token Iraqi forces. Now we're at 230,000 roughly and counting. Our whole strategy is dependent on the success of the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police.
issue large
The real issue is that they have a very large booster under development.
almost certain coalition efforts forces growing inclusive iraqi reach reality
The reality is that if the Shi'ites and Kurds can be inclusive and if they can reach a settlement with most of the Iraqi Sunnis, then the efforts of U.S. and coalition forces and the growing Iraqi forces are almost certain to be successful,
climate create exercises gradually outline people problem speeches trust
The problem with the speeches is they get gradually more realistic, but they are still exercises in spin. They don't outline the risks. They don't create a climate where people trust what's being said.
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Ulster (Northern Ireland) and the Balkans have already shown how difficult it is to split cities, and with Iraq's centralized and failing infrastructure, and impoverished economy, violence and economics cannot be separated.
economic people problem
The problem is people don't live on economic statistics.