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...
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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.
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These are scarcely people you want to integrate into a national force. This would simply create sectarian or ethnic forces or divisions within the forces that already exist.
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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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The best thing we can do is to make sure that our training helps them to create truly national military forces and truly national police forces because that then takes away any sense that one needs militias to provide security.
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We essentially used a bull to liberate a china shop.
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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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will end in snatching defeat from the jaws of uncertainty.
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This was a largely punitive operation. It did not cripple any of Saddam's capabilities.
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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.
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We don't know how many leaders there are, how many experienced cadres there are, how many replacements there are.
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He has studied military tactics and counterinsurgency operations, but I don't think this is someone who sees himself as a commander. This is someone who sees himself as a stimulator.
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Having a country stay in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that effectively is proceeding to defy it doesn't necessarily strengthen the treaty.
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Everything I know about counterterrorism is, you deal with specific cells.
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Even if the constitution clearly wins acceptance by most Shiites and Kurds and some Sunnis, this is only the start of a process, not the end. Even the best outcome of the vote is the prelude to months and years of additional effort.