George Casey
George Casey
expect insurgency lots tough work
There is still lots of tough work to do and we should expect the insurgency not to just go away because there were elections.
caused change compact constitution division national situation
Now this constitution has come out, and it didn't come out as the national compact that we thought it was going to be. And there's division there, ... And that caused the situation to change a little bit.
concerned next
Next year, at this time, I'll be much more concerned about it. Right now, I'm not,
large lead level means numbers totally
Level 1 is being totally independent, and we know they're not going to be there in large numbers for a while. But they're already getting to level 2, which means they can get into and lead the fight.
checked ice layer means nice solid
When I checked in the morning, the ice was nice and clear, not milky. That usually means that the ice layer was solid enough to do the job.
concern force protection readiness share
I share your concern about our Army's operational readiness and force protection posture,
certainly course next
And we certainly do look to do that over the course of next year.
expect gradually insurgency
We should expect the insurgency not to just go away, but to gradually reduce.
battalions concerned good level progress year
A year from now, if there are not more battalions at level one I will be concerned. Right now, I am not. I am concerned about level two and we are making very good progress there,
caused change division situation
And there's division there ... and that caused the situation to change a little bit,
cycle heard involved planning positive
They were involved in about a monthlong planning cycle with us. And they were well-integrated with us. ... I've heard nothing but positive things about how they performed,
coalition directly draw iraqi milestones numbers tie timeline
We do not have a timeline or milestones that directly tie the draw down of coalition units to numbers of Iraqi battalions,
begin built capacity iraqi mission seriously talking
We have built enough Iraqi capacity where we can begin talking seriously about transitioning this counterinsurgency mission to them,
battalions level year
In a year from now, if there's not more battalions at Level One, I'll be concerned. Right now, I'm not,