[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Cheney fears Iraq withdrawal will 'waste' U.S. sacrifices Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said he is concerned about U.S. forces withdrawing from Iraqi cities within 24 hours. Mr. Cheney told The Washington Times' America's Morning News radio show that he is a strong believer in Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and that the general is doing what needs to be done. "But what he says concerns me: That there is still a continuing problem. One might speculate that insurgents are waiting as soon as they get an opportunity to launch more attacks. "I hope Iraqis can deal with it. At some point they have to stand on their own. But I would not want to see the U.S. waste all the tremendous sacrifice that has gotten us to this point." Roughly 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq outside of the cities to train Iraqi police and provide protection for remaining Allied forces. All U.S. forces are expected to be out of the country by the end of 2011. Iraqi Gen. Abud Kambar al-Malliki warned militias during the transfer ceremony of the Sadr base that his forces "are ready to fight you if you attack our citizens." Gen. Odierno said Sunday on CNNs "State of the Union" that he believes Iraqi forces are ready. "They've been working towards this for a long time," he said. "And security remains good. We've seen constant improvement in the security force; we've seen constant improvement in governance. And I believe this is the time for us to move out of the cities and for them to take ultimate responsibility." In the run-up to the transition, a half-dozen bombs have rocked northeastern Baghdad, where hostile acts had occurred about once every other day. Scores of people died in the attacks, which appeared designed to shake confidence in the government, as well as to reignite sectarian fighting. Significant hostile acts of all kinds totaled 3,467 nationwide last year, compared with 6,210 in 2007, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. From Jan. 1 to the end of May, the number of improvised explosive devices that detonated or were found and neutralized in the greater Baghdad area was 454, a 75 percent drop from the same period last year, according to the U.S. military. There are still about 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. About 24,000 in Baghdad have been physically affected by the transition: They have moved to facilities outside city limits, such as JSS (Joint Security Station) Istiqlal, JSS War Eagle, JSS Uhr and the super-sized Camp Taji.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||