U.S. general: Forces in Iraq
'stretched'
Canoe News
By NICK WADHAMS - Associated Press
January 26, 2006
DIWANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — The top U.S. general in Iraq acknowledged
Thursday that American forces in this country are "stretched," but he said he
will only recommend withdrawals based on operational needs.
Gen. George Casey told reporters he had discussed the issue with Gen. Peter
J. Schoomaker on Wednesday and that the Army chief of staff believes he can
still sustain the mission in Iraq.
"The forces are stretched ... and I don´t think there´s any
question of that," Casey said. "But the Army has been for the last several
years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and
more ready units."
He reiterated he would only recommend reductions in the more than
130,000-strong U.S. military presence in Iraq based on the situation on the
ground.
On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that an unreleased study conducted
for the Pentagon said the Army was being overextended because of the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and may not be able to retain and recruit enough troops
to defeat the insurgency in Iraq.
A day later, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld disputed that, asserting
that "the force is not broken."
Casey spoke after attending a ceremony in which Polish troops transferred
leadership of the south-central region of Iraq to Iraqi forces, the first such
handover since the war began in 2003. He rejected the idea that early troop
withdrawals came because of strain on the military.
"That´s not true, and the recommendation to begin the reduction of
forces came from me based on our strategy here in Iraq," Casey said. "I made my
decision based on operational reasons and I´ll continue to do that. As
I´ve said all along, I will ask for what I need to accomplish this
mission."
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