Results 1 to 20 of 22

Thread: What would a US withdrawal from Iraq look like?

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Council Member sullygoarmy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Fort Stewart
    Posts
    224

    Default

    Everytime someone metions a withdrawl from Iraq I keep wondering just how we are going to get all of our crap out of there. Anyone who has been to Camp Victory or LSA Anaconda has an idea of what I'm talking about. While I'm not a loggie, most say you can plan on getting out about one BCT a month...perhaps a little more if you do not have troops coming in as you are getting them out. The BCTs are mobile (and practiced) enough to do the move out. It is all the infrastructure, the stay behind equipment and the 60' plasma screen TVs in the AAFES tents that makes me scratch my head...not kidding about the TVs either!

    I am guessing there has to be an agreement between the U.S. and GOI regarding what facilities we are going to leave for them (payment?) and what is going to be torn down and sent back to the states. If I were a loggie, I'd be pulling my hair out just trying to plan on how to get everything out. I'm sure somewhere in a dark office in a basement of one of Saddam's old palaces there probably is a team doing this...and thank goodness I'm not on it! I thought I could use Desert Storm as an example but then we did not have the years of build up infrastructure to send back to the states..."just" soldiers and equipment.

    Any thoughts on the physical efforts it might take to get us out of there...for the most part?
    "But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet withstanding, go out to meet it."

    -Thucydides

  2. #2
    Council Member jkm_101_fso's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Kabul
    Posts
    325

    Default I'm guessing it would start...

    ...with something like this:

    Gen. Petraeus Leaves Iraq After 20 Months

    BAGHDAD — David Petraeus, the American general who presided over Iraq's pullback from the brink of all-out civil war, relinquished his command Tuesday to Gen. Ray Odierno under a cascade of official thank-yous.

    In an elaborate ceremony in a marble-lined rotunda of a former Saddam Hussein palace on the outskirts of the capital, Petraeus handed off to Odierno the responsibility for leading U.S. and coalition forces at a stage in the still-unpopular war that appears far more hopeful than when Petraeus assumed command 20 months ago.

    Petraeus leaves behind a heavy dose of caution, reflected in his recommendation to President Bush that he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq through the end of the year instead of pulling out one or two, as many had expected.
    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423092,00.html
    Sir, what the hell are we doing?

  3. #3
    Moderator Steve Blair's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Montana
    Posts
    3,195

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sullygoarmy View Post
    Any thoughts on the physical efforts it might take to get us out of there...for the most part?
    In terms of the physical pullout, I'd say that Vietnam might be a decent case study of what Iraq could look like. We had massive infrastructure there as well, and many base camps were more or less abandoned once the major equipment was shifted to other units (RVN or US) or backhauled.
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War

  4. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Media's dangerous narrative for unresolved Iraq problems

    I will not repost the letter I added to another discussion sheet, so I attached the link below:
    http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...473#post107473

    The 60 Minutes program tonight on 3 OCT 2010 had a very specific narrative, that Military action to resolve any crisis is wrong, that money was wasted, that General Odinero was to blame, that the militiary can never show Iraqi success, and that future military action will lead to more problems.

    The elite media loves this narrative, but it has no critical analysis and assumes Americans are stupid. If you want to see election problems and problems with governance, visit the gulf coast or Washington D.C.

    THere were no problems regarding security; all of the problems were governance, development and economic. However, there was no discussion on failed USAID leaders or PRT or state department or ambassaders. These are American problems, not General Odinero's or General Austin's problems, but the media have never held civilian leaders accountable (unless your name is Bush).

    MAJ Carl Dick, Fort Leavenworth, 3 OCT 2010

  5. #5
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Near the Spiral, New Zealand.
    Posts
    134

    Default

    Is that the same 60 Minutes that, a couple of years back, was critical of the US Government for not using its military to force Myanmar's government to accept international aid after the country was ravaged by a cyclone...? Seems to me they were also pretty damn happy to see the military step in and maintain order in Haiti recently...

    I guess we should all just pull a chair on the sidelines now and watch it all unravel...

Similar Threads

  1. Iraq and the Arab States on Its Borders
    By Jedburgh in forum Catch-All, OIF
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-18-2009, 07:51 PM
  2. Toward Sustainable Security in Iraq and the Endgame
    By Rob Thornton in forum US Policy, Interest, and Endgame
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 06-30-2008, 12:24 PM
  3. US Senator's Iraq Trip Comments: WSJ 15 June 07
    By TROUFION in forum US Policy, Interest, and Endgame
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-18-2007, 04:26 PM
  4. Victory in Iraq
    By SWJED in forum US Policy, Interest, and Endgame
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 01-03-2007, 01:50 AM
  5. DNI's Fabius Maximus: Iraq and the Future
    By SWJED in forum Catch-All, OIF
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-20-2006, 03:51 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •