- "Concerns have been raised over the policy, with
claims the US administration is more interested in improving public opinion
ahead of the November 2004 elections... than in Iraq's stability."
-
- WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Moving
to pull US troops from Iraq amid intensifying attacks, replacing them with
a hurriedly trained Iraqi force, Washington is accused of seeking an exit
strategy similar to the Vietnam war.
-
- The move to "Iraqify" military and police forces
is reminiscent of the option taken by Washington over the so-called Vietnamization
that came before south Vietnam collapsed before northern forces in 1975,
observers and politicians say.
-
- Former president Richard Nixon chose to "Vietnamify"
-- progressively putting heavier military responsibility on the south Vietnamese
so as to disengage the United States, which lost 58,000 soldiers in the
tortuous war.
-
- Though the Iraqi conflict is quite different and US casualties
nowhere near the levels seen in Vietnam, the analogy is being seen increasingly,
after Washington said it may cut US troops from 132,000 to 105,000 by next
spring.
-
- Parallely, the United States is aiming to take the number
of Iraqi security forces -- army, police and border guards -- from 118,000
men to 170,000 by early 2004.
-
- Concerns have been raised over the policy, with claims
the US administration is more interested in improving public opinion ahead
of the November 2004 elections -- in which Bush will seek a second term
-- than in Iraq's stability.
-
- "Frustrated by the lack of quick progress on the
ground and fading political support at home, Washington is now latching
on the idea that a quick transfer of power to local troops and politicians
would make things better," states columnist Fareed Zakaria.
-
- "Or at any rate, it would lower American casualties.
It was called Vietnamization; today it's called Iraqification," Zakaria
wrote in a column in The Washington Post and Newsweek.
-
- While political commentator Thomas Friedman said there
was "no question this is necessary," he added: "But it's
not sufficient".
-
- "We could have 100,000 Iraqis in the police and
army and it would not be enough without one other person. We need an Iraqi
leader (or a leadership council) elected as a result of an Iraqi constitutional
or political process," wrote Friedman in The New York Times.
-
- Republican Senator John McCain, a former pilot and Vietnam
war veteran has added his voice to the debate, saying US forces in Iraq
must be increased not reduced in number.
-
- "When our Secretary of Defense says that it is up
to the Iraqi people to defeat Baathists and terrorists, we send a message
that America's exit from Iraq is ultimately more important than the achievement
of American goals in Iraq," McCain said Wednesday.
-
- "To win in Iraq, we should increase the number of
forces in-country, including Marines and Special Forces, to conduct offensive
operations," said McCain underlining his belief that at least one
more full division should be added to US troops there.
-
- US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, seeking to reassure
Thursday, said cutting troops would not be done to the detriment of military
objectives and that Washington aims to stabilize the country it has its
sights on transforming into a democratic model for the Middle East.
-
- "We're bringing in forces that are appropriate to
deal with the evolving threats in Iraq today, including more mobile infantry
elements," said Rumsfeld.
-
- "So while the number of US forces may be level or
decline slightly, this much is certain: The overall capability of the security
forces in Iraq will increase," said the Pentagon chief, stipulating
that "numbers do not necessarily equate with capability".
-
- Copyright © 2003 Agence France Presse. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority
of Agence France Presse.
-
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031
107/pl_afp/us_iraq_wars&cid=1521&ncid=1473
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