U.S. troops to return only if Iraqi forces fail

WASHINGTON — It would take “a complete failure” of the Iraqi security forces for the U.S. to resume combat operations there, the top American commander in Iraq said as the final U.S. fighting forces prepared to leave the country.

With a major military milestone in sight, Gen. Ray Odierno said in interviews broadcast Sunday that any resumption of combat duties by American forces is unlikely.

“We don’t see that happening,” Odierno said. The Iraqi security forces have been doing “so well for so long now that we really believe we’re beyond that point.”

President Barack Obama plans a major speech on Iraq after his return to Washington, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because details were being finalized. The speech will come shortly after Obama returns to the White House on Aug. 29 from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation.

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U.S. troops to return only if Iraqi forces fail

If anyone truly believes that Iraqi security forces can stop homicide bombers, or the insurgent forces that WILL take back control of Iraq once the U.S. is fully OUT of Iraq, I have a bridge I would like to sell you.

Iraq is a civil war in the making. The lid has been held down tight only by the actions and efforts of OUR troops. Once those troops are out of Iraq, it’s GAME ON for Sunni vs Shiite vs Kurd.

Personally, with only 50K U.S. troops still in Iraq, I am not fully convinced that this civil war won’t take place anyway. I don’t think the insurgents, al-Qaida, or whoever else wants to regain control of Iraq will consider that few U.S. troops much of a deterrent to their efforts.

Obama will face a delicate balancing act in his speech between welcoming signs of progress and concluding to the 7-year-old war without prematurely declaring the mission accomplished, as his former President George W. Bush once did.

As my long time readers know, I vehemently disagreed with the Bush idea of going into Iraq. I was convinced that there were NO WMDs, and as it turns out, there were none. I was convinced that Saddam had nothing to do with the attacks of 9-11, and as it turns out, he didn’t. And I saw no way for Iraq to be a threat to our safety in the United States, at least not a direct threat.

I saw Saddam as a chess piece. He held Iran in check and was a valuable pawn. I never saw him as a friend or an ally. I never even remotely envisioned him as a trusted partner, but I did see where he and his Republican Guards could be used as assets in keeping Iran at bay.

U.S. involvement in Iraq beyond the end of 2011, Odierno said, probably would involve assisting the Iraqis secure their airspace and borders.

Weren’t we already doing that? In a roundabout way? Weren’t we already enforcing a no-fly zone and monitoring the Iraqi borders in a fairly diligent manner? Weren’t we taking out Iraqi air defense positions every time one of them lit up OUR planes? Why then, should WE have to continue to assist the Iraqis in securing their airspace and borders?

If we are going to secure ANY airspace and borders, shouldn’t it be OUR own?

While Iraq forces can handle internal security and protect Iraqis, Odierno said he believes military commanders want to have the U.S. involved beyond 2011 to help Iraqis acquire the required equipment, training and technical capabilities.

He said Iraq’s security forces have matured to the point where they will be ready to shoulder enough of the burden to permit the remaining 50,000 soldiers to go home at the end of next year.

The required equipment, training and technical capabilities?

Let me be so bold as to point out to Gen. Ray Odierno, required equipment, training and technical capabilities are exactly what we provided to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan back during the 1980′s.

To make this point crystal clear, those Mujahideen are now called Taliban and al-Qaida, and they are using that required equipment, training and technical capabilities to KILL our troops in Afghanistan!

I’m sure there are those that will read this and become angered regarding that last paragraph, but the truth is the truth, and it seems that there are far too many in America, and particularly in the Department of Defense, that seem to have forgotten that little fact. American supplied arms are being used to KILL Americans in Afghanistan.

Those that don’t learn from history…

Iraq’s political parties have been bickering for more than five months since the March parliamentary elections failed to produce a clear winner. They have yet to reach agreements on how to share power or whether to replace embattled Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and amid the political instability, other economic and governmental problems fester.

As said earlier in this commentary, a civil war IS simmering just below the surface in Iraq. It has on occasion, bubbled up with the recent bombings of police recruits, military recruits and the odd governmental facility.

A strong democratic Iraq is a pipe dream, I don’t care what line of Obama, DoD or political talking points Gen. Ray Odierno wants to throw out there. Islam and democracy do NOT mix!