Army general: Bitter US debate on Iraq 'disturbing'

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22628510.htm

Bitter US debate on Iraq 'disturbing'-Army general

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The bitter battle in Washington over whether to quickly withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq is disturbing, but has not damaged U.S. military morale, a senior American Army general in Baghdad said on Tuesday.

"A precipitous pullout, I believe, would be destabilizing," Lt. Gen. John Vines, the second-ranking U.S. commander there, told Pentagon reporters in a teleconference from Iraq. He refused to set any timetable.

"Of course the debate and the bitterness is disturbing. But, after all, we are a democracy and that is what democracy is about ... people will have differences of opinion," Vines said.

"Certainly, soldiers are concerned about whether or not they enjoy the support of not only their elected representatives but the people. And they know that they have their support," Vines replied when pressed about morale among the 155,000 American in Iraq troops.