Two Retired Generals Call for Prompt Withdrawal from Iraq: Support Murtha

(I found this at the MoveOn.org site)



http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/archives/002173.php

November 28, 2005
For more information contact: Robert Gard, rgard@armscontrolcenter.org
There are risks if the U.S. withdraws its troops from Iraq. Are there greater risks in keeping them there?

by Robert G. Gard, Jr., Lt. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.) John H. Johns, Brig Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.)

November 2005

“What is worse than soldiers dying in vain is even more soldiers dying in vain.”

The continued conflict in the Gulf War, and the massive reconstruction necessary on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, require a reevaluation of American policy in Iraq. Much of the partisan, emotional rhetoric in the current public debate does little to focus on the problem.

As patriotic Americans who have dedicated our professional lives to public service, we acknowledge that the situation in Iraq is complex and that people of good will can disagree. We acknowledge that a vigorous public debate has risks in wartime; but in a democracy, that is a risk we must accept. “Staying the course” is a greater risk. Absent a genuine collaboration between the White House and Congress, which obviously has not happened, the only way to influence a policy in a democracy is to have a public debate.

Therefore, we feel it is vital at this time to weigh the risks of withdrawing our troops with the risks of keeping them there indefinitely.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those who argue that the United States should not leave Iraq any time soon, nor set a deadline for beginning to withdraw, point to potential disasters if the United States pulls out before Iraqi forces demonstrate the ability to maintain adequate security. This would be an open-ended commitment, since most experts believe it will take decades to end the insurgency.

In point of fact, the situation in Iraq already is a disaster, both for the American military and for Iraqi civilians. It therefore would be useful to examine what seems likely to, or may, happen if the United States continues on its present course of keeping our troops in Iraq indefinitely. A careful balancing of the risks of leaving compared to the risks of staying could provide a basis for making an informed choice regarding this critical issue.

much more......

Thanks for showing the moral courage to stand up to the criminal administration and their illegal war !

:patriot:

We also need more DUers to comment on this thread :shrug: I thought it would be more popular, and keeps sinking :(

I mean, geesh, one of their talking points alone just nukes the religious righties. The one about active duty military divorce rates have increased 40% since 2000 !!!

This is meat and potatoes facts supporting Murtha, not political rhetoric from MSM military analysts. I'm trying to find Gard and Johns jobs right now :) Have contacted Olbermann, Cooper and McAfferty !

:kick:

I may have to repost this article at a later date with more DU T and A :)

Maybe DUers are turned off by Generals?

this train is moving, and I do not see any unified democratic response to stop it. I hope I am wrong because the consequences are going to be years of dead Americans coming home from Iraq

Now it's about 'how and when' to withdraw from Iraq, not 'should we'

Keith Olbermann and Anderson Cooper for starters ! Many great talking points in this article, which I believe is from a bipartisan group?

there's been lots of talk about the great diversity of ideas within the Democratic Party ...

only Murtha's plan, and one from Jim McGovern (and lots of co-sponsors) set ONLY THE SAFETY OF THE TROOPS as a criteria for withdrawal ...

all the other plans are either playing politics with the war OR are naively assuming continued military occupation by US troops can achieve anything positive in Iraq ... any Democrat who looks at the nightmare bush has created and calls for improvements in the strategy while he remains in office is blind ...

with Democrats in power, all plans might be worthy of consideration; but this is just not the reality ... it's time to get out and it's time to unify the Party behind Murtha's resolution ...

Reminds me of Cindy Sheehan's comment about "honoring the dead soldiers by sending more to die". The below response proves BUSH is an idiot !

<snip>
Charge #4: U.S. soldiers will have died in vain.

Response: Soldiers die in vain when we, citizens and leaders alike, do not honor and reflect on their sacrifices, and when we fail to learn from our mistakes as we face the future. We believe that in national security decisions, as well as in the business world and politics, there are times to acknowledge mistakes in policy and cut losses.

After a terrorist attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon that killed 241 U.S. military personnel, President Ronald Reagan decided to eliminate the provocation of U.S. military presence, prevent additional casualties and withdraw our troops. The United States recovered from the setback without serious harm to our national interests.

After a long insurgency, Charles de Gaulle withdrew French forces from Algeria because the costs of continuing outweighed the possible benefits for France. Algeria became independent, and France became stronger as a result of its withdrawal.

Despite predictions of a resultant disaster for U.S. Cold War interests, the United States completed the withdrawal of our troops from Vietnam after suffering more than 58,000 killed. Even though South Vietnam subsequently fell to the communist north, this country ultimately became much stronger following withdrawal from that quagmire; and U.S. vital interests were not compromised.

What is worse than soldiers dying in vain is even more soldiers dying in vain.
<end of article>

The only thing staying will do is to get more of our troops killed, and cause more bloodshed for Iraqis. When a war should never have been started, there is no point in staying. If it was wrong to start, it's wrong to continue.

..and why this article excites me so :hi: It's like, not politics, just the facts! Which pisses me off more that Bush got us into this fine mess in the first place !

Great patriotic action by these retired Generals!

Sonia

I already started with some of my favorite MSMers :loveya:

...more from the OP article here:

U.S. strategy in Iraq has been based on faulty premises. Moreover, the decision simply to “stay the course” reflects an ideological rigidity that can be disastrous for our national security. It is time to cut our losses. We should begin to disengage early in 2006, after the Iraqi elections scheduled for this December. The withdrawal of U.S. troops should be orderly and phased, but prompt, and coordinated in advance with our allies and Iraqi officials.

The United States should announce unequivocally that we have no intention of establishing permanent bases for a long-term military presence in Iraq. And we should continue to assist both rebuilding efforts in Iraq and efforts to spread democracy in the region.

There may well be some negative consequences as a result of withdrawing of U.S. troops, but fewer, we believe, than if we continue on the present course. Ultimately, the United States will be stronger if we leave the quagmire that is Iraq to resolution by its own citizens.

Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA-ret.) served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, retiring from the U.S. Army in 1981 following almost five years as president of the National Defense University. He subsequently directed the Johns Hopkins University Center in Bologna, Italy, for five years, and was president of the Monterey institute of International Studies for almost eleven years.

Brigadier General John Johns (USA-ret.) was a combat arms officer in the U.S. Army for 26 years, including service in Vietnam. Following retirement from the U.S. Army in 1978, he served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense for four years. He then joined the faculty of the National Defense University, where he taught ethics, political science and strategic decision-making before being appointed academic dean of one of the University’s senior colleges.