Madia’s Flawed Iraq Policy #1
In a recent interview with Gen Petraeus by Austin Bay, the following was said
MR. BAY: Sir, I also noticed that you commanded Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, MNSTC-I, as we call it, in June 2004 through September 2005. What is MNSTC-I, sir, and what part does it play in the Coalition operation in Iraq?
GENERAL PETRAEUS: Well, the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq is the ‘train and equip’ organization, to use the shorthand. It is the organization that has been charged with helping the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defense to organize, train, equip, build, in the form of bases and infrastructure, and advise the Iraqi army, navy, air force, marines, and, on the Ministry of Interior side, the Iraqi regular police, station police, patrol police, national police, emergency response unit, and, also on both sides, a variety of special operations forces, these elements and so forth. It’s a very, very large mission.
MR. BAY: So it plays an absolutely fundamental role in the transition to Iraqi control and with Iraqi security forces.
GENERAL PETRAEUS: It does indeed. It helps the Iraqis perform that mission of standing up. And, of course, that enables us, over time, as the enemy’s situation is improved, in other words, as Al-Qaeda, as Sunni extremists and as the Shia militia are reduced in capability, it allows us to reduce our forces and to transition to more of an advisory role and to allow the Iraqis to increasingly take the lead. And that’s something that’s been going on really for quite some time.
Under Ashwin Madia’s “End the Iraq War Responsibly” plan, Madia has U.S. Forces in Iraq doing the following three missions, with only 10,000 to 20,000 troops.
1. protecting U.S. State Department and USAID workers;
2. targeting high-ranking members of Al-Qaeda; and
3. in conjunction with other nations, preventing ethnic cleansing.
Under Madia’s flawed plan, there are ZERO troops for the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq. No further training of Iraqi troops, no logisitics, no advisors, no further support at all for Iraqi troops.
This is Responsible?
