Army chief of staff not certain we're 'winning' in Iraq

[bigtree]

Is U.S. Winning? Army Chief Is at a Loss

By Peter Spiegel, Times Staff Writer
July 15, 2006

WASHINGTON — It seemed like a routine question, one that military leaders involved in prosecuting the war in Iraq must ask themselves with some regularity: Is the U.S. winning?

But for Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff known for his straight-shooting bluntness, it proved a hard one to answer.

During a Capitol Hill briefing for an audience mostly of congressional aides, Schoomaker paused for more than 10 seconds after he was asked the question — lips pursed and brow furrowed — before venturing:

"I think I would answer that by telling you I don't think we're losing."

"I think we are making significant progress; I think the challenges continue to come," he concluded. "I do not believe that we are losing, but where I think we are on the scale of winning is very difficult, and time's going to tell."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usiraq15jul15,0,7735942.story?track=tothtml

[Sherman A1]

1. A very skillful use of language

and really, what can he say, without admitting that we are losing, which is probably not a career enhancing statement, while working under Rummy, as we have seen.

[kenny blankenship]

2. Fire him and put him in jail as a traitor! He's not supporting our troops!

Of course we're winning. We've always been winning this thing. Ten years hence we'll still be winning it, with final victory barely over the horizon...uh... somewhere.

[killbotfactory]

3. Iraq? That's yesterday's news

We're headin' for Iran!

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Challenges, eh? Like the ME going up in smoke?

You can thank the stoge in the WH for poking sticks into the bees nest.

[Ravy]

5. The war is unwinnable until they come up with a clear goal for

withdrawal.

How can you win by "stay the course". There needs to be some sort of measurable objective to "win", and that has always been lacking, because the goal of the administration is not to win.

Their goal is to stay in Iraq and have a foothold in the middle east.