Gen. Casey: ‘Iraq Will Be A Remarkable Country In A Decade’ If We Stick With Occupation

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/14/casey-10-yr-plan/

Gen. Casey: ‘Iraq Will Be A Remarkable Country In A Decade’ If We Stick With Occupation

At an event this afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Gen. George Casey — the former top commander in Iraq and now the Army chief of staff — declared that Iraq will be a remarkable country “in a decade or so” if we maintain the U.S. occupation.

A questioner asked, “What are the prospects in Iraq and how will this war end?” Casey responded:

Right now, there’s so much residual mistrust left over from the time under Saddam Hussein that they’re not quite ready to go forward. But they have an educated population, they have oil wells, they have water, they have some of the most fertile land I’ve ever seen. In a decade or so, this will be a remarkable country, if we stick with it.

Watch it/read transcript at link~

Casey’s comments echo those of the current top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) disclosed that on her recent visit to Iraq, Petraeus told her that the U.S. “will be in Iraq in some way for 9 or 10 years.”

The military does not have the current resources to maintain a decade-long occupation at or near the current troop levels. Recently, White House “war czar” Gen. Doug Lute suggested that there may be a need to put the military draft on the table.

The claim that Iraq will be a “remarkable country” if we stay belies how the Iraqis feel about the situation. Almost 70 percent of Iraqis say coalition forces make “the security situation worse.” Casey said today that his experience in Iraq suggests “when Iraqis want something to happen….it happens.” What the administration fails to grasp is that the Iraqis want the U.S. out.

[hogwyld]

1. Yeah, sure it will

Because there won't be any more Iraqi's left...

[bamacrat]

6. You stole my post word for word.

Grrr. But its true, they will either all be dead or in neighboring countries.

[liberal N proud]

2. Of course America will be a 3rd world shit hole but hey

That is what they wanted all along.

HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE FOR THE LIES?

[spanone]

3. B U L L S H I T

THE PROPAGANDA WAR IS ON

[Sapere aude]

4. I want to see a remarkable country here in the next 10 years.

Screw sending my taxes to Iraq when a bridge just collapsed because we can't afford to fix it. The money spent in Iraq goes into the pockets of daddy war-buck types not to Americans or Iraqis.

[GainesT1958]

5. Yeah, sure, General, and we'll...

Have a memorial to our Iraqi War dead which will look a lot like the Viet Nam memorial--with, oh, about the same number of names on it!:mad:

How do idiots like him and Gen. Pace get to be top brass at the Pentagon? Oh, that's right; they were promoted under Rummy--stupid question!:eyes:

B-)

[TwilightGardener]

7. Let's see, the Soviets gave the Afghanistan war almost 10 years before

finally giving up fighting the Islamic insurgents. Apparently natives don't take kindly to your attempts to wipe them out and control their homeland. And isn't Afghanistan such a remarkable country now! Yep, we're on our way to VICTORY!!!! In, like, 15-20 years! I CAN FEEL IT!

[rodeodance]

8. "they have an educated population,"--but most of educated classs has LEFT

-----they are refugees!

[Beetwasher]

9. Indeed, Remarkably Desolate And Depressing And Violent

n/t

[screembloodymurder]

10. Yes, and the US will look

like NOLA.

[Javaman]

11. boy, he's still waiting for the promised flowers and candy, isn't he? nt

[Rob H.]

12. I can't wait 'til 2017, when he'll say exactly the same thing

and tell us that we just need to give the latest surge a chance to work. :sarcasm: