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04/13/2004 Archived Entry: "Another Bush flip-flop"
Another Bush flip-flop
If Kerry ever makes an ad showing how Bush is the one really flipping and flopping, this should be right near the top of the list.
The US military has begun recruiting former officers of Saddam Hussein's military to staff the new Iraqi army, an acknowledgement of the serious problems it has faced in trying to build reliable security forces.Following confirmation at the weekend that Iraqi soldiers had refused to fight in Falluja, General John Abizaid, the head of US forces in the Middle East, said on Monday that a number of police and Iraqi civil defence units operating in the south of the country had also failed to stand up to insurgents.
In order to try to resolve the problems in Iraqi chains of command, which US generals blamed on Monday for the refusal of several Iraqi units to fight, the coalition is turning to the former soldiers it once spurned.
"We've got to get more senior Iraqis involved, former military types involved in the security forces," Gen Abizaid said. "In the next couple of days, you'll see a large number of senior officers being appointed to key positions in the ministry of defence and in Iraqi joint staff and in Iraqi field commands. And General [Ricardo] Sanchez [commander of coalition forces in Iraq] and I are very much involved in the vetting and placing of these officers and I can tell you the competition for these positions have been fierce."
As part of the de-Ba'athification process put in place by the US-led coalition after the overthrow of Mr Hussein's government, Paul Bremer, the chief civil administrator in Iraq, insisted on disbanding the Iraqi army despite suggestions from some in the US military that experienced officers would be needed to staff the new army.
Michael O'Hanlon, military analyst at the Brookings Institution, said on Monday: "This really is a reversal. The bottom line is that he [Bremer] eliminated all previous military. The question was what piece do you bring back and how. He had the opportunity to do just this."
Replies: 5 people speak up
I would hope kerry gets after this!I do not here any dems being vocal about it.The cut must be good for the silence.
Posted by punchdrunk @ 04/13/2004 12:28 AM NY
Flopping like a cold fish on a hot beach...
Posted by Aristophanes @ 04/13/2004 12:42 AM NY
Is this a flip flop, or a waffle?
Posted by IXLNXS @ 04/13/2004 12:52 AM NY
Perfect - Absolutely Perfect
Posted by slimharpo @ 04/13/2004 01:27 AM NY
The phrase "the competition for these positions have been fierce." made me shudder. I hope the competition isn't fierce because many see it as an opportunity to get power (control of Iraqi soldiers and U.S. weapons) to later use by turning against the U.S. in a key battle. Here's an instance where we know the answer to "why do they hate America so?" And I imagine more than a few former members of Saddam's army know how to tell those hiring for the top spots exactly what they want to hear. Sound familiar?
Posted by LML @ 04/13/2004 09:05 AM NY
