Paul Wolferwitz - You must remember this
It's 18th June 2003. Over 1100 US military personel are yet to die in Iraq. A crowing Paul Wolferwitz is before the House Armed Services Committee. His 6000 word statement is worth (re) reading in full. If that's not possible see a few of the howlers below:
....the key to 21st-century combat successes: knowledge, speed, precision, and lethality. These attributes were demonstrated anew in the recent major combat operation in Iraq
......these kinds of advances enabled a force about one-half the size to achieve in about one-half the time using about one-seventh the munitions [compared to 'desert storm']
What are the lessons to be learned from this dramatic operational military success?
The U.S. military applied "overmatching power" to achieve combat success. Overmatching power uses the element of surprise and swift, focused action to achieve operational military goals. As General Franks has said, "Speed kills --- it kills the enemy." [1100 US yet to die]
We are pleased that the number and capability of coalition forces pledged to contribute to the current operations in Iraq is growing
......these are not the typical guerillas: Because they abused, tortured, and killed [!] scores of their own people for decades, in most areas of the country they do not benefit from the support of a sympathetic population. We will continue our work to eliminate these
surviving elements of the Saddam regime -- and the foreigners who have joined their lost cause.
Our success in rooting out Ba'athist remnants, disarming them, and pre-empting any efforts on their part to reorganize will ease the security situation
And we are making progress in standing up Iraqi security forces that can deal with more conventional challenges to law and order.
One of our principal challenges is that the old Iraqi police need to be replaced or retrained. Their leadership was corrupted by the old regime, and they were trained to raid people's homes at night rather than conduct street patrols. [and that's intolerably aggressive for PW]
We are also making progress in enlisting other nations, including some who were not members of the original coalition, to contribute to stabilization and peacekeeping operations. [Paul has got me there, only a week or so ago Armenia, poor screwed up Armenia, joined the fun - see this]
Among the countries that have publicly indicated their willingness to participate are Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Denmark, Ukraine, and Hungary. We expect a number of other countries similarly to announce their participation in these peacekeeping divisions in the
coming days.
While it is true that our current operations in Iraq constitute a new and important military commitment, the elimination of the threat of aggression posed by Saddam Hussein's regime has also relieved us of a substantial threat.
In addition, as coalition contributions grow, and as we help stand up effective Iraqi security forces, our military level of effort in Iraq will diminish. [enough Paul Wolferwitz]
This document was not immediately available at the original source - http://usinfo.state.gov/ however, as always, Cryptome has it here
....the key to 21st-century combat successes: knowledge, speed, precision, and lethality. These attributes were demonstrated anew in the recent major combat operation in Iraq
......these kinds of advances enabled a force about one-half the size to achieve in about one-half the time using about one-seventh the munitions [compared to 'desert storm']
What are the lessons to be learned from this dramatic operational military success?
The U.S. military applied "overmatching power" to achieve combat success. Overmatching power uses the element of surprise and swift, focused action to achieve operational military goals. As General Franks has said, "Speed kills --- it kills the enemy." [1100 US yet to die]
We are pleased that the number and capability of coalition forces pledged to contribute to the current operations in Iraq is growing
......these are not the typical guerillas: Because they abused, tortured, and killed [!] scores of their own people for decades, in most areas of the country they do not benefit from the support of a sympathetic population. We will continue our work to eliminate these
surviving elements of the Saddam regime -- and the foreigners who have joined their lost cause.
Our success in rooting out Ba'athist remnants, disarming them, and pre-empting any efforts on their part to reorganize will ease the security situation
And we are making progress in standing up Iraqi security forces that can deal with more conventional challenges to law and order.
One of our principal challenges is that the old Iraqi police need to be replaced or retrained. Their leadership was corrupted by the old regime, and they were trained to raid people's homes at night rather than conduct street patrols. [and that's intolerably aggressive for PW]
We are also making progress in enlisting other nations, including some who were not members of the original coalition, to contribute to stabilization and peacekeeping operations. [Paul has got me there, only a week or so ago Armenia, poor screwed up Armenia, joined the fun - see this]
Among the countries that have publicly indicated their willingness to participate are Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Denmark, Ukraine, and Hungary. We expect a number of other countries similarly to announce their participation in these peacekeeping divisions in the
coming days.
While it is true that our current operations in Iraq constitute a new and important military commitment, the elimination of the threat of aggression posed by Saddam Hussein's regime has also relieved us of a substantial threat.
In addition, as coalition contributions grow, and as we help stand up effective Iraqi security forces, our military level of effort in Iraq will diminish. [enough Paul Wolferwitz]
This document was not immediately available at the original source - http://usinfo.state.gov/ however, as always, Cryptome has it here
posted by exoplanet at 3:21 PM
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