Lots of news about Iraq in the NY Times today, starting with this:
In a classified briefing to senior Pentagon officials last month, the top American commander in the Middle East outlined a plan that would gradually reduce American forces in Iraq by perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 troops by next spring if conditions on the ground permitted, three senior military officers and Defense Department officials said this week.
The assessment by Gen. John P. Abizaid, the head of the military’s Central Command, tracks with a statement made last week by the top American general in Iraq, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., that the Pentagon could make “some fairly substantial reductions” in troops by next spring and summer if the political process in Iraq remained on track and Iraqi forces assumed more responsibility for securing the country.
Together, the generals’ appraisals offer some of the most concrete indications yet that the Pentagon is moving toward reducing American forces in Iraq. They also reflect the Bush administration’s growing concerns over how the country’s involvement in Iraq is influencing domestic considerations.
But in his assessment, given as part of a larger regional analysis, General Abizaid also warned that it is possible that the Pentagon might have to keep the current levels of about 138,000 American soldiers in Iraq throughout 2006 if security and political trends are unfavorable for a withdrawal. The number of troops will temporarily increase this December to provide security for Iraqi elections. And some troops leaving Iraq could be held in Kuwait as a reserve force.
Senior administration and Pentagon officials, as well as political leaders in both parties, say there is mounting anxiety over the $5 billion-a-month cost of the war, an overtaxed military, dismal recruiting in the Army and National Guard, dwindling public support for the operation, and a steadily growing number of casualties, punctuated this week by the death of 20 marines in two separate attacks in western Iraq.
Any troop drawdown will not occur until after the drafting and implementation of the new Iraqi constitution, which is also in the news:
On the eve of a national political summit meeting to hammer out terms of a draft Iraqi constitution, a top Kurdish representative warned Saturday that the Kurds would withdraw from the government if negotiators did not meet their “basic demands.”
Azhar Ramadan Abdul Raheem, a member of the National Assembly and the committee writing the constitution, said that at a special meeting of the Kurdish parliament on Saturday, delegates agreed that the Kurdish bloc should make no concessions in the negotiations. Among the Kurdish demands is a constitutional guarantee of regional autonomy.
Some of the country’s top political leaders are set to gather Sunday to try to move the talks ahead.
“This is a last resort,” Ms. Raheem said in a telephone interview. “Iraq is on the edge of a volcano, and we hope that we can reach a settlement in the meeting tomorrow.”
The Kurds, at least publicly, have adopted a hard line in the negotiations, and with her comments, Ms. Raheem appeared to be trying to establish a bargaining position.
The Kurdish demand for autonomy has support from some Shiite leaders, but is strongly opposed by Sunni Arabs, who fear they would be left with territory that produces little or no oil.
Finally, in the Week in Review, Damien Cave asks where all the heroes have gone (the Instapundit has a blogger link round-up):
Many in the military are disheartened by the absence of an instantly recognizable war hero today, a deficiency with a complex cause: public opinion on the Iraq war is split, and drawing attention to it risks fueling opposition; the military is more reluctant than it was in the last century to promote the individual over the group; and the war itself is different, with fewer big battles and more and messier engagements involving smaller units of Americans. Then, too, there is a celebrity culture that seems skewed more to the victim than to the hero.
Collectively, say military historians, war correspondents and retired senior officers, the country seems to have concluded that war heroes pack a political punch that requires caution. They have become not just symbols of bravery but also reminders of the war’s thorniest questions. “No one wants to call the attention of the public to bloodletting and heroism and the horrifying character of combat,” said Richard Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina. “What situation can be imagined that would promote the war and not remind people of its ambivalence?”
Lots to chew on today.
demimondian
Wow! It’s the fault of the culture of victimization once again! The gift that keeps on giving!
Perhaps, though, there’s a simpler explanation. The hagiography which the army has traditionally pursued has been cheapened by the fact that it turned out that a lot of the stories were, perhaps, not exactly true? That creates a culture of cynicism — and there are no safe heroes in a culture of cynicism.
John Cole
Well, there is also the fact that nothing is personal anymore- if someone was portrayed as a hero, there are those in the media who would dig until they found something about the person they could smear him with:
“Medal of Honor winner rented man-on-man porno movies in highschool.”
Add to that the overall difficulty the media has getting around in Irsaq, and yeah. Makes perfect sense.
demimondian
And I’d add something else to your comment. The examples of personal heroism of which I heard, back in my contractor days, were largely performed by people in the special forces in secret. Secret heroism doesn’t catch the public fancy — there’s something about skulking around that takes away the cachet of bravery, whether or not it should do so.
ppGaz
Service should not be seen in terms of one’s life before or after the service. Heroism is heroism. It stands by itself.
That said, as we all know, we live in the age of politics of personality, and the age of “all truth is political.”
As for strength level reductions (drawdowns) …. we are all in the position of watching a bad reality tv show here. What will the potatoheads do next? Tune in next week. We’re in the weird position of hoping that the dumbbells who got us into this can figure out a way to get out of it without further srewing the pooch. Unless I misread the MSM tea leaves, it all hangs on the ability of the Iraqis to take control of their own security. Let’s just say, I am less than whelmed by this strategy — it’s brought to you by the same folks who went charging into Iraq without giving a frigging thought to that subject, without considering what they would do with the car once they caught it. That fecklessness is now contributing to the mess we are in now. Color my confidence in this leadership “nonexistant” until they do something to convince me otherwise.
James Emerson
Never have I seen a better, braver, and more magnificent hero as when Jessica Lynch came out and said that she had done nothing heroic.
It’s kind of pathetic really when the administration has to invent heroes to sell its dirty little war, but it’s hearteningly so heroic when the anointed hero speaks truth to undercover the sham.
Misha I
“The New York Swines” bemoaning the lack of stories about war heroes?
I think my Chutzpah Meter™ just blew up.
Jim Jones
Where’s pajamas media when you need them? Why is the MSM still relevant? If this revolution is to proceed, we bloggers must cease linking to the NYT.
Andrew Reeves
I find that it’s really damn hard to put together a picture of the long term trends in Iraq because they tend to point in a million different directions. After all, on the one hand, insurgent attacks are becoming more deadly and efficient. On the other hand, they appear to be increasingly moving north and west to the “restive Al Anbar province.” On the other other hand, there’s still nasty bombings in the Baghdad Metro area. On the fourth hand, there appear to be fewer splashy mass-casualty car bombings in the Baghdad metro area. On the fifth hand, the Iranians are getting more and more deeply involved in the Iraqi government. On the sixth hand, the Iraqi Shi’ites seem to mostly be democrats. On the seventh hand, Sadr is still waiting in the wings…Etc. Which is to say that I don’t think anyone really has a handle on the direction in which Iraq may be headed, and indeed, it’s probably headed in several directions at once.