Meryl Yourish extracts this bit from a New York Times piece on Iraq:"My assessment is that if you put enough pressure on them, they will come apart and won't fight," General McCaffrey said in an interview. "The notion that they will retreat into the built-up areas and turn them into a kind of Stalingrad is laughable."
"I don't think they can handle the synergy of American military power, the violence and speed," he said. "A war could entail a few thousand U.S. casualties. But my honest judgment is that if we are serious about this, it would take 90 days to build up our forces and 21 days for the campaign. I think they will unravel." McCaffrey should know, since he was one of those who caused them to fall apart the last time. This is what I was referring to, with phrasing not as elegant, in yesterdays comments on the subject. |