From Geostrategy Direct, subscription.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno has been taking a hard look at the state of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq and believes time is running out for the United States. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps-Iraq since December 2006, and the rest of the U.S. command there have assessed they might have between six and eight months to either stabilize Baghdad or declare victory and begin packing up in 2008.
Odierno knows full well the thinking in Washington. His last assignment was in the Pentagon as the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that task, Odierno oversaw the drafting of numerous options for Iraq, particularly withdrawal. He also knows Iraq, and in his second and current tour has been directing the operations of the joint and coalition forces in all sectors of the country.
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