The Assessments of Lieutenant General John Vines And General John Abizaid
General calls Iraq pullout 'destabilizing'
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 23, 2005
The top tactical commander in Iraq says an abrupt pullout of U.S. troops would be "destabilizing" and labeled "disturbing" Washington's heated political debate that has some Democrats calling the war unwinnable.
Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the Multinational Corps Iraq, said that 36 Iraqi battalions, about one-third of the total force, are now responsible for their own security sectors and can fight the insurgency. But they are not yet ready to operate totally independent of U.S. supply lines and tactical advice.
Because of that, he said, now is not the time for an American withdrawal.
"Iraqi security forces are able to conduct operations in a large portion of their area with only limited coalition support," Gen. Vines told Pentagon reporters via a teleconference from Baghdad. "They do require our support at this time. That support will be increasingly less over a period of time, but a precipitous pullout, I believe, would be destabilizing."
Gen. Vines' U.S. troops, which number 160,000, are now fighting against a backdrop of a heated debate in Washington over the course of the war. Some Democrats want a fixed timetable for troop withdrawals, a move President Bush rejects because, he says, it sends the wrong signal to terrorists and Saddam Hussein loyalists.
Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, upped the ante last week. He called the war unwinnable and asked that a six-month withdrawal from Iraq begin immediately, triggering a fierce House debate Friday night on a resolution which would call for just that. It failed 403-3.
Even before the troop debate, Democrats charged that the commander in chief deliberately misstated the intelligence on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction. The White House struck back, starting last week, saying the president presented the same intelligence on WMD that some Democrats used to justify their vote for using force to oust Saddam.
"Of course the debate and the bitterness is disturbing," Gen. Vines said. "But after all, we are a democracy, and that is what democracy is about is people will have differences of opinions."
Asked about troops' morale, Gen. Vines said, "Certainly soldiers are concerned about whether or not they enjoy the support of not only their elected representatives, but the people, and they know that they have their support."
Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander for Iraq, told The Washington Times on Monday that Washington needs to be patient. He predicted that Dec. 15 elections to pick a permanent Iraqi government and the maturation of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) will lead to progress in 2006 in subduing the insurgency.
"It's not hard to deal with patience in the Middle East. Everyone is patient," the four-star general said.
"The only problem [is] that there appears to be a patience problem ... within the Beltway," he said. "When I talk to civilian audiences, I don't get the same sense of impatience that I detect here in the Beltway."
Defense sources say it is likely that Gen. Abizaid next year will recommend a sizable U.S. troop reduction below what is considered the base of 138,000. The Pentagon temporarily pushed the level to 160,000 to provide added security for the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum and the Dec. 15 parliamentary election.
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 23, 2005
The top tactical commander in Iraq says an abrupt pullout of U.S. troops would be "destabilizing" and labeled "disturbing" Washington's heated political debate that has some Democrats calling the war unwinnable.
Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the Multinational Corps Iraq, said that 36 Iraqi battalions, about one-third of the total force, are now responsible for their own security sectors and can fight the insurgency. But they are not yet ready to operate totally independent of U.S. supply lines and tactical advice.
Because of that, he said, now is not the time for an American withdrawal.
"Iraqi security forces are able to conduct operations in a large portion of their area with only limited coalition support," Gen. Vines told Pentagon reporters via a teleconference from Baghdad. "They do require our support at this time. That support will be increasingly less over a period of time, but a precipitous pullout, I believe, would be destabilizing."
Gen. Vines' U.S. troops, which number 160,000, are now fighting against a backdrop of a heated debate in Washington over the course of the war. Some Democrats want a fixed timetable for troop withdrawals, a move President Bush rejects because, he says, it sends the wrong signal to terrorists and Saddam Hussein loyalists.
Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, upped the ante last week. He called the war unwinnable and asked that a six-month withdrawal from Iraq begin immediately, triggering a fierce House debate Friday night on a resolution which would call for just that. It failed 403-3.
Even before the troop debate, Democrats charged that the commander in chief deliberately misstated the intelligence on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction. The White House struck back, starting last week, saying the president presented the same intelligence on WMD that some Democrats used to justify their vote for using force to oust Saddam.
"Of course the debate and the bitterness is disturbing," Gen. Vines said. "But after all, we are a democracy, and that is what democracy is about is people will have differences of opinions."
Asked about troops' morale, Gen. Vines said, "Certainly soldiers are concerned about whether or not they enjoy the support of not only their elected representatives, but the people, and they know that they have their support."
Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander for Iraq, told The Washington Times on Monday that Washington needs to be patient. He predicted that Dec. 15 elections to pick a permanent Iraqi government and the maturation of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) will lead to progress in 2006 in subduing the insurgency.
"It's not hard to deal with patience in the Middle East. Everyone is patient," the four-star general said.
"The only problem [is] that there appears to be a patience problem ... within the Beltway," he said. "When I talk to civilian audiences, I don't get the same sense of impatience that I detect here in the Beltway."
Defense sources say it is likely that Gen. Abizaid next year will recommend a sizable U.S. troop reduction below what is considered the base of 138,000. The Pentagon temporarily pushed the level to 160,000 to provide added security for the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum and the Dec. 15 parliamentary election.
posted by John | 3:33 AM
6 Comments:
TRUE FAMILY
AND
TRUE UNIVERSE
CENTERING ON TRUE LOVE
Reverend
SUN MYUNG MOON( The Moonie Cult)
Founder's Address
15th Anniversary of The Washington Times
June 16, 1997
Washington, DC
Respected guests from Washington D.C. and abroad, dear staff of The Washington Times, eminent world literary leaders, ladies and gentlemen. I deeply appreciate your taking time from your busy schedules to attend this meeting.
Today, as we celebrate The Washington Times' 15th anniversary, I cannot help but feel deep emotion. Fifteen years ago, when the world was adrift on the stormy waves of the Cold War, I established The Washington Times to fulfill God's desperate desire to save this world. Since that time, I have devoted myself to raising up The Washington Times, hoping that this blessed land of America would fulfill its world-wide mission to build a Heavenly nation. Meanwhile, I waged a lonely struggle, facing enormous obstacles and scorn as I dedicated my whole heart and energy to enable The Washington Times to grow as a righteous and responsible journalistic institution.
Today The Washington Times Corporation can be proud of its development into a world class global media enterprise. Since the end of the Cold War, the world began to realize that the direction taken by The Washington Times was correct. History will not forget our contribution. The efforts of The Times to revitalize the moral and spiritual values of the United States and the world are being recognized as absolutely urgent and necessary at this time.
I want to convey my warmest appreciation to all The Washington Times staff who have worked so hard together with me to develop The Times. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the American and world leaders who have offered their unwavering support.
What can be the pride of the Unification Church? We know we can be very proud of being Unification Church members, but for what? We founded a very influential newspaper, The Washington Times, Insight Magazine, and the World and I monthly magazine. Father created all of this in Danbury, not under normal circumstances. The Washington Times didn't start in Danbury but during the court battle, before Danbury. Father signed the final go-ahead on The Washington Times in the courtroom. Is that wonderful or not? Why? America was trying to hurt Reverend Moon-trying to do evil to him, trying to make him perish. Under this tremendous pressure, Father still loved.
Without The Washington Times, America could not have lived. Which power can embrace and overcome the other-the power of hate or the power of love? Love can embrace hatred. That is a natural course of events.
We must have an awareness of how splendid a work The Washington Times is. It is a unique newspaper in the whole of the United States. It reveals the facts and is not self-interested. The goal is to publicize and record the facts. When the satellite countries try to go against the Soviet system, they have no way to gather enough material. The newspapers here in America are liberal and rather procommunist. They hardly even print anything against communism. However, The Washington Times, paying no attention to what other newspapers said, audaciously reported the facts. The satellite countries took that information as precious material with which to oppose Russia.
These satellite-based media gathered all their material through The Washington Times because without it, they have no source of correct information. 100% of the material that Radio Free Europe uses came from The Washington Times. In this respect, The Washington Times has really, truly played a great role in making today's satellite countries what they are.
Within America, each different government department must understand what stance the media is taking. They have to make an analysis and a brief for each department and distribute this to all the different departments. They take material from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times-but The Washington Times provided by far the most crucial information. 65-75% of their quotations are from The Washington Times. Do you see what an important role The Washington Times played in providing the necessary information? This is used all throughout the U.S. embassy-not just in the American government, but everywhere in the world. We made a great foundation. Use it as your armament. Is that a good feeling or not? (Yes.)
The borderline of where Father is needed is everincreasing, stretching. Reverend Moon's teaching and what he has endured and what he has implanted will be needed more and more. This is an American stage and Father is talking so publicly about these things that it might be seen as boastful, but unless it were real, could Reverend Moon say it? As Father said to the Washington Times staff members, the eighty leaders, a few days ago, "If I were not standing here, then America, like Insight, the Washington Times., the World and I, the television center, Universal Ballet Academy, the summit organization and media organizations all over the world would not be here." Father made that foundation under a situation of severe persecution. Did Father make that kind of foundation going an easy or a difficult way? How difficult of a way? In all of American history, no one has stood on that kind of foundation, withstanding the severe difficulty and persecution Reverend Moon has. That is most important. Who did that? God and Reverend Moon.
Accept God and Reverend Moon. That is the theoretical conclusion. No smart American can deny that answer. This is the reality. Don't you think so? Is it true or not? [True.] You true American people, answer clearly this morning. Is it true or not? [Yes.] Who did that? The American government or Reverend Moon? [Reverend Moon.] He became the victor. I don't need an adjective for it. The victor, that is all. Who can deny that? Who can accuse me?
The creation of the Washington Times in 1982 was r that purpose. American conservatives cannot deny Father's great influence for moral values. In 1975, around the time when America was retreating from Vietnam, American morale was incredibly low. Was there any politician talking about anti-communism at that time? Only Reverend Moon. He was talking not only about anti-communism but about victory over communism. Certain things that Father has said seemed crazy at that time but look what has happened -- every prediction Father made became reality. This is the reason that American politicians and the American president all respect Father.
In 1975 and 1976 liberalism was everything. It was fashionable to be liberal. The Washington Post was liberal and conservatism was gone! In those days America had absolutely no hope. The major cities had no people; they were deserted because the liberals said "no more cities, cities have gone." But at that time the Unification Church moved into New York City and bought the New Yorker Hotel to serve as its World Mission Center, paying only 5.6 million dollars. Now people offer 100 or 200 million dollars, but we say "No, not enough," because of Father's foreknowledge. We bought the HSA Headquarters building and the Tiffany building and many other buildings because Father knew the future. So who reversed liberalism, leading to its defeat, and predicted that conservatism was coming? Father. That's why, during that Reagan era the restoration of the economy occurred, which they called 'Reaganomics'. It's true; it's the reality of history. Many of you don't know that during the election of 1980 nobody thought that Reagan would win. Even the Republican party thought he could not win certain states no matter how much money they could spend. Therefore, they closed up the Reagan Republican campaign HQ in certain cities. For example in New York City there was no Republican campaign. It was the Same for New York state, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Connecticut. In those six states there was nothing. But Father knew they would win, and said so what happened? At the end of the day when the election was completed, all six states were victorious and a great victory came nationwide. Father predicted it the night before in the News World.
Look at the Washington Times. No one in America helped to create that. Without Father's guidance for the Washington Times, this country couldn't have found a direction. Literally nine hundred million to one billion dollars has been spent to activate and run the Washington Times. Did we make any part of this money and give it to Father, saying, "Father, please use this to continue the Washington Times"? The world thinks it is true that Reverend Moon really exploited young Americans by making them go out and sell flowers. The amount of money that American members raised was not even enough to support themselves with food and shelter every day. Father brought tons of money to this country to accomplish his goals. So how can they say Reverend Moon exploited the youth of this country? Because of this Father was persecuted.
Father wants that, no matter how difficult the situation. Do you know that I was creating the Washington Times during the court case? It was on tape that the American government wanted to kill me. They were my enemy-I understood that. But God until now, has been forgiving and loving His enemies, investing and forgetting that He invested in His enemies. I followed God's attitude-I forgave everything. Do you know how much the Washington Times spent? 830 million. How much money! Only one, The Washington Times , spent that much money. How much money was spent for all American activities? But Reverend Moon didn't take a loss. Why? I gave everything, centered on true love. So it expands everyday. So that I could affect the depth of American thinking, filling it full of true love water. Completely full, occupying everything.
The Unification Church, centering on Reverend Moon, came to America to connect that victorious foundation with the American government, the presidential level. The Christian world didn't take the subject position. Instead, the Unification Church inherited the Christian world, combining with it into one. Father is standing upon that combined subject-object foundation. Reagan became the president in 1980 through me. Think about it. Five years after the Vietnam War, a conservative, moral, rightwing Reagan could become the President of the United States. Who made that? Reverend Moon. During my time in Danbury jail, in 1984, I helped Reagan too. He was my enemy. Bush, too. I chose those great American leaders, centering on the Unification Church as subject, with the American government as object-connected into one. The Washington Times helped America overcome the communist world. The Washington Times completely serving the nation, eliminating the Soviet curse. That means that, centering on Father, the rightwing united into one and digested the leftwing. That is the resurrected Jesus' world foundation. Occupying those two thieves completely, and Barabbas' position. Islam is like Barabbas' position, that third one. God's religious side doesn't have that kind of concept. On Satan's side, the communist world represents the body and the Muslim world is the mind. Syria represented the center of Soviet terrorism. How can God digest that kind of situation? I chose the Syrian Grand Mufti, and brought him and his followers here for forty days education, digesting them here in America. After that they are completely following me. Three Muslim nations fulfilled this course, which is now finished. Reverend Moon combined with those three, turning them around completely 180 degrees. Now occupying them, with no accusation, no persecution. Making one direction.
Father is not so deeply interested in The Washington Times . Father can withdraw at any time. All he has to do is to say, "Closed." Then Father does not have to spend tens of millions of dollars every month. Father can divert that money into Russia or anywhere else. Father is investing millions of dollars per month into the media. Do you know what millions of dollars can do in a country like Russia?
In the last nine years, the Church poured eight hundred million dollars in cold cash into The Washington Times. 800 million. You have no idea how much money that is. If you deposited that money into a bank, the interest alone, at 10% a year, would be eight million dollars per month. At 12%, it would be even more. That is one hundred million dollars a year. This is just the money that the Church has invested in the American media. With ail the other money put together, Father has invested two billion dollars in the providence in America. This is a fact. How can we be the enemy of America spending that kind of money on this country, shedding tears for this country? Of course, two billion includes money spent all around the world, including Europe, but in America, our Church spent more money than anywhere else. If we had kept on buying buildings, what kind of investment property would we possess today? If we invested all that money in real estate, today our property, would be worth trillions of dollars. Father knew how precious, how painfully-gotten this money was, but Father knew that he had to safeguard the free world, the whole world against the invasion of communism, so Father fought against communism, fought against iniquity. Now we are getting results. We had to spend that money that way. It is not because Father did not know the investment value of that money.
When the Bush administration heard about the changes at the Washington Times, they were worried that we might stop its publication. They don't want us to stop. We have been spending seven million dollars every single month, on direct and indirect expense for the Washington Times. How much of that did you fundraise? Maybe two or three million at the most. And the American government wanted to get Father for taxes due on the amount of seven thousand dollars! Father didn't know anything about tax laws and didn't have any time to care either. What Father did was his very best to recover this country. Saving this country was the only crime he committed. Besides this seven million Father spends on the Washington Times, how much more did he spend elsewhere? Now we are ready to make this known to the world. Now America had better compensate for the damage they have done. Father doesn't expect the government to pay him back What they owe to Reverend Moon, Father is encouraging them to pay back to the American Unification Church. If you are going to be entitled to receive that compensation, you had better stand on the same foundation as Father himself. Otherwise how can you qualify yourself? If someone wants to give lots of benefit to you, but how many people actually stand on the firm ground where Father can say, "He is qualified"? How many among us are like that? That is the main point. One has to pass at least a minimum test to reach this qualification.
After losing the Vietnam War, communism was rampant. The college campuses were dominated by leftist thinking. This was the peak of communism in this country. Who could have expected that someone representing the right wing of conservative politics, namely Reagan, could become president in 1980? What is the so-called Reagan doctrine? That Reagan doctrine was coached along by the Washington Times Who was the one who inspired Reagan to proclaim that the devil's representative on earth was communism? The Washington Times boldly said that. Also who emphatically asserted that in the Gulf War, Christianity and Judaism should stay united, never separating? The Washington Times. If we did not do that, the result would have been a religious war between even the Arabic religion there. And there would be division, like between the Western hemisphere and Eastern hemisphere of religion. Buddhism and Confucianism would have taken the Moslem side because they originated in the Orient. This separation between East and West danger which can be averted only through Father's direction.
Last May, I traveled to Washington and spoke at a dinner commemorating the tenth anniversary of The Washington Times, which I founded. I was reminded that when I first announced the founding of The Washington Times in 1982, there were many people in America who ridiculed me. Some experts predicted, even if I founded a newspaper of acceptable quality, that I would run out of funds in six months. And if not that, then the paper would degenerate into nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Unification Church and would end up as a weekly newspaper, read by almost no one.
Now, ten years later The Washington Times is counted among the top three papers in terms of influence among the 1,750 newspapers published in the United States. It is the first newspaper read by the president of the United States when he gets up in the morning. On August 13, President Bush gave an exclusive interview to Wesley Pruden, editor-in-chief of The Washington Times, the first such interview of the campaign season for President Bush with a daily newspaper.
Year after year, The Times is awarded for its excellence in editorial design. In 1989, in the American Newspaper Society's annual design competition in the United States, it received Best of Show honors, the award of highest excellence awarded only by the unanimous vote of a jury of twelve judges. Furthermore, in the category of editorial writing, The Washington Times received their highest award for two consecutive years, something that had never before been achieved by any newspaper in the United States.
During these past ten years, I have invested onelion dollars in this newspaper. If I were pursuing political influence or personal wealth, or if I were trying to proselytize my religious beliefs, I would not have invested such a sum in a newspaper. Simply put, I founded The Washington Times in order to fulfill the Will of God.
I know that God loves America. America is a center of traditional Judaism and Christianity. It is the cradle of the spirit of modern Christianity. God's desire is that America play a central role in rescuing the entire world and that America maintain its traditional values, which have fallen into confusion in recent years. During the Cold War, God placed America in a position to block the attempt by communism to gain world domination. In the context of God's Will, it was most important that there be a newspaper that had the philosophical and ideological foundation needed to give encouragement to the people and political leaders of America. I certainly could not leave Washington, the capital of the United States, to be a victim of the leftist Washington Post.
So where are we now, after ten years? The bells heralding the collapse of communism rang out clearly on November 9, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall. And on Christmas Day, 1991, the communist empire founded on atheism vanished from the earth after having held the world in fear for seventy-four years.
I am not saying that The Washington Times accomplished all this by itself. These developments were the results of God's providence. God, however, works His will on earth through human beings. I do not have the slightest doubt that The Times played a decisive role in bringing about the fall of communism. God used the newspaper as His tool to bring an end to the most pernicious worldwide dictatorship in history-and gave freedom to tens of millions of people. Even if I had spent ten billion dollars instead of one, I could not have made a more valuable investment.
The mission of The Washington Times, however, is not yet finished. The fall of communism does not automatically lead to the coming of world peace. Nor does it mean that the ideal society of God's desire will establish itself without any further effort on our part. It is still too early for the free world to be toasting its victory, for the world is still faced with too many urgent problems that strike terror in the hearts of all humanity.
Even though elsewhere Jeff is displaying the habit of lifting others material from his Leftist conduits and then presenting it as his own written work (in lieu of his own four-letter worded fits of oratory), Republicus always properly credits the author (if available) or source of a borrowed text that he posts, as he has done for this one and another (or so) as coming from the Award Winning *Washington Times.*
Jeff didn't like the report (which is most certainly echoed in other papers, anyway), so then he-- the Liberal champion of Free Speech, Free Press, Freedom of Religion, and Diversity (Yeah, right)-- decided to respond by shooting the messenger, i.e. posting a comment that was an irrelevant speech by the owner of *The Washington Times* and founder of the Unification Church, or, as he immaturely put it, in screaming, capital letters to alert you to danger: "SUN MYUNG MOON," with a sneering, little reminder for you simpletons: "(The Moonie Cult)."
Oo. Be afraid.
Yes, Republicus gets it.
The snide liberal fascist--i.e. Jeff-- is not only suggesting that anything coming out of a paper owned by a religious eccentric who's socially and politically conservative is material used for brainwashing (and by extension insidiously implying that all staffers, journalists, columnists, advertisers, readers, and even trolling bloggers of that paper are already cult members or are being subliminally proselytized without knowing it), but is also demonstrating his knee-jerk impulse to discredit and demonize any message which proves him the liar and makes him cringe (i.e. the report from Iraq), an impulse which would most assuredly turn to censorship had he the power.
So yes. Be afraid of liberals like Jeff.
It also shows that Jeff has never been to formal dinners, which are often laced with such acknowledgements of and thanks to a patron deity to give the occassion some spiritual depth and make the evening extra-special (especially when the keynote speaker from Table One is a religious leader who founded the paper being feted, duh).
Republicus is not a member of the Unification Church, but if its value system is compatible with the value system of Republicus, and does not infringe upon, compromise, or diminish his own excellent faith in a God of Life, Love, Freedom, Forgiveness, Resurrection, and yes, Judgment, --and One who Protects and Blesses the United States of America to boot!-- then good for the Unification Church.
Republicus found nothing offensive in Reverend Moon's Address.
It sounds like the old bird has some sort of messiah complex and a delusion of grandeur, but so what.
He's earned it.
It's not like he's advocating cutting off the heads of liberals who disagree with him, so what's your beef?
Bill Clinton thinks he was the Second Coming of John F. Kennedy.
So does John F. Kerry, come to think it).
Republicus would daresay that a psychodynamic introjection (which goes way, way, way beyond inspirational role-modeling) with a dead human would be more a cause of concern to see in a public figure than identification with a Living God.
Wouldn't you agree, Jeff?
On second thought, maybe not, depending on the nature of the identification...
Anyway, if you have a problem with the content in *The Washington Times,* take it up with Editor-in-Chief Wes Pruden, not Moon.
Go ahead. I dare you. Pruden would go Benihana and chop, slice, and dice you in no time.
And all of that is irrelevant to what Vines and Abizaid said, anyway.
What makes you cringe more, Jeff, this:
"In 1975 and 1976 liberalism was everything. It was fashionable to be liberal. The Washington Post was liberal and conservatism was gone! In those days America had absolutely no hope. The major cities had no people; they were deserted because the liberals said "no more cities, cities have gone"... So where are we now, after ten years? The bells heralding the collapse of communism rang out clearly on November 9, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall. And on Christmas Day, 1991, the communist empire founded on atheism vanished from the earth after having held the world in fear for seventy-four years."
This:
I know that God loves America. America is a center of traditional Judaism and Christianity. It is the cradle of the spirit of modern Christianity. God's desire is that America play a central role in rescuing the entire world and that America maintain its traditional values, which have fallen into confusion in recent years. During the Cold War, God placed America in a position to block the attempt by communism to gain world domination. In the context of God's Will, it was most important that there be a newspaper that had the philosophical and ideological foundation needed to give encouragement to the people and political leaders of America. I certainly could not leave Washington, the capital of the United States, to be a victim of the leftist Washington Post."
Or this:
"Now, ten years later The Washington Times is counted among the top three papers in terms of influence among the 1,750 newspapers published in the United States. It is the first newspaper read by the president of the United States when he gets up in the morning. On August 13, President Bush gave an exclusive interview to Wesley Pruden, editor-in-chief of The Washington Times, the first such interview of the campaign season for President Bush with a daily newspaper."
P.S. *The Washington Times* has an excellent Commentary section, arrayed with columns from brilliant conservative minds, of both genders, diverse races, backgrounds, fields of occupation, and religious faith, and from around the world.
Check it out (not you, Jeff).
Sooner or later, Gotham, you would find yourself sharing a bunkbed with Lee Harvey.
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