Tag Archives: Iraq      In the midst of the Vietnam War, an
American senator proposed his country simply declare it had won
the war and was now sending its troops back home. Colonel
Timothy R. Reese, a top military adviser urged his superiors in
a secret memo to “declare victory and go home” months ahead of
the current deadline. Reese argued “the massive partnering
efforts of U.S. combat forces with ISF(Iraqi security forces)
isn’t yielding benefits commensurate with the effort and is now
generating its own opposition.” He supports the end of all
American effort by August, 2010.  Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates and President Obama are concerned American military
success may not be able to be retained by Iraq military forces
since what has been achieved is fragile and could readily be
undone. A recent report from the RAND corporation warns Iraqi
forces will not maintain efforts at peaceful solutions to
problems and will revert to use of force, thus ensuring renewal
of violence.  The Reese memo begins with re