According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, the number of Iraqi army battalions able to operate on their own has dropped from ten in March to six now.
Huh? Wasn't one purpose of the U.S. military's surge to buy time for Iraqi army units to improve their training so that they can become capable of defending their country? Now I'm no math expert, nor do I play one on TV, but shouldn't that number be going UP instead of DOWN!?!?! Isn't this tantamount to driving up a mountain by going in reverse downhill!?!?!
Pace tried to downplay the significance of the dropping numbers by saying the decline was driven by casualties, worn-out equipment and the need to pull units from battle so they can be resupplied. Um... How is that an excuse? Because the soldiers are getting killed, it shouldn't count?
Pace then told reporters, "The fact that a number may be changing in a very narrow band shouldn't be overly a concern."
Eh? A drop of four battalions--from ten to six--is a decline of 40%, and he dismisses that as falling within a very narrow band?" That's like Bush declaring that his less than one percent majority in 2004 qualified as a "mandate."
Perhaps it's time for the American people to start sending calculators to the White House.
Huh? Wasn't one purpose of the U.S. military's surge to buy time for Iraqi army units to improve their training so that they can become capable of defending their country? Now I'm no math expert, nor do I play one on TV, but shouldn't that number be going UP instead of DOWN!?!?! Isn't this tantamount to driving up a mountain by going in reverse downhill!?!?!
Pace tried to downplay the significance of the dropping numbers by saying the decline was driven by casualties, worn-out equipment and the need to pull units from battle so they can be resupplied. Um... How is that an excuse? Because the soldiers are getting killed, it shouldn't count?
Pace then told reporters, "The fact that a number may be changing in a very narrow band shouldn't be overly a concern."
Eh? A drop of four battalions--from ten to six--is a decline of 40%, and he dismisses that as falling within a very narrow band?" That's like Bush declaring that his less than one percent majority in 2004 qualified as a "mandate."
Perhaps it's time for the American people to start sending calculators to the White House.
0 thoughtful ramblings:
Post a Comment