On the front
Odierno takes over
in Iraq
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - In an ornate palace built by Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military command in Iraq changed hands on Tuesday from Gen. David H. Petraeus, who created the strategy known as the surge, to Gen. Ray Odierno, who oversaw its day-to-day operations across a country in which violence has dropped significantly.
Attending the hourlong transfer ceremony were Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, acting Central Command commander; and senior Iraqi government and military officials. Gates later traveled on to Kabul, Afghanistan.
In his first, brief comments as commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, Odierno said, "We must realize that these gains are fragile and reversible, and our work here is far from done."
Too few troops in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - The senior U.S. general in Afghanistan said Tuesday he is fighting the war with too few ground troops, and that even the reinforcements President Bush announced last week are insufficient. He said the shortage compels him to use more air power, at the cost of higher civilian casualties.
Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of international forces in the country, told reporters that he realized the only way he would receive the additional ground forces he needs is for Washington to decide to divert them from Iraq.
McKiernan said his Washington bosses had "validated" his request for three more ground combat brigades, in addition to the Army brigade that Bush announced will deploy to Afghanistan in January instead of going to Iraq.
He said the brigade coming in January will merely fill an immediate need for more help in eastern Afghanistan and cited a need for at least 10,000 additional ground troops, beyond the 3,700 due early next year.
CIA chief: Let us do our job
LOS ANGELES - The best way for the next president to help the CIA would be to "do nothing," agency director Michael Hayden said Tuesday.
"We've been pulled up by the roots to check how we're growing on about an 18-month cycle for about the last six years," Hayden said in answer to a question from the audience after a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
"If asked, I would offer my thoughts to the president-elect's team to pick people you trust who are competent to run these agencies, put them in those positions and the current structure will work well enough with good people," he said. "We're suffering reformation and transformation fatigue."
Hayden outlined some of the key issues the CIA faces.
Iran and North Korea both have the capability to produce nuclear weapons but al-Qaida is the CIA's top nuclear concern because it is most likely to use them, Hayden said.
"There is no greater national security threat facing the United States than al-Qaida and its associates," he said.
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - In an ornate palace built by Saddam Hussein, the U.S. military command in Iraq changed hands on Tuesday from Gen. David H. Petraeus, who created the strategy known as the surge, to Gen. Ray Odierno, who oversaw its day-to-day operations across a country in which violence has dropped significantly.
Attending the hourlong transfer ceremony were Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, acting Central Command commander; and senior Iraqi government and military officials. Gates later traveled on to Kabul, Afghanistan.
In his first, brief comments as commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, Odierno said, "We must realize that these gains are fragile and reversible, and our work here is far from done."
Too few troops in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - The senior U.S. general in Afghanistan said Tuesday he is fighting the war with too few ground troops, and that even the reinforcements President Bush announced last week are insufficient. He said the shortage compels him to use more air power, at the cost of higher civilian casualties.
Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of international forces in the country, told reporters that he realized the only way he would receive the additional ground forces he needs is for Washington to decide to divert them from Iraq.
McKiernan said his Washington bosses had "validated" his request for three more ground combat brigades, in addition to the Army brigade that Bush announced will deploy to Afghanistan in January instead of going to Iraq.
He said the brigade coming in January will merely fill an immediate need for more help in eastern Afghanistan and cited a need for at least 10,000 additional ground troops, beyond the 3,700 due early next year.
CIA chief: Let us do our job
LOS ANGELES - The best way for the next president to help the CIA would be to "do nothing," agency director Michael Hayden said Tuesday.
"We've been pulled up by the roots to check how we're growing on about an 18-month cycle for about the last six years," Hayden said in answer to a question from the audience after a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
"If asked, I would offer my thoughts to the president-elect's team to pick people you trust who are competent to run these agencies, put them in those positions and the current structure will work well enough with good people," he said. "We're suffering reformation and transformation fatigue."
Hayden outlined some of the key issues the CIA faces.
Iran and North Korea both have the capability to produce nuclear weapons but al-Qaida is the CIA's top nuclear concern because it is most likely to use them, Hayden said.
"There is no greater national security threat facing the United States than al-Qaida and its associates," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment