This time from the CENTCOM commander.
Wonder what Rumsfeld will have to say about this.
Abizaid said U.S. and coalition forces face a "classical guerrilla-type campaign," the first time that description has been used by a high-ranking official. Before yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other officials said there was no coordination, widespread attacks or support from the population that typifies guerrilla operations.
Rumsfeld chided reporters recently for using the terms "guerrilla warfare" or "quagmire," which he implied conjure up images of Vietnam. "There are so many cartoons where people, press people, are saying, 'Is it Vietnam yet?' hoping it is and wondering if it is," Rumsfeld said. "And it isn't. It's a different time. It's a different era. It's a different place."
About the same time, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq strongly rejected the suggestion that U.S. troops were facing guerrilla warfare. "It's not close to guerrilla warfare because it's not coordinated, it's not organized and it's not led," said Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno.
But Abizaid yesterday assessed the situation differently. "I think that describing it as guerrilla tactics being against us is, you know, a proper thing," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment