Washington Post: Gen. Ray Odierno: I disagree with Donald Trump on Iraq
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said Wednesday that he disagrees with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s idea that the United States should go into Iraq and seize oil being used to fund the Islamic State militant group, saying that there are limits on what military power can do.
Odierno’s comments came in a wide-ranging briefing with reporters at the Pentagon as he prepares to retire as the Army’s top officer after 39 years of service. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2016 presidential election, said Tuesday in a television interview that he “would go in and take the oil” and put troops in place to protect the oilfields.
Update #1: Trump touts 'militaristic' policies, gets panned by general -- CNN
Update #2: Retiring Army General Challenges Trump’s ISIS Plan -- WSJ
Update #3: A top US general picked apart Donald Trump's ISIS policy -- Business Insider
WNU Editor: I guess soon to be retired General Odierno is not going to vote for Donald Trump.
2 comments:
opens his gob when hes leaving just like the rest of them
Whom do we believe here? Donald Trump a business man who has to make his earnings in the marketplace and as a business person can find himself under the jackboot of the government at any time or a politician in uniform such as general Odierno. Unfortunately in many instances it seems our generals have become little more than politicians in military uniforms in many cases.
While I think, in theory, Mr. Trump's idea of seizing the oil is a good one, the US military is broken to the point that this mission would not be possible for them right now. Even basic national defense is problematic right now for the US military. Mr. Trump does appear to admit the military will need to be strengthened in order to do something like this.
Mr. Odierno is correct regarding the limits to American military power but his abject dismissal of Mr. Trump's idea is troubling. He should at least be asking if it is possible to build the US military to the point where such a mission would be possible.
There are other problems with seizing the oil as well. They are at least twofold. 1.)The US does not typically operate and has not operating throughout its history by seizing the assets of others even when it is justified as it clearly would be in this case. In order to do this, would require a complete change in approach to how the American government and the American people are accustomed to operating. 2.)The men and women in the US military typically signed up to defend America and not for a mission such as this that some might legitimately call "imperial" in nature. The morale of these men and women is already extraordinarily low. To assign such a mission to them at this point risks plunging this morale even further.
While Americans and the American government are accustomed to think of "empire" as bad, this is not necessarily so. If America is to survive an adjustment in thinking may be required here. Also, Russia and China are the world's most powerful countries in the world today. Adjustments in thinking are going to be required here as well. We might ask how can we add value to them. How can we assist China in the South China Sea? How can we assist Russia with regards to Ukraine and Eastern Europe? In exchange for such assistance, what might they be willing to do to assist us in areas such as Iran, defeating ISIS, and helping to make sure our trade routes remain secure?
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