DeadCanDance
Senior Member
- May 29, 2007
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The relatively successful stabilization effort in Bosnia and in Kosovo taught us that we need a ratio of 23 troops for every 1000 civilians, to bring security to a war-torn country.
That would mean we need about half a million troops to stabilize Iraq. This obviously can't be done with our volunteer army.
If you really want to "win" in Iraq, are you willing to have a military draft to achieve your goals?
That would mean we need about half a million troops to stabilize Iraq. This obviously can't be done with our volunteer army.
If you really want to "win" in Iraq, are you willing to have a military draft to achieve your goals?
After success in Bosnia, why failure in Iraq?
International Herald Tribune
2004
WASHINGTON, D.C.: More than eight years after the initial deployment of troops, NATO recently decided that it has accomplished the goals of the mission in Bosnia, and that it will turn over operations to a small EU force later this year.
Though ethnic tension remains, and many administrative issues must be resolved, Bosnians now focus on living their daily lives. Major General James Darden, the officer responsible for drawing down the U.S. mission in Bosnia, recently said, "If we could do it over again, I don't know how we could do it better. It could be considered a model or a template for future international peacekeeping missions."
The contrast with the evolving turmoil in Iraq could not be much starker. Since President George W. Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" shortly after U.S. troops reached Baghdad, more than 1,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died in Iraq. Fifteen months after the international force arrived in Bosnia, not a single soldier had been killed. How, then, has America managed to do so well in Bosnia, and so badly in Iraq?
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/09/14/edmark_ed3_.php