[Mb-civic] Ex-Gen.: U.S. Staying 10 Years in Iraq

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Ex-Gen.: U.S. Staying 10 Years in Iraq

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-brf-iraq-general,0,1296272.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Iraq will need at least a decade to become stable enough for the U.S. 
military to withdraw, said a retired general who commanded the air campaign 
in the 1991 Gulf War.

Retired Air Force Gen. Chuck Horner said Thursday the 10-year estimate was 
based on how long it took to rid Germany of Nazis after World War II.

"Every time we train 10 Iraqis, we can pull out one GI," he told the World 
Affairs Council of the Florida Palm Beaches. "We should have never disarmed 
the Iraqi army," he said before his speech.

President Bush has refused to offer a timetable for bringing home some 
140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. He has said setting a deadline would let 
insurgents wait out the U.S.-led coalition. Democratic challenger Sen. John 
Kerry has said some troops could begin coming home within six months of his 
being in office.

Horner did not criticize the Bush administration directly, but said the 
results of the war in Iraq have been a "mixed bag."

"I've learned not to be for or against war," he said. "War is a terrible 
thing that should always be a last resort."



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