Post by François Obieglo-Molenaar. on Aug 23, 2007 19:02:14 GMT 1
WASHINGTON — Shifting the U.S. military mission in Iraq to only combat support and terror-fighting will wipe out most of the achievements made in the last three years, warns the latest National Intelligence Estimate released Thursday.
That dire prediction, buried deep within the unclassified version of the report, states:
"We assess that changing the mission of coalition forces from a primarily counterinsurgency and stabilization role to a primary combat support role for Iraqi forces and counterterrorist operations to prevent AQI (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) from establishing a safe haven would erode security gains achieved thus far," the report states.
The NIE also concludes that Iraq's internal political struggles, ongoing sectarian violence and terror threats leave the country in a precarious situation for the next six-12 months.
The unclassified version of the report also points out that Iraq's security has faced "measurable but uneven improvements" since January.
That dire prediction, buried deep within the unclassified version of the report, states:
"We assess that changing the mission of coalition forces from a primarily counterinsurgency and stabilization role to a primary combat support role for Iraqi forces and counterterrorist operations to prevent AQI (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) from establishing a safe haven would erode security gains achieved thus far," the report states.
The NIE also concludes that Iraq's internal political struggles, ongoing sectarian violence and terror threats leave the country in a precarious situation for the next six-12 months.
The unclassified version of the report also points out that Iraq's security has faced "measurable but uneven improvements" since January.