Word: pentagonal
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That's if you can find the house in the first place. The U.S. armed forces' awesome technology is of limited use in a low-intensity war, in which guerrillas can attack at a time and place of their choosing. Already the Pentagon has withdrawn space-age systems like the Global Hawk high-flying drones from the conflict, although they could conceivably be used to stop foreign fighters sneaking into Iraq. "Too much of our stuff is too complicated for what is happening in Iraq now," says an Army colonel. "All the smart bombs are worth nothing...
...growing number of Iraqi security forces--now, according to Rumsfeld, 131,000 strong--will augment the troops of those members of the coalition who still have a stomach for the fight. It is likely, however, that there will be plenty of U.S. forces in Iraq for some time. A Pentagon official in Iraq says the plan is to eventually take all U.S. soldiers in Iraq off the street and into their bases, letting Iraqis conduct most routine patrols. But, he adds, "America will probably have bases here for 10 to 12 years." Bremer assumes that the provisional government will want...
...bright note: the fighting within the Administration over Iraq policy may be ending. There are still some in the Pentagon who would like to see Iraq run by their longtime ally Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the Governing Council and the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, even though he clearly has little political support there. But the Pentagon, which has called the shots for a year, is finally giving in to reality. Strengthened by the addition of Blackwill, a tough operator with a nice trifecta on his resume--he worked for the President's dad, mentored Rice when...
...officials originally posited that many of the attackers were criminals Saddam had released from jail on the eve of the U.S. invasion as well as foreign terrorists allied with al-Qaeda. Now the Pentagon believes that the overwhelming majority are former Baath Party officials and other Saddam loyalists. Major General Charles Swannack Jr., commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, told the Washington Post last week he believed Saddam planned the insurgency in advance of the war. U.S. Central Command chief General John Abizaid dismissed the idea. According to the former Saddam aide, the deposed President is not leading the resistance...
...troops can bring as much as $1,000, five times that if G.I.s die. Abizaid said last week coalition forces are facing fewer than 5,000 insurgents in all. That figure, while based on interrogations of Iraqi fighters, is "little more than a smart guess," says a senior Pentagon official. Among the estimated 5,000, military officials say, are perhaps a couple of hundred foreigners who have infiltrated Iraq to confront the Americans. The former Saddam aide said he had met two Libyans who came to Iraq to join the battle, both of them veterans of the civil...