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June 26, 2005
Known knowns
There was a time when the U.S. Defense Secretary was praised for his refreshing forthrightness. That time has long since passed, but even still, Donald Rumsfeld came through today with a somewhat surprising display of honesty:
Rumsfeld, addressing a question about whether U.S. troops levels are adequate to vanquish the increasingly violent resistance, said, "We're not going to win against the insurgency. The Iraqi people are going to win against the insurgency. That insurgency could go on for any number of years. Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years. [emphasis mine]
I don't know how long this particular insurgency will last. But the time frame so often bandied about with regard to the U.S. occupation has been of the 2-5 year variety. This is used to think about when U.S forces might leave Iraq, or when a stable government might take hold there, or even when the insurgency might sputter out. But now, Rumsfeld himself has broken the magic 10 year barrier.
It's refreshing, really. While I think the time frame he's introducing is still well short of reality, it is a step in a more honest direction.
Posted by Daniel Widome at 10:36 PM to Middle East,
