As Commander in Chief, it is Bush's perogative to replace his military leaders in Iraq....but he should expect that some will perceive the timing as political rather than strategic if his plan is to announce next week that he wil send more troops to Iraq.
Quote:
In a recent interview, Casey told reporters that he still has doubts about an President Bush’s troop escalation plan in Iraq. "The longer we in the U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq’s security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to take the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias. And the other thing is that they can continue to blame us for all of Iraq’s problems, which are at base their problems. … It’s always been my view that a heavy and sustained American military presence was not going to solve the problems in Iraq over the long term." Abizaid at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing:Senator McCain, I met with every divisional commander, General Casey, the core commander, General Dempsey, we all talked together. And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American Troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is because we want the Iraqis to do more. It is easy for the Iraqis to rely upon to us do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.
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Bush has said repeatedly over the last three years:
"As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters: the sober judgment of our military leaders (june 05)
...
"I'm going to continue to rely upon those commanders, such as General Casey, who is doing a fabulous job and whose judgment I trust, and that will determine -- his recommendations will determine the number of troops we have on the ground in Iraq." (jan 06)
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"And my decisions on troop levels will be made based upon the conditions on the ground, and the recommendations of our military commanders -- not artificial timetables set by politicians here in Washington, D.C." (march 06)
Perhaps it has become more politically expedient to replace them rather than accept their advice.