Anthony Cordesman Quotes (32 Quotes)

You can both vote and hold a rifle.

The question is, what does victory mean It certainly isn't the number of people we kill or detain,

It's going to be 'Let's Make a Deal. The important thing in some ways was that there was a large vote. The concerns that it would fall along ethnic and sectarian lines were validated.

Obviously every time you get a weakening of the coalition, it highlights the lack of international support for the U.S. mission.

How much of the battle space can the Iraqi forces take over, and who is actually doing the fighting - those are the key measurements. The measure cannot be the elimination of the insurgency, as desirable as that would be. You cannot eliminate all of the bombings.

Serving soldiers develop a tremendous sense of obligation to their comrades, and are trained to see the mission through. They know the military and the risk, and they have already chosen to serve their country.

This is the first step to allow Iraq to have a unity government, but it's only a first step. The question is, will the new prime minister be capable of leading the country

They have begun to realize that when you focus only on the U.S. it gives the impression that the U.S. doesn't care about Iraqis.

Our peace efforts are perceived throughout the region and Iraq as weak and dishonest and the United States is viewed as little more than Israel's proxy.

I am somewhat surprised when I hear statements from people at the political level that the insurgency is somehow declining when the command inside Iraq says just the opposite,

The figures vastly overestimate the actual area of influence and are at least as meaningless as the worst reporting on pacification in Vietnam.

It's almost a creeping polarization of Iraq along ethnic and sectarian lines, We see a slow, steady loss of confidence, a growing process of distrust.

If the polls weren't negative, these demonstrations would not matter. They are and that helps make them a media magnet. Looking back at Vietnam, however, it's demonstrations in thousands and tens of thousands that ultimately matter.

We need to understand that this is a warning, ... Over the next few months we're going to see a referendum on a constitution that's going to trigger more debates on Shiite identity ... The idea that the constitution or referendum is going to clear this up is unrealistic.

Whatever happens, both the campaign and the new government that will take over have to address the issue of federalism, have to address money, have to address national versus provincial versus local power which is different from provincialism and federalism. They have to address the role of religion in politics, the constitution forces the new government to do that. So what we're talking about is a period, which to put it mildly, is already troubled which will last through mid-December when the election occurs and then almost certainly is going to last another three months while a government takes over. And this is the reality whether people would like to spin this into a symbol of democracy or not.

If they succeed in creating an inclusive structure in virtually any peaceful form, Iraq succeeds. If they fail, the U.S.-led coalition fails almost regardless of its military success and that of the new Iraqi forces, and Iraq will move towards division, paralysis, civil conflict andor a new strongman.

The problem with the speeches is they get gradually more realistic, but they are still exercises in spin. They don't outline the risks. They don't create a climate where people trust what's being said.

What could tear things apart is a strong civil war.

Much insurgent activity consists of bombings of soft civilian targets designed largely to provoke a more intense civil war or halt the development of an effective Iraqi government, rather than progress towards control at even the local level.

People with antiwar views will see this as confirmation of all their conspiracy theories about the war. And that's at least partly because the government didn't get its facts straight.

The best thing we can do is to make sure that our training helps them to create truly national military forces and truly national police forces because that then takes away any sense that one needs militias to provide security.

will end in snatching defeat from the jaws of uncertainty.

The Yemeni central government has done what it can, but it is very weak. It is not a matter of the government not trying. But there are limits to it can do.

There is no clear or meaningful difference between insurgency and civil war, or between national terrorism and civil war for that matter.

Having a country stay in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that effectively is proceeding to defy it doesn't necessarily strengthen the treaty.

We essentially used a bull to liberate a china shop.

The problem is people don't live on economic statistics.

America and its allies face many risks and problems in Iraq, but it is all too easy to snatch defeat from the jaws of uncertainty.

What you have is the insurgents are trying to block the formation of a coalition government and trying to cause a civil war. That means that a lot of these attacks now focus on Iraqi civilians.

Ulster (Northern Ireland) and the Balkans have already shown how difficult it is to split cities, and with Iraq's centralized and failing infrastructure, and impoverished economy, violence and economics cannot be separated.

By any historical standards the casualties are incredibly low. But America has changed. On the one hand, Americans don't have the stakes where their sons and daughters were subject to the draft. On the other, we have a media and a people that have been ed

It' going to take time for this political process to unfold. Coalitions can take a long time to form, and delay isn't necessarily an indication of failure.