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http://www.spacewar.com/2004/041127134453.ko2mpxtj.html
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US commander warns Iran, others not to underestimate US military power
DOHA (AFP) Nov 27, 2004
A top US commander has warned Iran and other countries to never
underestimate US air and naval power, discounting concerns that US
forces are too tied down in Iraq to respond to challenges elsewhere.
"To deter a nation state you should never underestimate the air and
naval power of the United States," General John Abizaid, the commander
of US forces in the Middle East told AFP in a joint interview late
Friday.
"Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner
that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would
be beyond me. We have an incredible amount of power," he said.
Abizaid made the comment in response to questions about whether the
United States, with the bulk of its ground forces tied down in Iraq,
had the means to meet other contingencies such as a conflict with
Iran.
The United States suspects Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at
developing atomic weapons, but Tehran insists it is for civilian
purposes only.
Abizaid pointed to the US-led assault on the former Iraqi rebel
stronghold of Fallujah as an example of the overwhelming force that
can be brought to bear by a relatively small ground force of some
10,000 troops backed by air strikes launched from US aircraft carriers
in the Gulf.
"And so we can generate more military power per square inch than
anybody else on earth, and everybody knows it," he said.
"If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give
everybody the clear understanding that there is no power than can
match us militarily," he said, speaking as he flew to his headquarters
here from Afghanistan.
Lawmakers from both US parties have pressed for increases in the size
of the army, warning that US ground forces have been strained to
breaking point by a longer, more violent struggle to pacify Iraq than
anticipated.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resisted calls for permanent
increases in the size of the army, relying instead on temporary
increases and a reorganization to squeeze more combat brigades from
the existing force.
"The question is do you need to have a very, very large conventional
land force to deal with the forseeable problems of the next 20 years?"
said Abizaid.
"My answer is if the international community hangs together and there
is not a bloc of nations for example that would come together in some
way as to present a threat to the United States, we've got it about
right," he said.
As it pursues a long war against Muslim extremism, the United States
should rely on local forces to fight insurgents, he said.
"My view is that the way to win these wars, to win the insurgencies in
both Afghanistan and Iraq, you need to build Afghan and Iraqi
capacity, and in the long run the need for large numbers of American
troops will come down," he said.
"So the priority has to be helping countries help themselves. After
all, who better can go against the cellular structures in Afghanistan,
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, wherever you may find them, but the
people that live there," he said.
Meanwhile, more troops are needed in Iraq through the January 30
elections, Abizaid acknowledged. However, no decisions have been
reached on how many are required or where they will come from, he
said. There are now about 138,000 US troops in Iraq.
Options under discussion range from extending tours of duty of more
soldiers, speeding the arrival of others already scheduled to deploy
to Iraq earlier next year, to bringing in extra troops from Europe or
the United States for a short period.
"And of course one of the key things we have to understand is what the
Iraqis are capable of doing or not capable of doing between now and
the elections," Abizaid said.
"So the big question is what American plus Iraqi equation equals good
enough security for the elections, and everybody needs to understand
there is not going to be perfect security for the elections," he said.
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