Gen Abizaid's decision on Troop levels in Iraq

This is from a transcript of an interview with Centcom Commander Gen. John Abizaid by CNN's Wolf Blitzer (the typos were in the original.):

ABIZAID: That's correct, wolf. Slightly over 140,000. About 142,000. There's well over 300,000 iraqis under arms now as well working for the iraqi government. About 23,000 allied troops on the ground. Pretty substantial military force there.



WOLF: There are a lot of experts who say it's not enough. That if you really want to get the job done, you need twice as many u.S. Troops.



ABIZAID: Well, i think those experts want the u.S. Troops to do all the work, and general casey and i don't want u.S. Troops to do all the work. It's very, very clear to both of us that in order to win in iraq, the iraqis have to assume more and more responsibility and they're doing that and we intend to keep doing that.



WOLF: It looks like they're a long way off from being able to get the job done. They have desertion rates and enormous problems with the iraqi military. I heard yesterday they have 300,000 troops in the iraqi army right now, but you wouldn't know it.



ABIZAID: Look, wolf, i know where we started. We started with zero in the iraqi army and police. Now we're up to well over 300,000. They have their good days. They have their bad days. Iraqi troops are fighting and dying for their country at double the rate that our own troops are taking casualties. The iraqi troops become more and more effective over time. No doubt there have been some instances where iraqi units have failed to perform their duties, but it's getting better over time. We're making progress in that regard, and that's the most important thing can i say.

WOLF: The president keeps saying he relies on you and general casey, the commander in iraq, for advice. That if you say to him, we need more troops, he will give you more troops. Are you ready to tell the president you need more troops?



ABIZAID: No, i just talked to general casey about it the other day. We've got a reserve formation that's down in the kuwait area. We've got additional reserves that belong to me in the arabian gulf area. We don't see a need to commit them to the fight yet, and until they're committed, he don't see ae need to ask for more you should the present circumstances. On the other hand, this notion that troop levels are static is not true. Never has been true, and it won't be true. We'll ask for what we need when we need it, but it's key, wolf, that the iraqi military take on more and more responsibility. It's a hard thing to do. It's hard to have a u.S. Formation in the same area that could do the job and an iraqi unit that's not quite as ready doing the same job, and letting them get through it.



WOLF: If you asked for more trpz -- if you asked the defense secretary, donald rumsfeld, or the president, for more troops, have they ever turned you down?



ABIZAID: No. There's certainly been staffing actions that have taken place where certain types of units weren't available, but by and large, any amount of troops that we've asked for have shown up on the battlefield.

WOLF: And the other criticism sometimes that's leveled is you are afraid to ask for more troops because of the political pressure on you. Don't ask, that's the word coming from the pentagon or the white house.



ABIZAID: You know, wolf, if i were afraid, i wouldn't be in this job, and i'm not afraid of asking for what i need. I absolutely, positively want to win just like general casey and all the other commanders in the field want to. We'll ask for what we need. It's not a matter of getting promoted. It's not a matter of going to another job. It's a matter of doing the job that way we see it needs to be done.

...

There is more including a discussion of the Anbar intelligence report and the allocation of forces for Baghdad as well as a discussion on why the violence in Iraq should not be defined as a civil war. It is a good interview and deserves greater attention, particularly from those who write critical books about the Iraq war.