[Rhodes22-list] Fwd: Hello from Iraqi Kurdistan!

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Philip,
 
Thanks again for your info and response.  I expect that 500 rounds is  more 
than 500 lbs of chemicals.  Also, I expect you could access a date  code on 
those warheads to tell you when they were assembled.  Good info but  puzzling.  I 
expect they would use the different chem rounds based on  the situation, 
geography, and metrology - I don’t think you’d want to fire  all 500 rounds for 
effect in any one specific situation.  So I guess you’re  looking at about 150 
rounds for each chem, which is not a lot on a  large  battlefield, if you want 
a persistent effect.  I wonder  what their notional plan was for the 
employment of those rounds?  By chem  type, it’s not a lot of rounds.
 
I am concerned about Iran, I hope you’re right.  Seems to me that if  all 
they wanted was electric power they could buy a reactor and core and save  all 
the effort developing and implementing a processing/re-processing  capability, I 
could be wrong.
 
On the other hand, with commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan I think we are  
stretched pretty thin.  I’m not sure what we can do about Iran if we wanted  to 
do something about it.  Another down side to Iraq is the extent to which  it 
ties up resources and limits options.  Maybe its the European's  turn?
 
I was interested in your comment that things are better in Iraq now than  
they were before the war.  Is that a personal observation - by that I mean,  have 
you actually been there and have you actually seen it?  If you have,  it’s an 
encouraging observation and a message that perhaps needs to get  out.  It 
would be interesting to understand how the average Iraqi’s life  has changed 
pre/post invasion, and how they feel about the invasion and our  presence.  The 
trouble is, I really don’t trust the CPA, or the Bush  Administration to make or 
sponsor that assessment, I think they would pad the  books.
 
I’m with ya regarding their need for a defensive army, I assume you mean an  
Iraqi army, but I think even more important is a lot of Iraqi police.  I  
think pulling the plug on the police after the invasion was a mistake, and a lot  
of Iraqis suffered for it at the hands of other Iraqis.  Also, the police  may 
be positioned to stop the ad hoc bombings and local violence.
 
If the Iraqi army steps up to the task and the police come on line,  what do 
you think of withdrawing US troops to enclaves out in the mountains or  
deserts to minimize irritation of the population, or even withdrawing  them.  We’ve 
resolved the WMD issue, the country’s back up, is there a  reason to hang 
around downtown Baghdad? 
 
Dave