1st Cav, 25th ID may be deployed to Iraq

By Steve Gilliard

Buried at the end of a story by Joe Galloway on US troop shortages is the following:

Pentagon officials said even more National Guard and Reserve troops may have to be called up for deployment to Iraq. Elements of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas, and the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii are likewise under consideration for deployment to Iraq.

Kim Jong Il must be laughing hard. With elements of the 1st Marine Division already in Iraq, moving the Cav or the 25ID to Iraq would leave forces in Korea exposed. The 25ID has trained to fight in Korea since the end of the Vietnam War. The entire history of the unit has been fighting in the Pacific and East Asia.

The 1st Cav is the only uncommitted heavy division left in the US Army and has fought in every major war since its creation in 1921.

The situation is going from bad to worse. In reality, the US has lost most of their strategic flexibility and can barely commit a force to Liberia. We now must risk our strategic reserve, with 21 of 33 brigades already deployed overseas.

We got into this mess because we forgot our allies have a vote on our behavior. We didn't need them for war, but occupation is a different story. They have no incentive to join an occupation which looks like its violently opposed across Iraq.

Several shootings in Baghdad took place in Shia neighborhoods.
Mosul, which is not in the Sunni belt, had two soldiers die today, while Basra remains split between those who mistrust the British and those who will not lift a finger to help them.

Posted July 20, 2003 07:24 PM