Another U.S. general hinted on Tuesday that the U.S. military intends to keep its presence in Iraq for a long time.
In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Army Chief of Staff George Casey declared that "Iraq will be a remarkable country in a decade or so if we maintain the U.S. occupation."
A questioner asked: "What are the prospects in Iraq and how will this war end?"
Casey, a former top U.S. commander in Iraq, responded: "Right now, there's so much residual mistrust left over from the time under Saddam Hussein that they're not quite ready to go forward."
"In a decade or so, this will be a remarkable country, if we stick with it," he added.
Casey's comments echo those of the current top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) disclosed that on her recent visit to Iraq, Petraeus told her that the United States "will be in Iraq in some way for 9 or 10 years."
However, many experts said the U.S. military does not have the current resources to maintain a decade-long occupation at or near the current troop levels.
Source: Xinhua
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