Rumsfeld; One cold M*therf*cker.

[mburbank]

The Associated Press


WASHINGTON - The Pentagon formally announced Thursday that it had stopped the planned return from Iraq of some 20,000 American troops, giving commanders the extra firepower they believe necessary to confront an insurgency that is taking a mounting toll on the U.S.-led coalition.

advertisement
The decision, announced by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after first being reported Wednesday, breaks a promise to soldiers who were assured when they arrived in Iraq that they would stay no more than one year. By extending their tours of duty by three months, the Pentagon is acknowledging that the insurgency has ruined its plans to reduce the size of the U.S. military presence this spring.

The troops had expected to return home this month after completing 12 months in Iraq.

“We regret having to extend those individuals,” Rumsfeld said, adding that the American public is grateful for their sacrifices. “What they’re doing is important. It’s noble work, and in the end it will be successful,” he said.

***

In his news conference Thursday, Rumsfeld, responding to a reporter's question about why more troops were needed when the situation in the south of Iraq had largely stabilized, said “the reason it is contained is because we have the extra troops there. That is self-evident. Come on, people are fungible. You can have them here or there.”


Main Entry: 2fungible
Function: adjective
Etymology: New Latin fungibilis, from Latin fungi to perform -- more at FUNCTION
1 : being of such a nature that one part or quantity may be replaced by another equal part or quantity in the satisfaction of an obligation <oil, wheat, and lumber are fungible commodities>
2 : INTERCHANGEABLE