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Washington Pulse
December 2005
Iraq Likely to Split Three Ways?
The conflict in Iraq consistently is mischaracterized as a “war
on terrorism,” when in fact it is a civil war, says Mark Herman,
vice president of the global consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton
Inc.
The struggle is really about how much power the Sunnis can garner.
“No matter what happens with the Iraqi Constitution, anything
is going to be less than what the Sunnis had under the Saddam Hussein
regime,” Herman said. “We are standing there, trying
to do something they don’t want us to do: remove Sunni power.”
The upshot will be continuing violence against Americans and the
escalation of a civil war among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. “The
word terrorism there is misapplied,” he adds. “It’s
always been pretty much unmanageable without a dictator. Now it’s
going to devolve into three states.”
U.S. Industrial Capacity Found Lacking
The shortage of suppliers of critical war items continues to be
a source of consternation for buyers of military equipment, says
the Army’s senior procurement official.
“The service economy is great if you don’t have to
field an army,” says Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Yakovac Jr., military
deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition. Slower-than-desired
deliveries of armored trucks, body armor and other key supplies
are caused by a lack of industrial capacity, Yakovac tells an industry
conference. “You need some type of indigenous manufacturing
capability … That’s been our problem. Nobody wants to
hear it. But there have been some things we’ve been slow to
provide because there is no industrial base, or there is just one
supplier.”
According to an Army Materiel Command official, current industrial
shortages include ballistic protection materials for body armor,
armored steel for Humvees and the newest jamming devices used to
detonate roadside bombs in Iraq, known as CREW-2.
Truck Fleet Will be ‘Common’ for Army, Marines
The Army and the Marine Corps appear to be at odds on what type
of truck they would like to buy to replace the ubiquitous Humvee.
The Army is seeking a “light utility” truck, while the
Marine Corps envisions a “combat tactical vehicle.”
But with Pentagon budgets becoming tighter, the services will not
be allowed to buy two different fleets of vehicles, and have been
directed to consolidate their requirements so they can acquire a
common fleet. This will be a “challenge,” says Army
Brig. Gen. John Bartley Jr., program executive officer for combat
support. “The Humvee replacement will be joint program with
the Marine Corps … but both services use the Humvee differently.”
The Marines want room for six passengers, the Army wants seating
for four. They have to achieve some sort of compromise before 2007,
when the Army expects to award procurement contracts for new trucks.
“We’ll come to closure on what the requirements are,”
Bartley says.
NATO Chief Worries About China
Marine Gen. James Jones, military chief of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and head of the U.S. European Command, is worried about
growing Chinese influence in Africa. “It’s beyond question
that China is the most aggressive country economically in Africa,”
he tells reporters. China is seeking closer ties with nations in
the oil-rich continent, especially Sudan, to sate its rapidly increasing
appetite for energy, he added.
The United States needs to do more in the region, Jones says. He
quoted one African diplomat as saying: “We love the United
States. You’re always telling us what we should do. Now, China
is giving us the things that you say we need.” Beijing, Jones
says, is flooding the region with free scholarships in China and
aid both in the economic and military sectors. “It’s
something we have to worry about.”
Reported by Sandra I. Erwin and Harold Kennedy
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