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General: No foreseeable end to the war against terrorism
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Thursday, October 6, 2005
WASHINGTON — The war on terror will go on “for the foreseeable future,” the Army chief of staff said Tuesday.
Speaking at the annual Association of the United States Army meeting, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker noted that the war on terror has lasted longer than America’s involvement in either world war.
AUSA is a nonprofit organization that advances “the interests of America’s Army and the men and women who serve,” according to its Web site.
“We call this the long war, and it will be,” Schoomaker said. He also said it is time for Americans to “wake up and realize we are at war in a very real way.”
The head of Army Staff intelligence made a similar assessment in a separate talk, saying the war against terrorism will go on for “decades.”
Lt. Gen. John F. Kimmons could not say how long U.S. forces will continue to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, but said the military has “pencil-draft” plans to draw down troops in Iraq.
Kimmons reiterated the point that any troop withdrawal would be dictated by conditions on the ground.
Stars and Stripes, Thursday, October 6
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