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(Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) Four Voices Their opinions on U.S. strategy in Iraq might differ, but their worries are strikingly similar By paul fattig Mail Tribune If President Bush cares to hear any more advice concerning Iraq before he addresses the nation this evening, several Oregonians have a few thoughts on the subject. But from terrorism expert to congressman, Muslim to former general, none had a solution to what some are beginning to call the Iraqi sand trap. Boosting the troop levels won't help matters, concluded James Adams of Ashland, the author of 13 books on terrorism and a former member of the CIA's Strategic Assessments Group. "Putting more troops in place is not going to make any difference at all," said Adams, now chairman of Vortx Inc., an Ashland-based technology solutions company. Bush is expected to announce a call for a troop increase of up to 20,000, bringing the total of Americans in uniform in Iraq to roughly 160,000. More than 3,000 Americans have died and some 20,000 have been wounded since the war began nearly four years ago. Advertisement "How to counter an insurgency is not a new problem — it's well understood," Adams said. "Imagine a rock being tossed into a pool with the ripples cascading outward. You start by controlling a small area, then expand out from there. That's what we should have done at the very beginning." Instead of sending in sufficient troops to first control a small area, small groups of troops were deployed to control large areas, he said. "We misapplied all counterinsurgency theories," he said. "We have to ultimately recognize this is a failure. Therefore, we have to make accommodations necessary to that failure." That means creating a situation that is acceptable for a withdrawal, he said. Varying versions of what is acceptable include creating a central government that controls all of Iraq, forming a federated Iraq with different sections for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, or a combination of both, he said. "Absent those two things, you have a slow slide into civil war," he said. "Reality seems to require a federation with some kind of central government. Holding on to anything else is just defying reality." U.S. Rep. Greg Walden,a Republican from Hood River, who has visited Oregon troops in Iraq and has supported the war, said Bush's speech this evening will be nearly as important as the one immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "We need to get it right in Iraq and we haven't got it right for awhile," Walden said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "I'm deeply disturbed about the deteriorating nature of security in Iraq," he added. "The violence we are seeing among the different Iraqi parties is very disappointing." But he acknowledged finding a workable solution is extremely difficult. "In some areas, we may need more boots on the ground," he said. However, he would rather see more Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets of Baghdad than more Americans. "We need to get to the point quickly where more Iraqi soldiers are putting down the insurgents and militias," he said. "The role of our troops should be advisers and trainers and special ops, and not just day-to-day infantry patrols that we are doing now." Worldwide pressure should be placed on the Iraqi leadership to rein in the militias, he said. "I would work to end the violence so they can complete efforts to complete the constitution and can get the legs under their country," he said, "then they can enjoy their freedom won at the expense of more than 3,000 American lives." Abdullah Cabral, a practicing Muslim living in the White City area, says Iraq has to be stabilized before American troops can withdraw. "If they can get the Iraq army to control the situation, then maybe they could start pulling out the troops," said the former Catholic who converted to Islam more than 15 years ago. "I'm not too (supportive) on what they're doing over there, but if they pull them out now, they will have a bloodbath," he added. The retired painter and truck driver, who noted the Quran doesn't condone terrorism or murder, traveled on a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 1999. "They are going to continue to make us bleed — picking us off one at a time," he said. "I hate to see Americans being shot up like this." History has shown that any country trying to conquer that region ultimately will pay a steep price, he said. "As far as us being there, the French had tried it, so have the English," he said. "In due time we are going to have to leave like everyone else has." Merrill "Tony" McPeak, a former four-star general who rose to Air Force chief of staff, is also concerned about the Iraqi people, but his greatest worry is for American troops. "I don't think increasing the troops helps us get our foot out of the trap — it just puts 20,000 more targets on the ground," said the 1953 Grants Pass High School graduate who now lives in Lake Oswego. McPeak campaigned for John Kerry in the 2004 election. "We're trapped there — we're playing the other guy's game," McPeak added. "I don't have any good ideas for the situation in Iraq. But I don't think there are any good ideas for it now." McPeak, who served 37 years in the Air Force and was one of the leaders during Desert Storm when George H.W. Bush was in the White House, said his goal would be to make the consequences as bearable as possible for the United States. "My going-in strategy would be to disengage, not on a known timetable because it gives too many options to the enemy, but set a course for disengagement out of there, knowing full well what will follow will be a disaster," he said. "But there is going to be a disaster anyway. "We got our foot caught in a trap which we set," he concluded. "The only way I know out is pull our foot out. And that's going to be very painful." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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