GI Special 4H5: Iraq: Game Over - August 5, 2006

Thomas F. Barton

The country is now so dangerous that American commanders are having to shift more goods by air into their heavily defended bases."All battalion commanders try to minimise how often you have to go out," said Major Doug A. LeVien, of the 548th Logistic Task Force. "Any time you go outside the wire, anything can happen." "All battalion commanders try to minimize how often you have to go out. If you don't have to go out, that's a win.""When we first got here, all of our stuff was shipped out by ground," said 1st Lt. Ted Mataxis, 29, of Raleigh, N.C., whose unit is responsible for assembling Humvee tires, engines and other repair parts for air transport.Now "we're sending the majority of our stuff by air," he said. "The only stuff that goes out by ground are the big, bulky items."

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Baghdad's Chaos Undercuts Tack Pursued by US

The failure of the Iraqis to halt the slide into chaos in Baghdad undercuts the central premise of the American project here: that Iraqi forces can be trained and equipped to secure their own country, allowing the Americans to go home.

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