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Decisions on troop levels should be left to commanders, author says

An Iraq war veteran who has recently written a book about his experiences there says decisions on troop levels should be left to commanders on the ground -- not to politicians in Washington.



Captain Robert McGovern has a varied background. The New Jersey native spent several years as a linebacker in the National Football League, under the tutelage of well-known coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, before going to law school at Fordham University and becoming an Army JAG officer. His recent book, All American: Why I Believe in Football, God, and the War in Iraq, conveys his feelings about U.S. involvement in Iraq.

"I feel very strongly that we should be in Iraq, that we can fight there and win, [and] that the troops there believe in the mission and believe the mission can be accomplished," says the active duty Army lawyer.

McGovern says civilian leadership should not be making what he calls "nuts-and-bolts decisions" on how to conduct the war. "Our system is set up -- and I think rightfully so -- that the civilian leadership decides when we go to war and they can decide when we end that war," he offers; "but when it comes to the conduct of fighting that war, it should be left to the generals."

And that includes the current commander of Multinational Force Iraq, General David Petraeus, the JAG officer emphasizes. "What he needs, he should get," McGovern says in reference to Patraeus. "He should be allowed to fight this war the way he thinks fit."

McGovern says he strongly disagrees with any plan proposed by Congress that would unilaterally withdraw U.S. military forces from Iraq.