Is the Surge Already Producing Results?

Real Clear Politics ^ | January 23, 2007 | Jack Kelly

[Clintonfatigued]

This is surprising and encouraging news.

[SandRat]

Interesting

[Paleo Conservative]

If we'd done this two or three years ago, maybe we wouldn't have lost control of Congress.

[unkus]

Encouraging news.

[Clintonfatigued]

You make a very good point.

[TADSLOS]

Keep up the "skeer"

[FreeAtlanta]

No. If Congress had closed the southern border, deported illegal immigrants, and President Bush had not called border protectors "vigilanties", then the Republicans would not have lost control of congress. I voted with my nose pinched, unfortunately for the Republicans and the country, many conservatives couldn't stomach that. Where have my conservates gone?

[FreedomNeocon]

Not surprising, totally expected, and TOTALLY reversible once the Terrorists realize that the dems (and some republicans) are already trying to defeat the policy.

[saganite]

They plan on waiting us out.

[Cicero]

It's awfully easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. But I also think we should have been doing this sooner. Clamp down on the Saddamite AND the Sadrites. The longer you do it, the better it works. The problem is that they will come back if this only goes on for a limited time.

I also think we should have gone into Syria a couple of years ago, and blocked the border with Iran more thoroughly.

Maybe this is right, maybe it's wrong. What I do know is that if you fight a war, you have to have a plan to win it. And if conditions change, as they did after the fall of Baghdad, you have to change the plan. The worst thing you can do is fight a war with restrictive rules of engagement, because you're worried what the press will say.

They said it anyway.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Agreed, they are waiting us out and I'm sure our leaders know that.

Isn't there a plan to share the oil revenues among the Iraqi's and to do some other things to right the ship? Maybe such steps will change the culture somewhat so that the "insurgency" is less than it otherwise would be.

[elhombrelibre]

I made some of the same points the other day when I disputed a naysayers nay-saying. To the lessons of Fallujah that must have been painfully obvious to al Qaeda, they were also soundly whipped in a nearly untold battle in Tall Afar (untold thanks to Katrina; hence, Bush's fault). In that battle, the US Army proved itself able to fight in an urban environment without taking high casualties. Also, al Sadr's bullies have been beaten previously in Najaf. However, there was no PR advantage in these victories for the US, and the insurgents stayed seemingly undefeated because of the battles and the victories were largely unknown and unreported. In Baghdad, their coming defeat will be impossible to ignore.

[JSDude1]

NOW is the time to stike Al Sadar, and Alqueada/Iranian agents in IRAQ, Now I say while we have them on the run (if prayerfully we do!)..

[navyguy]

"If we'd done this two or three years ago, maybe we wouldn't have lost control of Congress."

Nope, nope, nope... we had to let Political Correctness kill SH*TLOADS of people first.

[JSDude1]

I agree, ++

[Blood of Tyrants]

Last Friday al Sadr ordered the 30 lawmakers and six cabinet ministers he controls to end the boycott of the government he ordered two months ago.

Sounds liek 36 people who ought to be jailed.

[Fred Nerks]

related:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1772575/posts

Military: Mahdi Army weakened

[dmw]

"If we'd done this two or three years ago, maybe we wouldn't have lost control of Congress."

That's right, I believe that wholeheartedly.

One of my greatest concerns regarding the WOT is that we are a nation that reacts after the fact rather than dealing with threats forcefully and decisively like we are finally doing in Iraq. The WOT can't be fought by reacting, is must be fought pro-actively, if it isn't thousands (more), if not millions, of lives will be lost right here on our soil.

[Mr. Peabody]

I want to see a lot more bodies. If they're just going to melt into the woodwork and we can't lay our hands on them then what's the point? These people have to be killed.