Posted on 06/29/2007 9:21:12 PM PDT by bnelson44
WASHINGTON - In the face of stiffening insurgent resistance, U.S. and Iraqi security forces now control about half of Baghdad, the American commander overseeing operations said Friday.
Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commander of Multi-National Division Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that progress in securing the capital has been steady and that while he could use more U.S. troops he believes he has enough — with the recent arrival of reinforcements — to complete his mission.
“Some wonder: Are we progressing fast enough? Are we ahead? Are we on track?” he said in a video teleconference from his headquarters in Baghdad.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
“This is a fight against extremists. It’s a fight to put power back into the hands of the average Iraqi citizens and to give them a vote and a voice in their own future, without intimidation or fear. I see progress, a steady progress, in every neighborhood that we’ve cleared and then established a full-time presence.”
This is not exactly a ringing endorsement of success.
Half of Baghdad under controlGee, already? It's only been what 5 yrs or so?
God bless our troops.
Half of Baghdad under controlWith that news I'm thinking the Democrats really do have a legitimate bitch about the handling of the war.
Within weeks now, you will see why Hillary has refused to apologize for her Iraq vote- She will claim that this is the right track the she voted for originally. Progress in Iraq will leave Obama and Edwards flapping in the breeze.
THE DEMOCRATS CERTAINLY DO HAVE A LEGITIMATE BITCH, SEVERAL AS A MATTER OF FACT
You’re kidding, right? We can barely hang onto what we’ve got, even after the big surge. This is a tragic waste of American lives and lots of $, for what? What exactly will victory look like in Iraq? Only 10 beheadings a day instead of 20?
If, by “legitimate bitch” you are referring to Hillary, Nancy, and Barbara - I agree.
Victory in Iraq will look like Iranians standing up to the Mullahs and demanding their freedom. This has never been about Iraq.
Now it is said that there are some people who are so blind and do not understand the extreme importance of winning the war in Iraq for our freedom, for our way of life, and for the future of many generations to come.
You are so right
Lot of trolls out tonight, jveritas.
Too bad kids don’t learn how to read history in school anymore. They all think that its like TV, solution in half an hour.
Also, as an eminent military strategist, you say the surge is over. Possibly you went higher in your military graduate education than the commander on the ground.....
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said he does not expect the “surge” of 30,000 additional troops to Iraq to finish their job by September.
http://oxfordmedievalist.blogspot.com/2007/06/petraeus-surge-wont-be-over-by.html
Please keep coming to Free Republic... a website whose subtitle should be Free Education .....to poorly educated liberals.
Ah, the name calling begins.
Well, everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but from looking at history, I would say this guerilla war could have been predicted from the outset. In fact, this is why Bush 1 didn’t pursue it in the first Gulf War. Military historian Martin van Creveld says the invasion of Iraq was one of the biggest military blunders in history. Oh, here is a brief bio.
“Martin van Creveld (born 1946) is an Israeli military historian and theorist. He holds degrees from the London School of Economics and The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he has been on the faculty since 1971. He is the author of fifteen books on military history and strategy. Van Creveld has lectured or taught at virtually every strategic institute, military or civilian, in the Western world, including the U.S. Naval War College, most recently in December, 1999 and January, 2000.”
But I guess he’s just another kid.
SUNNI militias that once fought US troops are now seeking to join them, frustrated by al-Qaeda’s influence in parts of Baghdad, a US commander said.
Maj Gen Joseph Fil, commander of US forces in Baghdad, said working with the militias compensates for insufficient Iraqi police presence in some neighborhoods.
“Some of them who have previously been fighting us have come to us as we’ve spoken with them and they want to fight with us,” Maj Gen Fil said.
“They are tired of al-Qaeda and the influence of al-Qaeda in their tribes and in their neighborhoods and they want them cleaned out and they want to form an alliance in order to rid themselves of this blight.”
The decision to work with militias, which had previously been cited by Washington as major forces of instability inside Baghdad, follows efforts in Anbar province to help Sunni Arab sheikhs combat Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda.
“We think it’s a very positive development, we’re excited about it.
“But we are frankly being cautious,” he said by videolink from Baghdad.
The strategy of working with local sheikhs to develop tribal police to secure their own neighborhoods is being expanded to other areas of Iraq as well, US generals say.
“We’d like to do the same thing with some of the Shia groups as well,” Maj Gen Fil said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21993188-1702,00.html
“It was the other half that was the problem all along.”
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