Posted on 08/16/2007 4:26:27 AM PDT by Kaslin
The only thing this surge will accomplish is a surge of more death and destruction.” That was the prediction of blogger and anti-war activist Arianna Huffington back in December of last year -- one month before the Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as commander in Iraq.
"I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything.” That was the judgment of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in April -- two months before the reinforcements General Petraeus needed to fully implement his new “surge” strategy had arrived in Iraq.
In mid-June, just as troop strength was reaching the level needed to carry out the revised mission, Senator Reid added: “As many had foreseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results."
But now those intended results are being seen – as even some critics of the war, to their credit, are acknowledging. “More American troops have brought more peace to more parts of Iraq. I think that’s a fact,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) told reporters.
“My sense is that the tactical momentum is there with the troops,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said to PBS’s Charlie Rose.
The debate over the war in Iraq is shifting, though more slowly than is the war in Iraq, thanks to a well-funded and determined anti-war movement and too many in the media for whom good news is no news.
A few days ago, CNN’s Kyra Phillips interviewed Lt. General Raymond Odierno, General Petraeus’ top deputy. She might have asked whether his troops now have both the will and a way to defeat al-Qaeda suicide-bombers and Iranian-backed death squads. Instead, her inquiring mind wanted to know: “Do you think that this job that you've taken on could be career suicide?”
Because of scant media interest, most Americans don’t even realize that the so-called surge is a new and different strategy, implemented by General Petraeus because the approach of his predecessors – not least former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield – failed.
Rumsfeld wanted a “light footprint” in Iraq, not an intrusive military occupation. He thought more troops would mean more targets for our enemies. He pushed hard for Iraqis to provide their own security as quickly as possible.
Under the Rumsfeld strategy, most American forces spent most of their time in Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). Cut off from the local population, they received little intelligence. And since they were providing security for themselves but not for Iraqis, Iraqis turned to sectarian militias which grew larger, stronger and more violent.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda in Iraq deployed suicide-bombers to mass-murder civilians as a way to stoke sectarian violence. Al-Qaeda calculated – not unreasonably – that Americans would withdraw rather than remain in the crossfire of a civil war.
General Petraeus, the Army’s top counterinsurgency expert, decided it was time for a different approach. He moved troops out of the FOBs and put them into Iraqi cities and villages where they have been providing security for Iraqis – who have shown their appreciation by providing intelligence that spy satellites can’t retrieve.
He is targeting al-Qaeda, as well as the Shia militias trained, funded and equipped by Tehran – their cells, strongholds and bomb factories. And with added troop strength, he has been able to hold the neighborhoods he has cleared.
It also is true that most traditional Iraqi leaders have been repelled by al-Qaeda’s brutality and extremism. Americans, by contrast, have shown the local sheiks respect, while training and partnering with Iraqis -- making it clear they would like nothing better than to see Iraqis take charge of their own security as soon as they are ready.
On top of all that, U.S. soldiers have been doubling as diplomats: helping to reconcile Sunni and Shia tribal groups, and even bringing insurgents – those not affiliated with al-Qaeda or Tehran – into line with the Iraqi government.
This week, General Odierno launched “Operation Phantom Strike,” a new offensive that aims to pursue the al Qaeda terrorists and Iranian-backed militias displaced from their safe havens by this summer’s earlier actions: Operation Phantom Thunder, and Operation Fard al-Qanoon (the Baghdad Security Plan).
Operation Phantom Strike, if it is successful, will mean more “death and destruction” – mostly for America’s sworn enemies. No doubt, the anti-war crowd will both oppose that and pronounce it a failure even before it’s fully underway. But other Americans – if they learn what is really happening in Iraq -- will support the troops. Most will favor giving them the time and resources they need to complete their mission.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The chances that OBL is already dead are higher than him being still alive. We have heard squat zero nothing (confirmable new) from him for the last couple of years. Zawahiri is the guy to go after.
The very best thing that could happen would be to get this off of the front page and give it some time.
What I'm having a hard time comprhending is how will this war ever be over unless every one of the terrorist are taken care of? Do people really think these extremist are ever going to stop attacking and terrorizing even if we do win the war in Iraq?
The world has to be on board by dealing with this problem or it will continue indefinitely.
Get WHAT off the front page? Good news? The pubbies need all the good news they can get - and months of it.
Hear, hear.
OBL has been pushing up poppies for quite a long time now
Maybe 'Der Spiegel' will tell them...
Good observation. Historically the fanatics have been driven back into their hidey holes when their leadership - and many of their ranks - have been decimated.
We do not need total destruction to stop them for another hundred years. We need only make their cause hopeless.
Jack Murtha needs to plan his evacuation from Congress and from ever saying again he was a Marine. We are winning in Iraq, his “cold blooded Murderers” are being set free and proven innocent, and things are looking very, very bleak for him and his prophecy.
Oh well, we knew all along the real loser was Murtha. Every day that becomes clearer.
Over 500 Iraqis were slaughtered in a single terrorist attack yesterday. It was the single worse terrorist attack since 9/11 and the story cannot even be found in Breaking or Front Page news here. Have Freepers gone off the deep end?
Who is the source of the 500+ dead claim? I haven’t seen a confirmation yet. This attack was covered extensively on FR yesterday with an discussion on the various claims reaching from 60 dead to 200 dead. There are various numbers floating around, MNF have still the 60 dead figure.
We may never exactly know the real number. However to say this was ignored by FR is not correct.
The Interior Ministry said Thursday that at least 400 people were killed in a string of suicide bombings targeting an ancient religious sect in northwestern Iraq earlier this week.
Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that 2 tons of explosives were used in the blasts, which crumbled buildings, trapping entire families beneath mud bricks and other wreckage as entire neighborhoods were flattened near the Syrian border.
The victims were Yazidis, a small Kurdish-speaking sect that has been targeted by Muslim extremists who consider its members to be blasphemers.
“We’ve had some success against them in certain areas, but we’ve also said they do retain the capability to carry out these horrific and indiscriminate attacks.”
Gen. David Petraeus
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/16/iraq/main3173600.shtml?source=mostpop_story
I see nothing good in this story either.
http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001504.html
Up to 500 killed in deadliest attack by insurgents in Iraq, Buffalo News
Iraqi officials: Truck bombings killed at least 500, CNN
A thread with 90 replies is a moderate active thread...a\but if it does not have appropriate keywords or has no keywords it will be missed by a lot of us who depend on the keyword search to sort thru the huge volume of postings......
You’re no better than the 9/11 Truthers...
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