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Posted on 04/11/2008 1:06:30 AM PDT by Dawnsblood
It is said that generals always fight the last war. But when David Petraeus came to town it was senators – on both sides of the aisle – who battled over the Iraq war of 2004-2006. That war has little in common with the war we are fighting today.
I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.
The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."
As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda's brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.
Iraqis came to respect American soldiers as warriors who would protect them from terror gangs. But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic, school or a neighborhood. They learned that the American soldier is not only the most dangerous enemy in the world, but one of the best friends a neighborhood can have.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
the outrages of Abu Ghraib
This is a great read from the Real Journalist. There are a few quotes in the article that some of you will like to use.
Enjoy!
LS, Yon has a new book out, that just may interest you.
This reporter’s words need to be shouted from the highest mountain tops to the lowest valleys of the entire U.S.A., and the moron Dims and RINOsin DC placed in stocks for public viewing until this war ends.
Thanks for the ping Chgogal. This is the type of information the idiots in DC should have rammed down their throats.
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Thanks for the ping. Great article.
Thanks for this. Incredible article.
Don’t worry about it. I’ll read this to all my university classes on Mon.
Michael is a regular on Hugh Hewitt’s show. I think Michael has a blog - and you can find a link at Hugh’s website.
Great article .. and afforded me a GREAT new tagline!!
How sad is it that Iraq has more respect for our military than many people in our own govt.
Truly the Ernie Pyle of the GWOT.
Great to see him in the WSJ!
Well put.
Mike obviously has been among the most accurate embeds for the past three years plus. Let us hope scores of people that read the article in the WSJ pass it on to those that need a wake up call concerning the golden opportunity this country and Iraq have if the current course is allowed to continue.
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