| WASHINGTON, May 18, 2008 – President Bush noted the improved security situation in Iraq’s southern oil city of Basra following meetings with Iraqi Vice President Abd al-Mahdi in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, today.
President Bush stands with Iraqi leaders after their meeting May 18, 2008, in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. With him, from left, are: Hoshyar Zeban, foreign minister; Vice President Abd al-Mahdi; and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih. White House photo by Chris Greenberg
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. |
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Bush said he told Iraqi representatives at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East that he’s impressed with the progress being made in Iraq. “We talked about Basra and the success of the Iraqi government in Basra in dealing with Shia extremists,” Bush said.
The people of the Middle East must understand how important a successful Iraq is to the greater region, Bush said.
Al-Mahdi said the leaders discussed the way forward on the security, political and economic fronts. “We are working together, really, Iraq and the United States,” the vice president said. “And we were always optimistic even in the worst days.”
Operations in the north continue to put pressure on al Qaida in Iraq, while residents in the southern city of Basra are reaping the benefits of security.
Operations throughout Iraq show that Iraqi security forces are taking a larger role in bringing security to the people.
In the northern city of Mosul yesterday, Iraqi police unearthed a large weapons cache with hundreds of mortar and artillery rounds and rockets. Local Iraqi police acted on tips to find the cache, coalition officials said.
Also in Mosul, coalition forces captured three wanted terrorist suspects and detained a dozen additional men during operations targeting al Qaida in Iraq leadership and financiers Saturday and Sunday. Today, coalition forces disrupted a planned suicide car bombing attack and detained two suspected terrorists.
In Diyala, two female suicide bombers attacked Iraqi security forces and the Sons of Iraq, yesterday. The attacks killed one and wounded 17.
Iraqi security forces called on coalition air support during an operation near Khan Bani Saad, yesterday.
Iraqi soldiers were attempting to disarm a roadside bomb when they began taking fire. The attack killed one Iraqi soldier.
An Air Force jet dropped a precision-guided bomb and destroyed an arms cache and killed four enemy personnel. A coalition helicopter destroyed a suspect vehicle in the area. The attack resulted in five secondary explosions and the death of two suspects.
Iraqi soldiers captured a Shiia Special Groups cell leader, believed to be responsible for coordinating roadside bomb and rocket attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces in Husayniyah, approximately 20 miles north of Baghdad, May 16.
In Basra, Iraqi security forces are bringing stability to the streets, officials said. The oil-rich city is crucial to the Iraqi economy and the Iraqi security forces operations of the last month have largely taken back the city from criminal elements.
In the latest sign of returning security, Iraqi soldiers helped 550 patients at a public health assessment at Basra’s Tannumah District Public Health Clinic, May 11 to 14.
Baghdad remains a center of gravity for operations against al Qaida in Iraq, Special Groups and criminal elements, officials said. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers killed two Special Groups criminals and discovered two weapons caches May 16. Multinational Division Center soldiers discovered two weapons caches in separate operations May 15 and 16.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 residents of Sadr City joined together for a peaceful prayer meeting coordinated by tribal leaders May 16.
The prayer meetings were organized to express a unified desire for the Iraqi government to restore peace and security to the district, officials said. It marked the first large gathering of local residents since March 23, when the security situation in Sadr City deteriorated due to the criminal activities.
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From Hot Air:
Guess who realized the surge is working?
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posted at 7:36 am on May 18, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
My friends at Power Line noticed an interesting part of the Associated Press report on the operations in Mosul to destroy al-Qaeda in Iraq’s last territorial stronghold. Nouri al-Maliki left Mosul and returned to Baghdad when Nancy Pelosi showed up in a surprise visit, and apparently the surprise went both ways. Pelosi sounded like General David Petraeus, although I doubt the suspension of disbelief was all that willing:
The prime minister returned to Baghdad from Mosul — where he has been overseeing the crackdown — to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who made a surprise visit to Iraq on Saturday.
Pelosi, a top Democratic critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, expressed confidence that expected provincial elections will promote national reconciliation.
She welcomed Iraq’s progress in passing a budget as well as oil legislation, and a bill paving the way for the provincial elections in the fall that are expected to more equitably redistribute power among local officials.
“We’re assured the elections will happen here, they will be transparent, they will be inclusive and they will take Iraq closer to the reconciliation we all want it to have,” said Pelosi. She also met with Iraq’s parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq.
Pelosi, who also traveled to Iraq in January 2007 shortly after the Democrats assumed congressional control, has been a sharp critic of the Bush administration’s conduct of the war and has pressed for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country this year.
Let’s see. Iraqi Army taking control of national security — check. Maliki building support from Sunnis and Kurds — check. Congressional benchmarks for provincial elections, de-Baathification reform, oil revenue distribution, and general national reconciliation being met — check.
And Nancy Pelosi acknowledging all of these signs of the surge’s success … checkmate.
Power Line wonders whether this might be the start of a new tactic by Democrats to declare the war won and demand that the US bring the troops home. That would certainly sound better than Harry Reid’s declaration of defeat on the floor of the Senate, which also included a demand to retreat at full speed from a war we have now all but won. In an election year, it might sound quite a bit better, but it would also remind people that Democratic leadership has absolutely no idea what it’s doing in terms of military strategy and tactics, and instead react like frightened sheep to each news flash.
I suspect that Pelosi’s analysis will change significantly when she returns to American soil. For that reason, we’ll just keep this AP report on file here at Hot Air, in case anyone decides to rewrite history.
