No one thought indeed.
Posted on 07/03/2009 4:58:35 AM PDT by kellynla
The pullback of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities this week, right on schedule, was a near-miraculous milestone. It was met with nods and faint smiles across America; outright fanfare should have been more like it.
All who helped make this a reality - American troops and military leaders, the Iraqi police and government, and, yes, former President George Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - have earned our thanks.
President Obama gets credit, too, for keeping what worked in America's counterinsurgency strategy rather than shredding it just because it had his predecessor's fingerprints on it.
Three years ago, no one thought the day would come. A year ago, doubters were out in full force. Our troops' feet were stuck in sand, they said. Dollars and lives were wasted. The word was thrown around: quagmire.
But the military surge implemented in early 2007 turned the tide, as successfully as any military strategy has in modern times. Al Qaeda in Iraq kept up the bloodbath and beheadings, and lost Iraqis' sympathy. American troops held cities secure, earned trust and turned over responsibilities to the locals.
All that hard work, all that blood spilled, have paid this ironic dividend: Iraqi leaders can now brazenly say good riddance to U.S. forces - even as many of the Iraqi people hope out loud that troops don't pull out too quickly. They don't want things to slide back to hell.
Iraq remains a dangerous place at a precarious moment in its history. Some 130,000 American armed forces remain in country. But a Muslim-majority nation in the heart of the Middle East is on the path to being a stable and secure democracy.
Huzzah.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
ping
“And Obama should have showed some class by inviting GWB to the WH this week to recognize his efforts & courage in leading the fight & winning the war in Iraq. But then that would have taken a bit of “class” that Obama doesn’t possess. “
BINGO!! Instead 0bama will take all the credit for himself if it goes well and blame Bush if it goes awry.
Obama can’t take credit for anything....He neither believed in the war, supported the surge or negotiated the exit of our forces. Iran doesn’t have a damn thing to worry about.
Barack Hussein Obama has the blood of American soldiers on his hands. A fine way to say Happy Fourth of July to our troops. Barack the magic president used the distraction of the troop pullout in Iraq to hide the fact that he traded the murderer of five US soldiers for the bodies of five British troops. He released his brother just because. Happy Independence day.
Per the National Review:
About two weeks ago, the Obama administration released Laith Qazali after extensive negotiations with the Asaib al-Haq terror network. That network has long been in negotiations with the fledgling Iraqi government, dangling the possibility of laying down its arms, renouncing violence, and integrating into Iraqi society, provided that its top members — particularly Qais and Laith Qazali, as well as Ali Mussa Daqduq — be released. Realizing, however, that these terrorists were responsible for kidnapping and killing American soldiers in gross violation of the laws of war, the Bush administration had declined to release them.
President George W. Bush would not negotiate with terrorists, as it violates the laws of war. By refusing to negotiate with terrorist, President Bush kept our troops, civilian contractors, embassy officials and civilians abroad safe. By entering into negotiations with terrorists, B. Hussein Obama has endangered them all. Our troops are now fair game for kidnap and torture.
Per the National Review:
The Obama administration has not only released Laith Qazali, it has been in negotiations to release his brother, Qais Qazali, as well. The negotiations and release were carried out in flagrant disregard of the longstanding policy against exchanging prisoners for the release of hostages. Undermining that policy endangers all American troops and civilian personnel — as well as the troops and civilian personnel of our allies — by encouraging terrorists to kidnap them to use as bargaining chips.
...
Asaib al-Haq operatives told Iraqi-government officials that they would release the Brits in exchange for the Qazali brothers and Daqduq. The Bush administration refused....
By contrast, President Obama was persuaded to free Laith Qazali outright...
Not only did President Hussein negotiate with terrorists, he gave one away for free. No wonder our economy is in a shambles, he can’t even trade with terrorists. Oh, and the President Hussein remark, that is what Islamic clerics in Sudan are calling him, as they ask him to tell the truth about 9/11, and hold Israel responsible for that attack on America.
As we head into the Independence Day weekend, please take time to call, fax, email and write the state run media (demanding to know why they aren’t covering this), the White House (to tell President Hussein that he has the blood of the innocent, the blood of the patriots, American blood on his hands, as the violence in Iraq is again on the rise, due to his weakness), the Pentagon (pressure from the Joints Chief of Staff), and the Congressmen and women in your area. Please don’t forget our troops and what President Hussein is doing to them. I have never been so disgusted by the actions of someone in my life.
B. Hussein Obama, you have the blood of every American who is kidnapped, tortured and killed overseas on your hands. You are a national disgrace and a poor excuse for a man.
Bill Turner
Idaho State Director
The Patriotic Resistance
www.resistnet.com
No one thought indeed.
1. We release a lot of detainees already, even ones we know had U.S. blood on their hands, as part of amnesty programs. A lot of the guys that I rolled up are back on the street, due to programs like this that all went on under President Bush. I'm no fan of Lord Zero, but he's not doing anything new here.
2. We've had the Qazali brothers a good long time now. We've got all the intel out of them that we're realistically going to get. They should have been turned into worm food long ago (again, under President Bush). Since they're still stealing our oxygen, using them as bargaining chips is a step up from where they are now. We can:
(a) get the bodies of the Brit troops back. I've worked with Brit troops, and they're our best friends in the world.
(b) track the Qazalis and see what new bad guys they lead us to.
(c) JDAM them if they go back to causing trouble (there's very little need to try and capture them alive again, as they've been under our interrogators already).
(d) let the Iraqis have them. If the Qazalis go back to causing trouble, the Iraqis will arrest them, not us. They won't put them in a Caribbean prison and agonize on the Sunday talk shows about the moral content of their nation in regards to terrorist detainees. Iraqi interrogation tools say 'Craftsman' on them.
So, I understand your point, but we haven't been fighting a kinder, gentler war once Obama took over. We just said hello to the new boss, same as the old boss. I was on my last nerve with our government once I realized that people my team worked hard to catch were targets again, because they had been released. That was in 2005. These days, I'm just happy to see we're getting something out of it.
The Iraqis have as good a shot at a good future now now as they've ever had in their long, sad history. If the place falls apart now, it's because the Iraqi people failed.
The U.S. military has done everything possible to give Iraq a fresh start. It's up to the Iraqis to prove that it was worth it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.