Posted on 04/26/2007 2:06:51 PM PDT by noname247
The US commander of multinational forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said Wednesday that efforts to quell unrest in the western Sunni province of Anbar have made almost “breathtaking” progress.
Speaking to reporters about the new US strategy to curb sectarian violence in Iraq launched two months ago, based on a US troop increase, Petraeus said: “We are ahead, I think, with respect ... to the reduction of sectarian murders in Baghdad.
“Progress in Anbar is almost something that’s breathtaking,” he added.
The general illustrated his positive evaluation by citing the killing Friday of an Al Qaeda kingpin, identified by the US command as the “security emir” for the east of Anbar province.
(Excerpt) Read more at khaleejtimes.com ...
H/T to Drudge for the Image.....
agreed, but hindsight is 20/20. Bush listened to the commanders on the ground and his advisers and, in retrospect, they were late in seeing the success that al Qaeda was having in spurring the sectarian conflict. Had I one wish in this regard, it would be to turn back the hands of time for at least two years in Iraq for a do over. That not being possible, Godspeed to our troops and Iraqi allies...
Nothing.
He allowed the Shia leadership to push him around and force elections too quickly before Iraq was stable with its own security force.
He took away Commanders Exemption Funds which got rid of Commanders carrot and left them with nothing but a stick after that the insurgency really flared.
He allowed Chalabi to run the de-Baathification program which basically turned anyone who was in the previous government into second class citizens.
And, then he was given the Rresidential Medal of Freedom. What the hell?
The biggest problem I have long had with the President is he has rewarded loyality over competence. George J. Tenet got the Presidental Medal of Freedom on the same day as Bremer. The war would be going very differently today if Rummy was out after the 2004 election along with Powell.
Presidental Metal of Freedom
Good News!
I wish..
Agreed.
BTTT
If the Baathist units had been allowed to remain intact, there would be no hope for change in Iraq. No civilian government. They would have been viewed, rightly, as just a continuation of Saddam’s reign, and the US as powerless (even more so than now, I mean, heh).
I am GLAD that they were ‘broken’ and starved for awhile. They needed some humility. Now maybe they can be useful members of Iraqui society, and not its overlords.
The MSM, Reid, and all the other socialists will ignore this, as always...
Now that’s thinking, in my book.
Harry: “Chuckie, I think I’m going to crap out. How much money do we have left?”
Chuckie: “We’re tapped out. But don’t worry, we'll get the American people to cover you. (Now on cell phone) Hello, the Times? Harry has just rolled the dice and he thinks he just crapped out. What can you do for us?”
Any AFP report is almost certain to be instantly killed by the media, including the A. P. We’ll look for this tomorrow, Friday, in the papers. Hope it’s there but it probably won’t be. The papers will be all Senate vote.
No wonder the Dems didn’t want to attend!
Good news for US is bad news for them!
Thanks for posting this. The roads in Al Anbar are getting smoother. My 2 sons have admitted some positive developments. They have been all over Al Anbar on missions. OBL should be very worried, but Reid and Pelosi will keep trying to bolster his image and deflate our hopes. Keep praying for our real leaders and their troops. We definitely can win and Iraq will be our strongest ally.
I disagree. The choice we had was to reorganize the country around some existing institutions or dismantle them all and build a country from scratch. We chose the latter. That is a long-term process, 7-10 years, minimum - time we didn't and don't have. Had we left the army and most ministries in place, rooting out the higher-level Baathists and more fanatical units, we could have reorganized the country and accomplished a stable government much sooner. And Iraq would have an army the size it needs today but does not have.
Also, by dismantling the entire army, we threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers out of work with no pay and no unemployment. So, of course they signed up with AQ - they got a steady paycheck.
We didn't even destroy all the institutions of Germany post-WWII and there we didn't restore sovereignty until 1954. Rummy and Bremer must have been high on something if they thought the voters would give them that much time in Iraq.
DEAR LOSER HARRY REID IS DEEPLY SADDENED!!!!!!
Talked to my SPC son today who says he has seen a lot more Iraqi Patrols stepping up lately and his convoys are going smoothly in Al Anbar. Haven’t heard that on the MSM yet. The museums are open in Baghdad and people are trying to carry on normal lives. All the stolen artifacts are back and accounted for. Remember? they were pillaged and stolen. Not true. They were protected and preserved-—another thing the MSM forgot to cover. We get great stats on every American Hero killed and wounded and every bomb that goes off seems to have a camera set up and ready to shoot for us to see. The high number of enemy captured or killed is not newsworthy. Come on Iraqis, you can do it. Because Harry says you lost does not make it so.
Of course, that was a talk radio guy who happened to know the officer. He won't be interviewed by the MSM anytime soon.
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