Free Republic

A commander had just been removed from America's fight in a distant Muslim country, with another general about to take his place. Almost everyone agreed that the war so far had been a failure, as the insurgents grew bolder and a fall into chaos seemed inevitable. The lack of progress had the president on the political ropes, with plummeting poll numbers and the opposition party poised to take power in Congress and take revenge. The American public had become increasingly fed up over a war in which lives were lost without hope of victory. No, not Afghanistan last week --...

January 11, 2008 -- AS you read these lines, our troops are in the midst of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a "mini-surge" to squeeze al Qaeda and its fast-dwindling band of allies out of their few remaining safe havens in Iraq. Iraqi troops fight beside us against a common enemy. Vast swaths of the country enjoy a newborn peace. Commerce thrives again. At the provincial and local levels, the political progress has been remarkable. As for Operation Phantom Phoenix, our commanders expected terrorist dead-enders to put up a fight. Instead, they ran, leaving behind only booby traps and disgust among the...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 8, 2007 President's Radio Address   President's Radio Address  Audio  En Español       In Focus: Iraq THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Earlier this week, I traveled to Iraq's Anbar Province to visit our troops and see with my own eyes the remarkable changes they are making possible. If you want to see some photos from this trip, go to whitehouse.gov where you can view a slideshow of my visit. Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to the war on terror. This largely Sunni province covers nearly a third of Iraq....