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...."Historically we are winning." The words were those of Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi. This is a scion of Baghdad Shiite aristocracy, at ease with French and English, a man whose odyssey had taken him from Marxism to the Baath, then finally to the Islamism of the Supreme Islamic Council. "We came from under the ashes, and now the new order, this new Iraq, is taking hold. If we were losing, why would the insurgents be joining us?" He had nothing but praise for the effort that had secured the peace of Baghdad: "Petraeus can defend the surge," he said....

“What are we doing here?”  That is a question I hear quite often from those who oppose our actions in the Middle East.  What are we doing here?  We are giving people the opportunity to fight for their freedom.  Freedom is not a concept that is given, it is earned.  It is the costliest of human aspirations and the one thing most easily squandered.  I take the dhimmitude that infects the West today as my “Exhibit A”.  Those who have no concept of the cost of freedom are willing to give it away all in the name of a false...

By Jim Miklaszewski Chief Pentagon correspondent NBC News Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET Sept 12, 2006 Jim Miklaszewski Chief Pentagon correspondent • Profile WASHINGTON - A new military intelligence report offers up the most pessimistic assessment yet of military prospects for al-Anbar province, the vast no-man's land in western Iraq that has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war — from hard-hit Fallujah to the provincial capital Ramadi, which the U.S. military has never controlled. A top secret report by a Marine Corps intelligence officer says there's no chance the U.S. military can end insurgent violence in al-Anbar, and...

The Real Patreaus-Crocker StoryBy Robert Haddick | 12 Sep 2007 On Monday, September 10, 2007, General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker delivered their long-awaited testimonies to a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. General Petraeus made the headlines when he announced that the U.S. force level in Iraq would begin to shrink, starting this month. But Ambassador Crocker delivered the day's real news with his description of Iraq's slowly simmering political development. In his testimony, Ambassador Crocker revealed that federalism, or decentralized governance, is a concept now beginning to find favor with Iraq's...

President Bush, defending an unpopular war, ordered gradual reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq on Thursday night and said, "The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home." Still, Bush firmly rejected calls to end the war, saying the insurgents who threaten Iraq's future are a danger to U.S. national security. American troops must stay in the battle, Bush said, and more than 130,000 will remain after the newly ordered withdrawals are completed in July. "The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is: return on success," the president said.

Sometimes I feel I must be one of the few people left in America who is not a military expert. For example, all sorts of politicians have been talking about all sorts of ways we ought to "redeploy" our troops. The closest I ever came to deploying troops was marching a company of Marines to the mess hall for chow. But people who have never even put on a uniform are confident they know how our troops should be redeployed. Maybe this is one of the fruits of the "self-esteem" that is taught in our schools instead of education. The...

Kirk Johnson, formerly the Deputy Director for Assessments in the Joint Strategic Planning and Assessment office at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, met with bloggers yesterday to help the community understand the elements that comprise the security improvements in Iraq that result from the troop surge. Fresh from Iraq (he left less than two weeks ago), Johnson relayed his take on the progress report, mentioning that the surge was initially put forth last year as a “new way forward.” Like any new plan, the surge required some tweaks. Johnson, who was also the chief statistician for Ambassador Ryan Crocker, said...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq - At this wind-swept base near the Iranian border, the main points of Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress were met with widespread agreement among soldiers: The American troop buildup is working, but the military needs more time. Most of the soldiers at FOB Delta, some 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, were out on patrol or sleeping when Petraeus' comments were broadcast late Monday and Tuesday in Iraq. But some heard it and others have read about it, and say they agree with their commander's assessment. Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicholls of the 71st Medical Detachment,...

Washington -- The upbeat assessment Monday on the state of the war in Iraq by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared to provide President Bush with the breathing space he needs to forestall major congressional defections from his war policy. Although Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said gradual troop reductions could begin this month, it would not be until mid-July of next year that troop levels would drop from the current 168,000 to the levels they were before Bush announced the escalation last January that has sent 30,000 more soldiers to Iraq. Political analysts had predicted...

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker are briefing Congress this week on their assessment of the security situation in Iraq. Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq | Slides "The military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met. In recent months, in the face of tough enemies and the brutal summer heat of Iraq, Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces have achieved progress in the security arena." Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, Sept. 10, 2007

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2007 – The top U.S. military commander and diplomat in Iraq entered their third round of congressional testimony this afternoon reiterating their belief that although the mission in Iraq is challenging, it’s making progress the United States can’t afford to let slip. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee the signs of progress they’ve seen in Iraq, as well as the frustrations. Much of the testimony mirrored discussions aired during marathon sessions over the past two days. Petraeus...

Mitt Romney this morning blasted the liberal political group MoveOn.org for questioning the independence of General David H. Petraeus on the eve of his much-anticipated testimony today to Congress on the Iraq war. In a full-page ad in today's New York Times, the group asked in a headline, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and accused the top US military commander in Iraq of "cooking the books for the White House." Romney called the ad "outrageous," adding, "Like the men he commands, he is risking his life to protect our freedoms here at home. We should not prejudge him or...

With Gen. David Petraeus's report coming out soon and Bin Laden's tape Just coming out, whose message do the Democrats fear more?

CARLISLE BARRACKS, Pa. -- Officers studying at the Army War College walk the ground at nearby Gettysburg where Pickett's men walked across an open field under fire. They wonder: How did Confederate officers get men to do that? The lesson: Men can be led to places they cannot be sent. Today's officers lead an Army that was sent into Iraq in 2003, and by 2004 the operation became, as an officer here says, "a deployment in search of a mission." Since then, missions have multiplied. Today's is to make possible an exit strategy. Gen. David Petraeus's Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field...

The Left: The messenger who's usually killed is the one bearing bad news. But Gen. David Petraeus is the victim of character assassination by congressional liberals and their fanatical financiers for delivering good news. You'd think the anti-war crowd would do a better job of camouflaging their loathing of the U.S. military. But as the U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress that that surge was achieving its objectives, they gave their game away: The George Soros-funded MoveOn.Org, which has financially supported the campaigns of dozens of Democratic congressional candidates, ran a full-page New York Times ad charging that "General Petraeus...

Columbia, SC - Fred Thompson released the following statement regarding MoveOn.org's recent advertisement in the New York Times about General David Petraeus: "MoveOn.org has today, in effect, said that the General leading our brave troops in Iraq is betraying his country. This is the group that funds the Democratic Party. I call upon the Democratic Party and all of the Democratic candidates for President to repudiate the libel of this patriotic American."

Top US General: Iran Fighting "Proxy War in Iraq" September 10, 2007 Turkish Press WASHINGTON -- Iran is fighting a "proxy war" through Shiite militias against the Iraqi state and US-led forces in the war-torn nation, US war commander General David Petraeus said Monday. "It is increasingly apparent to both coalition and Iraqi leaders that Iran, through the use of the Quds force, seeks to turn the Iraqi special groups into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq," Petraeus said. Petraeus was testifying at a crucial...

Today, I received news that an acquaintance lost his son in Iraq. The news of the death of this brave young warrior has touched the hearts of many. During this time of war, we have lost close to 3,800 warriors in Iraq while trying to bring stability to the area. However, today, the news was different. The news of a this fallen warrior hit home after watching the Democrats display their absolute disdain for our military by acting in an insulting disrespectful manner toward General Petraeus.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Roughly 95 of 140 battalions that make up Iraq’s army, national police and special operations forces are capable of leading operations, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq told the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees today. Petraeus joined U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker during the first of two days of hearings on the status of the war and political developments in Iraq. “There's a very substantial number of Iraqi battalions, especially Iraqi army battalions, that are very much in the fight,” the general said. “Indeed, in many...

Following is testimony given by Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Monday.Mr. Chairmen, Ranking Members, Members of the Committees, thank you for the opportunity to provide my assessment of the security situation in Iraq and to discuss the recommendations I recently provided to my chain of command for the way forward. At the outset, I would like to note that this is my testimony. Although I have briefed my assessment and recommendations to my chain of command, I wrote this testimony myself. It has not...