Thread: The Surge Hasn't Worked?

Not too long ago, there were many reasons to get down on Iraq. I mean the decision to dismantle the Iraqi Army was a mistake. The Coalition Provisional Authority and its de-bathification laws were a mistake. At the end of 2006, it seemed that something had to be done to reclaim the momentum. That’s when President George Bush and General David Petraeus took the initiative with the idea of a “Surge”. Just about all the Democrats were against the idea - from Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, and even Colin Powell. But, thanks to the valued leadership of George Bush and the military expertise of Gen. David Petraeus the “Surge” in its 9th month has proven to be a “SUCCESS”. Yes! That’s right.
Right now what I want to share with everybody of some first hand accounts from Max Boot who wrote an article for the Weekly Standard (Feb 4th,2008). In this article, Max travels with a friend Bing West at the invitation of Gen. Petraeus. Max writes, “I saw many achievements and an equal number of obstacles during 11days touring the American brigades[sic] spread across central and northern Iraq”. Moving on. Max writes, “In broad strokes, the picture that emerged was of an Al Qaeda in Iraq(AQI) organization that is on the run but not yet fully eliminated”. Max writes, “AQI has been largely chased out the capital and its southern and northern belts, but the terrorists have taken refuge in the rural areas of Diyala, Salahaddin and Ninewa provinces, where, as part of a new operation called Phantom Phoenix, American, and Iraqi troops are starting to root them out. Likewise, the Jaysh al-Mahdi, the Shiite extremist group headed by Moktada al Sadr, has seen its influence curbed and its ranks splintered, but still remains a threat”. He continues, “ A good deal of work obviously remains to be done before northern [sic] Iraq is pacified - the region now accounts for 61 % of all recent attacks in Iraq (Baghdad Province is second with17%)”. “We saw for ourselves the resounding success in Kirkuk, a city made up of Kurds and Sunni Arabs”. Now listen to this, Max writes, “The security situation is just as good in western Iraq. Al Anbar Province, the scene of the heaviest fighting from 2003-2007, has become so quiet that Marines are complaining of boredom and their inability to earn combat ribbons”. Max finally says, “Many factors account fro the dramatic turnaround. First was the willingness of President George Bush to commit more American forces to what was deemed a lost cause. Just as important was General David Petraeus’s decision to switch the US mission from handing off authority willy-nilly to the Iraqis in favor of trying to secure the safety of the Iraqi population - a basic tenet of counterinsurgency strategy….”.
So, with Al Qaeda on the run (like the dogs they are), insurgent attacks down, Iraqis are coming home from places like Syria; because, Iraq has improved. The city streets are jammed with new vendors looking to take advantage of the new security situation of Baghdad. Iraqis have taken over areas once run by the British. The political process has improved - like oil revenue sharing and provincial elections. For those that invested in America’s defeat, I say, I’m sorry. You lost. You should have given one of the greatest presidents in US History a chance. But, he has proven to the party of GLOOM AND DOOM that America is the winner in Iraq. The SURGE has succeeded. Thank you to the American Soldier and his and her fighting spirit. Where America (if it wants) lands there it will stay. We are the strongest nation with the best troops in the world. I am a former Army man with the 3/383rdreg, 75th Division, and I say God Bless the American troops. And, keep kicking Al Qaeda ASS!

Bush did not get into trouble over Iraq but his lack of response to Katrina. Up until that point his approval ratings looked better than any possible Democrat. Before then he was thought of as a harmless idiot who was good at getting other people to do his thinking for him better than say, Clinton or Carter did for themselves.

Are you alright? honorableone

Originally Posted by honorableone

In this article, Max travels with a friend Bing West at the invitation of Gen. Petraeus.

Well thats unbiased 'seat of your pants' journalism.

[quote=honorableone;513379]

So why don't you Re-Up & volunteer to go to Iraq? Perhaps you have a son/daughter you would like to send?
Thought Not! (just like all your heros in this admin who are very brave....with other people's lives, not their priveledged hides!)

Originally Posted by honorableone, gives a red

bla bla I say that's a fitting name for someone who might be brain-washed by the libs.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Im a brain washed Liberal... :sarcasticfainting:

I always wondered why I kept my flag in the garage by the gas can.

I was going to leave it alone, but now I got to hit it. The reason that the surge is appearing to work has many factors and none of which have to do with troop levels. Al Sadr has been keeping his forces from fighting, but that may soon change, the way Iraqi casualties are counted has changed, seem like the state dept does not like to count those who die in car bombing anymore. British troops withdrew from the south, now it is controlled by Shea with the cooperation of Iran, and the media is complicit in non reporting of the facts on the ground. Hell cant have the elections and debates centered on the war now can we, that would make Lord Bush look bad. Lucky I am here to help;

Al-Sadr's Fragile Peace
Senior U.S. officials in Baghdad don't seem too worried that the six-month deadline Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set for his militia's unilateral cease-fire is about to lapse. "There has been some communication back and forth that appears to indicate that it will continue," said Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. U.S. officials say the cease-fire was a major factor in lowering violence across Iraq
News
Current Time in Baghdad: 3:59:16 AM02/26/08 AP: Troubled Northern Regions Flare Up
Insurgents targeted passenger buses north of Baghdad on Tuesday, as a suicide bomber killed at least eight people west of Mosul and gunmen seized 21 men traveling through Diyala province.
02/26/08 AP: Soldier Allegedly Stages Shooting To Avoid Return To Iraq
A soldier trying to avoid redeployment to Iraq had a friend shoot him in the leg and then claimed he'd been wounded in a holdup, authorities said. Army Pfc. Matthew John Myers, 20, of Apple Valley, limped into a minimart about 9:30 p.m. Sunday...
02/26/08 Reuters: Three bodies found in Baghdad, 1 in Hilla
Three bodies were found in different districts across Baghdad on Monday, police said...A body was found with gunshot wounds in central Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
02/26/08 Reuters: Gunmen kill 2 neighbourhood policemen in Kirkuk
Gunmen killed two U.S.-backed neighbourhood policemen in a drive-by shooting in an attack on their checkpoint in a town south of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
02/26/08 IRIN: Iraq's health sector under pressure
With scores of doctors killed over the past few years, an exodus of medical personnel, poor medical infrastructure and shortages of medicines, Iraq's health sector is under great pressure, a senior Health Ministry official said on 26 February.
02/26/08 AP: 19-year-old Ft. Campbell soldier killed near Baghdad
The mother of 19-year-old Pfc. Michael Phillips of Ardmore, Okla., says she was told Sunday afternoon that her son was killed Sunday morning...near Baghdad when the Humvee he was in was hit by a roadside bomb.
02/26/08 Xinhua: 2 Turkish soldiers killed in operation in N Iraq
Two soldiers of the Turkish Armed Forces were killed in the latest fighting during the cross-border ground operation in northern Iraq on Tuesday, Turkish military said.
02/26/08 Xinhua: Three Iraqis killed in northern Iraq
Three people were killed in two attacks in a town in Salahudin province on Tuesday, a source from U.S. and Iraqi liaison office said. Unknown gunmen stormed a house early in the morning in the town of Tuz-Khurmato...
02/26/08 AFP: Suicide bomber kills nine on Iraqi bus
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus travelling from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine passengers, an Iraqi army officer told AFP.
02/26/08 PANews: Iraq condemns Turkish incursion
The Iraqi government has denounced Turkish incursions targeting Kurdish and demanded an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq. Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the military action was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty...
02/26/08 AP: Probe Sought in Marine Vehicle Delays
The Marine Corps has asked the Pentagon's inspector general to examine allegations that a nearly two-year delay in the fielding of blast-resistant vehicles led to hundreds of combat casualties in Iraq.

Originally Posted by honorableone

The SURGE has succeeded.

02/26/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Kevin S. Mowl, 22, of Pittsford, N.Y., died Feb. 25 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered in Baghdad, Iraq on Aug. 2, 2007, when the vehicle he was in encountered an improvised explosive device.



U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3971 Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 2 Total 3973
Looks like that surge has definitely done its job. Well, atleast if the mission was to continue to put our troops into positions to be murdered.

Very honorable.

I say we find a native Iraqi who hates Iran that could keep a lid on
the country under a heavy handed secular dictatorship--support that
guy in an endless war with Iran to keep them off balance, and fund
it by buying Iraqi oil.

Originally Posted by bla bla

I say we find a native Iraqi who hates Iran that could keep a lid on
the country under a heavy handed secular dictatorship- support that
guy in an endless war with Iran to keep them off balance, and fund
it by buying Iraqi oil.

Hmm me thinks you just described Saddam, go dig him up!!!