Thread: effects of the surge

Do you want to know about progress in the Surge of operations in Iraq? Here they are. It looks as though the bad guys are taking it on the chin:

U.S. presses attack on al-Qaida in Iraq

An Associated Press reporter in Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province to the north and east of Baghdad, reported intense gunbattles in the streets and around the main market district as American and Iraqi forces sought to clear the city of al-Qaida fighters.
Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Rubaie, an Iraqi military commander in Diyala, told the AP that security forces had ringed the city and were not letting anyone come or go. He said many al-Qaida fighters had hidden their weapons and were trying to flee Baqouba.
"We fear that the insurgents want to mingle with civilians. ... Citizens have given us the names of hundreds of al-Qaida elements who have quit fighting and are hiding in their houses in Baqouba. These people are going to be arrested after the end of the battles," the general said.
The latest military report on the Diyala offensive, which began Monday night, said U.S.-led forces had killed 41 insurgents, discovered five weapons caches and destroyed 25 bombs and five booby-trapped houses.
Toward nightfall Wednesday, provincial police reported that a mortar round crashed into a village east of Baqouba and killed two women and two children. It was not known who fired the round.
The head of a Sunni insurgent group that has turned against al-Qaida in Diyala province and is cooperating with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the area said his fighters were participating in the operations and had succeeded in clearing several neighborhoods in eastern and western Baqouba.....


U.S. presses attack on al-Qaida in Iraq - Yahoo! News

i thought we were waiting until September

Liberals never want to acknowledge good news in the war against terror.

Oh no- its just are we waiting for September to tally-up or are we going to have a running commentary / critique? Its just that I think you have said we should wait. I am perfectly happy to have a running critique if you would like... but you can't turn around then and say "give it time", or "the strategy has just started" or "lets see what happens by September" etc etc OK?

Originally Posted by Latherty

Oh no- its just are we waiting for September to tally-up or are we going to have a running commentary / critique? Its just that I think you have said we should wait. I am perfectly happy to have a running critique if you would like... but you can't turn around then and say "give it time", or "the strategy has just started" or "lets see what happens by September" etc etc OK?

Just smile and be glad that there is any good news from that part of the world would ya.

Originally Posted by mdmx96

Just smile and be glad that there is any good news from that part of the world would ya.

the problem is I'm not convinced its good news yet.....i'm paticularly wary of two things:

The apparent confusion between AQ and "insurgents". The supposed AQ militants are apparently residents of the city - this seems in contrast to what we think we know of AQ in Iraq.

The round-up of individuals on the say-so of neighbors (for instance, what if the neighbor was actually the AQ/insurgent in hiding?).

Originally Posted by mdmx96

Just smile and be glad that there is any good news from that part of the world would ya.

Gen Petraus just stated in the media that the troops need to be there for 9-10 YEARS. At last a military man who doesn't just spout the neocon party line. The surge, and all that see you in Sept stuff was just another lie and stall tactic to keep the pipedream alive. But this is what happens when leaders don't think beyond their preconceived notions.
Bring em' home yesterday!!

Originally Posted by namvet69

Gen Petraus just stated in the media that the troops need to be there for 9-10 YEARS. At last a military man who doesn't just spout the neocon party line. The surge, and all that see you in Sept stuff was just another lie and stall tactic to keep the pipedream alive. But this is what happens when leaders don't think beyond their preconceived notions.
Bring em' home yesterday!!

I am quite sure you will se some withdrawal of troops by the end of the year.

Originally Posted by justoneman

I am quite sure you will se some withdrawal of troops by the end of the year.

That's just the problem. It's always months away. Meantime, Americans are dying. Until the newly elected dumbocrats find their gonads, I don't see anything happening. I guess that there has to be enough of a threat on their control of congress before we see an end to this shit.

Originally Posted by namvet69

That's just the problem. It's always months away. Meantime, Americans are dying. Until the newly elected dumbocrats find their gonads, I don't see anything happening. I guess that there has to be enough of a threat on their control of congress before we see an end to this shit.

No, Bush will start withdrawal before the end of the year. That is obvious to me. He is making a surge and the n will withdrawal in time for there to be great success in Iraq and for the Republicans to look good.