Thread: Iraq: surge did not work, time to get out now.

Pintura llamada "War President" que representa el rostro del presidente estadounidense George W. Bush, retrato realizado con las fotos de los militares norteamericanos muertos en Irak. Obra del artista Joe Wezorek.

Translation:

Painting called "War President" that represents the face of the American president George W. Bush, portrait realized with the photos of the North American dead military men in Iraq. Work of artist Joe Wezorek.

Change That Matters
Iraq has changed. Why can't the Democrats?
by Matthew Continetti
06/02/2008, Volume 013, Issue 36


General David Petraeus was back in Washington last week. President Bush has promoted him to chief of Central Command (CENTCOM), which requires Senate confirmation. Under Petraeus's leadership, Iraq has changed dramatically. Why can't the Democrats change with it?

Bush announced the surge in January 2007. Iraq was a violent place. Al Qaeda in Iraq held large swaths of territory. Shiite death squads roamed much of Baghdad. The Iraqi political class seemed feckless. Hence Bush's decision to send more troops, replace General George Casey with Petraeus, and change the mission from force protection and search-and-destroy to population security. The new strategy's strongest proponent and supporter was Senator John McCain.

Democrats opposed the surge almost without exception. Barack Obama said that the new policy would neither "make a dent" in the violence plaguing Iraq nor "change the dynamics" there. A month after the president's announcement, Obama declared it was time to remove American combat troops from Iraq. In April, as the surge brigades were on their way to the combat zone, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid proclaimed "this war is lost" and that U.S. troops should pack up and come home. In July, as surge operations were underway, the New York Times editorialized that "it is time for the United States to leave Iraq." The Times's editorial writers recognized Iraq "could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave." But that didn't matter. "Keeping troops in Iraq will only make things worse."

Wrong. When Petraeus returned to Washington in September 2007, he reported that the numbers of violent incidents, civilian deaths, ethnosectarian killings, and car and suicide bombings had declined dramatically from the previous December. Why? The surge--and the broadening "Awakening" movement, which began when the sheikhs in Anbar province rebelled against al Qaeda in late 2006 and accelerated when the tribal leaders understood America would not abandon them in 2007.

How did Democrats respond? MoveOn.org bought a full-page in the Times suggesting Petraeus had betrayed the American people. Senator Hillary Clinton said that to accept Petraeus's report required the "willing suspension of disbelief." Those Democrats who did not question the facts moved the goal posts instead. They said the surge may have reduced violence, but had not led to the real goal: political reconciliation.

Petraeus returned again to Washington in April of this year. Violence had been reduced further. American casualties had declined significantly. Al Qaeda was virtually limited to the northern city of Mosul. There were more Iraqi Security Forces, and those forces were increasingly capable. The Iraqi government had passed a variety of laws promoting sectarian reconciliation. And the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, was demonstrating that he was a national leader by meeting with Sunnis and launching military operations against Shiite gangs and Iranian-backed "special groups" in the southern port city of Basra.

Democrats responded this time by saying the Basra operation was a failure and that any reduction in violence only meant Americans could come home sooner rather than later. Wrong again, because (a) despite early missteps the Iraqi army had control of Basra within a couple of weeks, and (b) any precipitous, politically calculated American withdrawal would clearly lead to more violence, not less. What is new is that Petraeus's strategy and tactics, his patience and expertise, have succeeded and now allow some of the surge brigades to return home without replacement--and without a spike in killing. There's every reason to continue his strategy, not abandon it and force a withdrawal.

On May 22, Petraeus was able to tell the Senate that "the number of security incidents in Iraq last week was the lowest in over four years, and it appears that the week that ends tomorrow will see an even lower number of incidents." On May 10, Maliki traveled to Mosul to oversee the launch of a campaign against al Qaeda. The number of attacks in Mosul has already been reduced by 85 percent. Acting CENTCOM commander Martin Dempsey says that Al Qaeda in Iraq is at its weakest state since 2003. Also last week, Iraqi soldiers entered radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr's Sadr City stronghold in Baghdad. They met no resistance.

The Iraqi army and government have done exactly what Democrats have asked of it, and the Democrats remain hostile. Their disdain and animosity has not diminished one iota. Nor has their desire to abandon Iraq to a grim fate.

We keep hearing that this year's presidential election will be about judgment. If so: advantage McCain. For when it comes to the surge, not only have Obama and his party been in error; they have been inflexible in error. They have been so committed to a false narrative of American defeat that they cannot acknowledge the progress that has been made on the ground. That isn't judgment. It's inanity.

Matthew Continetti, for the Editors

‘Forbidden pleasures’ return to Mosul
Weddings, park visits, coffee shops and restaurants back into circulation as Al-Qaeda melts away in northern Iraq.
By Marwan Ibrahim - MOSUL, Iraq

Ata Taha tied the knot with his university sweetheart in a popular park and traditional meeting point for lovers in Iraq's northern city of Mosul -- but only after Al-Qaeda went on the retreat.

"My family had advised me to have a private wedding or celebrate abroad but I stood my ground," the 26-year-old said proudly. "I got my wish -- I married my colleague and we did so in public."

Al-Qaeda militants had banned all public expressions of joy in Mosul, and even prevented the sale of a local popular bread, claiming that it was a breach of Muslim tradition.

In mid-May Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said a crackdown had begun against a Sunni area of Mosul that the American military describes as the last urban bastion of Al-Qaeda jihadists in Iraq.

According to the US military at least 1,200 suspects -- including about 200 Al-Qaeda militants -- have been arrested since the Iraqi-led and US-backed operation was launched on May 14, and the level of attacks has also dropped.

Taha and his fiancee took advantage of the offensive against Al-Qaeda to don their wedding finery and head for the so-called "Forest Park" where newlyweds traditionally pose for pictures surrounded by friends and family.

Frightened residents deserted the park in north Mosul after radical Al-Qaeda militants imposed their extremist view of Islam on the city.

But since the local campaign against Al-Qaeda began residents have been returning in force to celebrate weddings in the park, especially at weekends.

Guests gather there both to congratulate the newlyweds and to pose for pictures with the couple.

"The extremist factions imposed their values on us with rhetoric and fatwas (decrees) that have nothing to do with real Islam," said Taha.

Coffee shops and restaurants, as well as other favourite meeting spots like the corniche overlooking the Tigris River in downtown Mosul, have also buzzed with activity since the anti-Al Qaeda operation got under way.

All across the city, residents have taken on a new lease on life.

Streets are thronged with pedestrians and market stalls brim anew with fruit and vegetables -- including tomatoes and cucumbers displayed side by side in clear defiance to the Islamists who had banned this as sexually provocative.

The local Iraqi bread known as "sammoun" -- also prohibited by the militants who argued that it did not exist in the time of the Prophet Mohammed -- can now be found again in bakeries.

For schoolteacher Zakia Abdullah al-Badrani, Mosul is "a land of civilisations that should not be soiled by obscurantists" such as Al-Qaeda.

Mosul, with its population of 1.5 million, is the provincial capital of Nineveh -- itself the capital of the once powerful Assyrian empire -- and is home to both Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as Kurds and Christians.

"We always lived in harmony with the other communities and this is what encouraged me to come back," said Gergis Hannah, a Christian who fled his hometown two years ago but returned at the onset of the military push against the jihadists.

Once Al-Qaeda is uprooted from Mosul "the government must push for reconciliation" among all of the city's communities, Hannah added.

Soldiers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles continue to patrol the streets of Mosul in a reminder that the threat posed by Al-Qaeda has not been removed completely.

But the military met no resistance as its forces rolled into Mosul, and many residents believe the Islamists either fled the city in the face of the advance or went to ground.

The Democrats should fear not, for all this good news will change once Obama gets into office.

Originally Posted by itsplayed

The Democrats should fear not, for all this good news will change once Obama gets into office.

Why?...........................

Originally Posted by A. Crowley

Why?...........................

Because you cannot be successful in Iraq based on a politicians timetable, even if it is the Messiah Obama's timetable.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohh!

Brilliant answer, dipshit.

You manage questions SO well!

You should enlist today, pussyBoi....

Originally Posted by itsplayed

Because you cannot be successful in Iraq based on a politicians timetable, even if it is the Messiah Obama's timetable.

Actually, what will happen is if Obama gets in then all of the good which is isn't getting reported will all of a sudden start getting reported. It's so transparent and obvious, anyone can see that. Remember these words if that happens. All of a sudden Obama will get any and all credit for anything positive going on.

FoxNews will have an epiphany!