Is the "surge" working?
The strategy surrounding it certainly seems to be (so far)
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in Featured Stories | War — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
President Bush announced several weeks ago that, in a vigorous attempt to right the leaking ship in Iraq, he was making four fundamental adjustments to the “strategy” currently being carried out there: the assuming of command by General David Petraeus, the influx of new troops, the adjusting of ROEs (complete with pressure being put on the Iraqi government to crack down on insurgents and sectarian militants), and the move to secure Baghdad.
Were there any semblance of balance in the media’s reporting on Iraq, the immediate effect of the new strategy – more specifically, the influx of new troops, the changing of ROEs, and the move to secure Baghdad – would be better-known to the American public by now. Unfortunately, reporting on this has largely been left to lone voices in the wilderness like Patrick Ruffini, who penned an outstanding column (“Shhhhh…the surge is working!”) on the topic over the weekend.
For example, were the media as aggressive in reporting the good news from Iraq as it is in reporting the bad, the American public would know that the operation to secure Baghdad has been wildly successful thus far, with “attacks and killings” in the city having “dropped by 80 percent” since the implementation of the security plan. Traffic moving through the city is being stopped in areas where security checkpoints have long been nonexistent. People are learning to live with more restrictive security measures because of the noticeable result.
Omar and Mohammed, two Iraqi bloggers who do yeomen’s work getting the truth out on the internet via their site Iraq the Model (ITM), have posted several updates since the Baghdad operation began, and have provided eyewitness accounts of both the good and the bad. “We are hearing fewer explosions and less gunfire now than two weeks ago,” wrote Mohammed last week, “and that, in Baghdad, qualifies as quiet.”
Read on . . .
Muqtada al-Sadr, murderous leader of the Iran-funded Mahdi Army and thorn in the side of the coalition since shortly after the conclusion of major combat operations, saw the writing on the wall and fled Iraq for Tehran shortly after President Bush announced his new strategy. The stated change in ROEs, geared toward more aggressive pursuit of insurgents and sectarian fighters, has had more success than forcing a preemptive cutting-and-running of a major militant figure, though – in implementation, it has also given the insurgents fewer places to hide. As ITM’s Omar wrote ten days ago:
The most significant raid conducted yesterday [Feb. 14] was the one on Buratha mosque, one of the most important Shia mosques in Baghdad which is also considered SCIRI (Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) territory.
The raid ended without blood but the preacher of the mosque...expressed his dismay about the raid “because it was American soldiers who searched the mosque” and this seems to be one of the changes in rules of engagement. [In the past] there a rule that only Iraqi soldiers or police were allowed to walk into places of worship while American troops had to stay outside.This raid is [also] of political significance, as it [proves] to the people that the operation is impartial and not directed against one sect [and not] the other.
Apparently gone are the days when American soldiers were forced to halt their pursuit of insurgents – and to cease returning fire – when the latter fled into mosques which doubled as safe houses and arms caches. This change in ROE could not have come soon enough.
All four aspects of the President’s new plan seem, at this early stage, to be working well, and the difference is already being seen and felt by the people of Baghdad. As Mohammed wrote days ago:
The best part...remains the return of displaced families to their homes; the latest count for this shows that more than 600 families have returned so far.
More occupied mosques are also being returned to their original keepers and earlier today Sunni and Shia worshippers gathered to hold joint prayers in several places in Baghdad.
The President’s new strategy has thus far produced results which can only be viewed as good by all who seek anything but our failure and defeat in Iraq, and it only makes sense to allow the plan to proceed with the full support of the American people and the American government. Unfortunately, though, the “anti-war” left and their allies in Congress, both of whom have invested so much in pursuit of an American failure in the middle east, are anything but willing to give the President a chance to make a success out of the current situation. As my esteemed colleague California Yankee” so aptly noted, “Al-Sadr has fled or is in hiding, arrests of bad guys are up, and attacks are down. No wonder [the Democratic] party is so opposed to the so-called surge” and the rest of the President’s newly-enacted plan. “It seems to be working.”
It does indeed seem to be working, and we may use this early progress as a reason for more optimism in the Iraqi front of the war on terror. As Omar so eloquently put it only days ago:
The progress made so far invites hope and optimism, but it’s still too early to celebrate. Terrorists will keep trying to carry out attacks... They want sow as much death and destruction as they can in order to shake the people’s confidence in the security plan. Such criminal attacks are still quite possible in Baghdad, but even if they happen we must not let that stop us from pursuing the objectives of our efforts to stop the death and deterioration, and to turn the tide and make progress.
His words are bsolutely true. If America can only hold together her fractured populace, and keep at bay those in government who seem to be working as hard as they can to ensure what they see as a Bush failure in Iraq (never minding that it would be an American failure, and one which would come at a terrible price in terms of our national security), long enough for a strong final push, then success in Iraq will not only be possible, but may be within our grasp. Our soldiers and our military leaders have the desire, the drive, and the know-how to win in Iraq. All that we have to do is pull together enough to let them do it.
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Is the "surge" working? 11 Comments (0 topical, 11 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
But after hearing that for the past few years that things are going great in Iraq and the media isn't reporting it, the credibility of supporters of the war is challenged. We heard that there wasn't an insurgency (made up by the media), then it was in its last throes (and media hid that "fact") & a turning point had been reached (ignored by the media) because there was a new government or election or constitution or more election or a new government or because the Al Queda leader was killed Saddam was capture or hanged or because etc. etc. etc.
All that good news was ignored by the media, but somehow things kept getting worse.
Ironically, when I had breakfast a month ago with some Marines just back from Iraq, they told me that things were way worse than what the media portrays - there is a huge gulf between hearing about executions and actually seeing 50 men, bound and gagged, with a bullet in the back of their head. They made the point that we simply could not handle the truth.
But after hearing that for the past few years that things are going great in Iraq and the media isn't reporting it, the credibility of supporters of the war is challenged.
I think you will find that most at RS do not say things are going great in Iraq, but that the MSM is overzealous in its reporting of negative events while less than eager to look for positive stories.
We heard that there wasn't an insurgency (made up by the media), then it was in its last throes (and media hid that "fact"
While I think everyone may have gotten a little overconfident when Baghdad folded like a lawn chair, I don't think that anyone from the administration has said that we would not have to have a stabilizing presence in the region for a long time to come. As far as the "last throes" said by Cheney, here is what he said :
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The insurgency in Iraq is "in the last throes," Vice President Dick Cheney says, and he predicts that the fighting will end before the Bush administration leaves office..."I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time," Cheney said. "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
What and how he said this and the way this is potrayed even by you are cleary not the same thing thing.
because there was a new government or election or constitution or more election or a new government or because the Al Queda leader was killed Saddam was capture or hanged or because etc. etc. etc.
And all these are very positive things. These are goals we have achieved, but yet you and others want to look at the accomplishment of these goals in a negative light instead of what they truly are... progress.
Ironically, when I had breakfast a month ago with some Marines just back from Iraq, they told me that things were way worse than what the media portrays - there is a huge gulf between hearing about executions and actually seeing 50 men, bound and gagged, with a bullet in the back of their head. They made the point that we simply could not handle the truth.
Sounds like maybe you only want to hear those that tell you what you want to hear. There are bad things happening over there, and the more I hear about them the more I am assured that trying to fix this problem is a very GOOD THING. But while you seem to listen to those soldiers, did you stop to think that the writer of this story, Jeff Emanuel might also be a soldier with some relevant experience?
So when you say that you would like to believe, I wonder if you could really handle the truth.
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Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the Gods, and the judge of words...-Inscription on the Royal Tombs at Thebes
When you compare them on any legitiate metric.
This is a WAR. Period. No "ifs" "ands" or "buts". People die.
In almost every war in American history, there have been far more casualties of both military personnel and civilians.
Consider the $ cost. Compare to the $ costs of the vast majority of previous wars as adjusted for inflation. We're running this one on the cheap.
Things are downright Miraculous in Iraq, all things considered. And that is one of the biggest stories ignored by the antiwar crowd.
There are those who look on Dresden and Tokyo and Hiroshima as some of the greatest evils ever perpetrated by man. I look on them and thank the perpetrators for saving millions.
"We're running this one on the cheap."
"Things are downright Miraculous in Iraq, all things considered. And that is one of the biggest stories ignored by the antiwar crowd."
What about the fact that there is a strong possibility that the US will be leaving Iraq without achieving its stated goals for victory? If the American people aren't convinced that things are getting better, the next president may win on a platform of pulling out.
That is reality.
Reality is that people like you don't give a bloody [deleted] about reality. You care about what CNN and ABC and Fox are feeding you morning, noon, and night. You don't even care to look at Why they are feeding you bald-faced lies while claiming to be guardians of The Truth.
Simultaneously, people like you who happen to have power, who happen To know what is going on, who Should be screaming the truth at the top of their lungs don't care to do so and all the rest of the people like you don't care to ask Why.
Fortunately, this nation isn't made up solely of people like you.
The problem is that you and people like you also have the right to elect Other morons to lead this nation and potentially waste the achievements our American Heroes paid so dearly to produce.
THAT is reality. And eventually, people are going to get tired of hearing you and everyone like you whine about the world not bending to your every whim.
There are those who look on Dresden and Tokyo and Hiroshima as some of the greatest evils ever perpetrated by man. I look on them and thank the perpetrators for saving millions.
"This wouldn't be happening if it was" was supposed to link to "http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/07recruiting.htm"
"These People" was supposed to be linked to "http://www.medalofhonor.com/"
There are those who look on Dresden and Tokyo and Hiroshima as some of the greatest evils ever perpetrated by man. I look on them and thank the perpetrators for saving millions.
Lots of good reporting on the goings on at ground level in Iraq from Bill Roggio of "The Fourth Rail"
At this point, he's noncommittal, but points out the bad guys are fighting back hard, too be expected.
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Dennis Miller for President...no more wimps!
to celebrate Victory.
If Sadr was killed tomorrow, if every militia disbanded AND if the Iraqi government decided to reimburse us for a few hundred billions
I still say Let's Wait to put up that 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED' banner.
Let's downplay our successes until they are real and seem lasting.
Hey, but we can HOPE.
But it looks like a deal has been struck on oil revs.
I've been skeptical about the surge and attendant strategy changes, but prayed that I would be proven wrong. It looks like I might be.
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