If There Is Any Justice . . .
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Iraq | War — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
We will see a whole host of blaring newspaper headlines and breathless television news anchor announcements regarding this:
Violence in Iraq has dropped by 70 percent since the end of June, when U.S. forces completed their build-up of 30,000 extra troops to stabilize the war-torn country, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry released the new figures as bomb blasts in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed five people and six gunmen died in clashes with police in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala south of the Iraqi capital.
Washington began dispatching reinforcements to Iraq in February to try to buy Iraq's feuding political leaders time to reach a political accommodation to end violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs that has killed tens of thousands and forced millions from their homes.
While the leaders have failed to agree on key laws aimed at reconciling the country's warring sects, the troop buildup has succeeded in quelling violence.
Under the plan, U.S. troops left their large bases and set up combat outposts in neighborhoods while launching a series of summer offensives against Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, other Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias in the Baghdad beltway.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf told reporters that there had been a 70 percent decrease in violence countrywide in the three months from July to September over the previous quarter.
Tell me again how "the surge isn't working." This is not, of course, to say that the surge has completely worked, since there remain challenges. But the progress cannot be denied anymore.
« Disconnect — Comments (1) | The New Narrative — Comments (2) »
If There Is Any Justice . . . 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
International Editor of
... because they'll fact check it. You can't trust anything the Bush Administration says. Even the Washington Post (as we all know, a very reliable conservative paper) ran an article debunking last month's supposed drop in violence. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR200709...).
It's [redacted] like this that is destroying the conservative brand. We need a real conservative in the WH in '08.
it's a no-no
" in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abe Lincoln
A liberal trying to be a moby Ronulan is something else entirely.
"Dancing with [two syllable word]," Zach. Just so that at least you and I know that you aren't all that great at covering your tracks. And may I note how embarrassing it is to see another roleplayer be this clumsy?
Moe
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
but you, and the left, can always hope. While of course being patriotic and supporting our troops.
Time for liberals[?] to find something else to hurt, damage or destroy.
If this progress keeps up Hillary will make George Patton look like a Sunday school teacher.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
Which paper will be the first to publish this front and center?
I assure you it won't be Seattle! They didn't even make note that yesterday, Hillary protestors outnumbered Hillary supporters during her visit.
Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently.