Success in Iraq

[Mesa]

Oh, the mods are going to hate me. Sorry Dave, Shell, Darth Niel, Pix, and the rest, but thought this was worth publishing since the media doesn't seem to be covering it.

Before everyone thinks retreat is the answer, educate yourself...


the war in Iraq, whether you agree with it or not, is not lost. I wish we had never had entered that mess.... But, we were convinced to enter into that war to free an ensalved people under a rule of tyranny and dictactorship. AND EVERYONE AGREED, DEMOCARATS AND REUPLICANS. DO NOT FORGET THAT. It sucks we are still there, but this country and these people are finally able to realize what all of the United States hard efforts and sacrifices were for. Do Not abandon them, and do not abandon our military.

Please, just read/watch this before you vote. Before someone tells you this is just a brainwashed servicemen, this is how they feel. They are fighting for a purpose and belive in what they are fighting for. Listen to our own military, rather than what the media tells you how you should feel. I work with ex-military. They share the belief that we are doing good. Don't be mislead. Think/decide for yourself.

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https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2007/05/iraq-070518-afps02.htm

What a Difference …
A year makes. A report from Fallujah, Iraq.


A year ago Shura Chamal-Eit (Elizabeth Street) in downtown Fallujah was a lethal place for American troops attempting to tame the city, a center of lawlessness and defiance by insurgents. Terrorists from Al Qaeda in Iraq and other groups attacked Coalition troops on the street and around the city, killing some and injuring many. But as U.S. Marines here pass yet another Christmas fighting a war few expected to last this long, Fallujah is on the verge of becoming a success story and symbol of a new, cooperative paradigm for winning Iraq.

Fed up with the wanton assassinations and summary executions by Al Qaeda in Iraq and alarmed that the group was strangling Fallujah's economy, city leaders and residents joined forces with the Marines to expel the group. Many Fallujah residents once offered help to insurgents or at best looked the other way when they fired rocket-propelled grenades, mortar and artillery at Marines and killed or maimed them with the dreaded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that became commonplace. The same residents now identify insurgents to the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police force, who kill, capture or drive them from the city. Many of the terrorists have fled into the desert, often into Tharthar, an area also in Anbar province, north of Fallujah.

Marines who once passed their days trying to stay alive now work as virtual municipal employees, trying to restore and expand services like electricity, trash collection and water treatment. "I'm getting ready to go sit in on a political meeting at city hall," says Lt. Col. Christopher Dowling, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment.

"The norm for Fallujah a year ago was that if I halted my patrol or vehicle for anything more than 10 minutes I would get hit with RPGs or small-arms fire or an IED within the next five minutes. I truly did not know if that would be the last patrol I went on," says Capt. Sean Miller, also of the 3rd Battalion. "What's normal for me now is I believe I can walk down the street without getting killed."

U.S. and Iraqi officials have divided the city, American-style, into nine precincts to better deliver services. Miller's precincts include Sina'e, a once-industrial area now littered with debris and twisted metal. He envisions investors coming back to the area once it is rebuilt. In Andaloos precinct, which includes Elizabeth Street and is also part of Miller's domain, Marine 2nd Lt. Chris Caldwell leads his men on foot patrols, walking around the old souk, or market, which he expects to be fully open in a matter of days. He says progress is such that he has to remind his men that "complacency kills."

Marine Sgt. Richard C. Laster just began his third Iraq tour—all of them in the Fallujah area. "I've seen it go through all these phases," he says. "Three days after I arrived [this time], the first thing I did was talk to civilians and ask how they were, what they thought about us. It was such a relief to know they were finally coming around."

Marine Commander Attributes Fallujah Success to Troop Surge
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007 – Higher troops levels are a major contributor to the success of operations in Iraq, especially in cities like Fallujah, a U.S. commander of troops in the western city said during a news conference today.
Building on the successes of the combat teams before his, Marine Col. Richard Simcock, commander of Regimental Combat Team 6, said the biggest advantage he has over his predecessors is the number of troops available to secure and stabilize the city.

“We can do more because we have more,” Simcock said. “Troop levels have allowed us to go places our predecessors couldn’t.”

He told reporters that his 6,000 troops have been able to break the “whack-a-mole” cycle of securing an area and then moving on only to have the enemy to come back in afterward.

“We can go into a particular area with a large force, establish security and set conditions for Iraqi security forces to come in behind us to transition into securing the area,” Simcock said.

He said his troops, with coalition and Iraqi forces, have successfully applied this strategy in four different cycles over the five months they have been deployed to the region.

Progress in Fallujah is “phenomenal,” he said, describing how although the 2004 Operation al-Fajr almost destroyed the city, with nearly all the residents being captured or killed, the city today has almost 4,000 residents.

“Fallujah today is an economically strong and flourishing city,” Simcock said. “We’re making great progress.”

He described the progress in Fallujah as having attained an iconic status for both coalition and enemy forces.

“It’s not perfect,” he said. “The enemy doesn’t want to give up, and within (the area of operations), Fallujah will be the last battle we’ll have to win.”

Terrorists continue to use murder and intimidation to try to hinder progress within the city’s government, he said. Within the last year, four of Fallujah’s 20 council members have been murdered, but the members were quickly replaced and the council has continued meeting.

The violence isn’t stopping forward progress, Simcock said. The people of Fallujah are seeing the benefits of what the government is doing.

“The terrorists fear the city government of Fallujah. They know the only way they can combat it is through murder and intimidation tactics,” he said. “I’m proud of the elected mayor and councilmen for not giving in to that tactic.”

Simcock said his confidence in the ability of the Iraqi government and forces continues to grow as both refuse to give up when facing enemy threats.

The colonel said coalition forces on either flank, in Baghdad in Ramadi, are having tremendous success, but he doesn’t fear the possibility of terrorists fleeing those cities and coming into nearby Fallujah.

“The people we’re facing will always go the way of least resistance, and they may be coming here,” Simcock said, “and I welcome them, because they are in for an unpleasant surprise.”

https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23898460/

https://www.nypost.com/seven/05202008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/success_in_iraq__a_media_blackout_111606.htm

https://brain-terminal.com/posts/2008/06/02/washington-post-sees-success-in-iraq

THERE’S BEEN a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks — which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. While Washington’s attention has been fixed elsewhere, military analysts have watched with astonishment as the Iraqi government and army have gained control for the first time of the port city of Basra and the sprawling Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, routing the ^^^^^e militias that have ruled them for years and sending key militants scurrying to Iran. At the same time, Iraqi and U.S. forces have pushed forward with a long-promised offensive in Mosul, the last urban refuge of al-Qaeda. So many of its leaders have now been captured or killed that U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, renowned for his cautious assessments, said that the terrorists have “never been closer to defeat than they are now.”

Iraq passed a turning point last fall when the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign launched in early 2007 produced a dramatic drop in violence and quelled the incipient sectarian war between Sunnis and ^^^^^es. Now, another tipping point may be near, one that sees the Iraqi government and army restoring order in almost all of the country, dispersing both rival militias and the Iranian-trained “special groups” that have used them as cover to wage war against Americans. It is — of course — too early to celebrate; though now in disarray, the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr could still regroup, and Iran will almost certainly seek to stir up new violence before the U.S. and Iraqi elections this fall. Still, the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments — and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the “this-war-is-lost” caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

https://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/06/14/signs_of_success_in_iraq/

Virtually from day one, the media have reported this war as a litany of gloom and doom. Images of violence and destruction dominate TV coverage. Analysts endlessly second-guess every military and political decision. Allegations of wrongdoing by US soldiers get far more play than tales of their heroism and generosity. No wonder more than half of the public now believes it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq.

Some of this defeatism was inevitable, given the journalistic predisposition for bad news. (``If it bleeds, it leads.") And some of it was a function of the newsroom's left-wing bias -- many journalists oppose the war and revile the Bush administration, and their coverage often reflects that hostility.

But there have also been highly negative assessments of the war from observers who can't be accused of habitual nay saying or Bush-bashing. In a dispiriting piece that appeared on the day Zarqawi's death was announced, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that ``in Iraq at the moment . . . savagery seems to be triumphing over decency." There may be no way to win this war without becoming as monstrous and cruel as the terrorists, he suggested, which is why ``most Americans simply want to get away."

Another thoughtful commentator, The Washington Post's David Ignatius, had been even more despairing one day earlier: ``This is an Iraqi nightmare," he wrote, ``and America seems powerless to stop it."

But not everyone is so hopeless.

In the June issue of Commentary, veteran Middle East journalist Amir Taheri describes ``The Real Iraq" as a far more promising place than the horror show of conventional media wisdom. Arriving in the United States after his latest tour of Iraq, Taheri says, he was ``confronted with an image of Iraq that is unrecognizable" -- an image that ``grossly . . . distorts the realities of present-day Iraq."

What are those realities? Drawing on nearly 40 years of observing Iraq first-hand, Taheri points to several leading indicators that he has always found reliable in gauging the country's true condition.

He begins with refugees. In the past, one could always tell that life in Iraq was growing desperate by the long lines of Iraqis trying to escape over the Iranian and Turkish borders. There have been no such scenes since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Instead of fleeing the ``nightmare" that Iraq has supposedly become, Iraqi refugees have been returning, more than 1.2 million of them as of last December.

A second indicator is the pilgrim traffic to the Shi'ite shrines in Karbala and Najaf. Those pilgrimages all but dried up after Saddam bloodily crushed a Shi'ite uprising in 1991, and they didn't resume until the arrival of the Americans in 2003. ``In 2005," writes Taheri, ``the holy sites received an estimated 12 million pilgrims, making them the most-visited spots in the entire Muslim world, ahead of both Mecca and Medina."

A third sign: the value of the Iraqi dinar. All but worthless during Saddam's final years, the dinar is today a safe and solid medium of exchange . Related indicators are small-business activity, which is booming, and Iraqi agriculture, which has experienced a revival so remarkable that Iraq now exports food to its neighbors for the first time since the 1950s.

Finally, says Taheri, there is the willingness of Iraqis to speak their minds. Iraqis are very verbal, and ``when they fall silent, life is incontrovertibly becoming hard for them." They aren't silent now. In addition to talk radio, Internet blogs, and lively debate everywhere, ``a vast network of independent media has emerged in Iraq, including over 100 privately owned newspapers and magazines and more than two dozen radio and television stations." Nowhere in the Arab world is freedom of expression more robust.

https://www.newsweek.com/id/81993

 

[Jen]

I live near several military bases - I guess the service men and women I've met hold a different view as they are voting against McCain.

 

[DarkArtist81]

God I hate you Mesa.... Why did you have to post that heavily one sided and slightly BLIND video again? As a veteran, it makes me want to disembowel myself with a broken stick.

I respect the man's decision, but he is ignoring the facts... I posted this before, but got no response... So I will post it again. Please pay attention this time, it's not hard.

Voting Against Veterans

Veterans Groups Give McCain Failing Grades.
In its most recent legislative ratings, the non-partisan Disabled American Veterans gave Sen. McCain a 20 percent rating for his voting record on veterans' issues. Similarly, the non-partisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a "D" grade for his poor voting record on veterans' issues, including McCain's votes against additional body armor for troops in combat and additional funding for PTSD and TBI screening and treatment.

McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans' Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans' health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans' health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

McCain Voted At Least 28 Times Against Veterans' Benefits, Including Healthcare. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 28 times against ensuring important benefits for America's veterans, including providing adequate healthcare. (2006 Senate Vote #7, 41, 63, 67, 98, 222; 2005 Senate Votes #55, 89, 90, 251, 343; 2004 Senate Votes #40, 48, 145; 2003 Senate Votes #74, 81, 83; 1999 Senate Vote #328; 1998 Senate Vote #175; 1997 Senate Vote #168; 1996 Senate Votes #115, 275; 1995 Senate Votes #76, 226, 466; 1994 Senate Vote #306; 1992 Senate Vote #194; 1991 Senate Vote #259)

McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments for certain veterans' benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)
McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)
McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

McCain opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans' Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans' health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans' population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans' Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs. McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

McCain Opposed the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Was Too Generous. McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would "encourage more people to leave the military." (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

Disabled American Veterans Legislative Director Said That McCain's Proposal Would Increase Costs For Veterans Because His Plan Relies On Private Hospitals Which Are More Expensive and Which Could Also Lead To Further Rationing Of Care. "To help veterans who live far from VA hospitals or need specialized care the VA can't provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans and those who incurred injury during their service a card they could use at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care and access to it, he said. Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could lead to further rationing of care, he said." (Las Vegas Sun, 8/10/08)

Lack of Support for the Troops

McCain co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization. McCain supported the bill that gave President George W. Bush the green light--and a blank check--for going to war with Iraq. (SJ Res 46, 10/3/02)


McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE and Giving Greater Access to National Guard and Reservists. Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. (S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03)

McCain voted against holding Bush accountable for his actions in the war. McCain opposed the creation of an independent commission to investigate the development and use of intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. (S.Amdt. 1275 to H.R. 2658, Vote 284, 7/16/03)

McCain voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)
Senator McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military--a policy that is having a devastating impact on our troops. McCain voted against requiring mandatory minimum downtime between tours of duty for troops serving in Iraq. (S.Amdt.. 2909 to S.Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 341, 9/19/07; S.Amdt. 2012 to S.Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 241, 7/11/07)

McCain announced his willingness to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for decades--a statement sure to inflame Iraqis and endanger American troops. McCain: "Make it a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be fine with me." (Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting, 1/3/08)

 

[The Craw]

i sure hope we dont see another political thread in this forum after tuesday.

how bout we start handing out warnings.

 

[Batty]

In before the lock!







I've always wanted to type that.

 

[CelticPredator]

Hey did you see that sky today, talk about BLUE!

 

[Kuzeh]

Oh boy...
Dude, you're on a roll here!!

 

[The Craw]

my cat's breath smells like catfood.

 

[wofford29]

Locking myself in before the lock!

? wait a minute.

 

[CelticPredator]

Tick tock said the clock.

 

[DarkArtist81]

And another thing Mesa.... Post that same thing after you sign up yourself and do a tour in Iraq... see how you feel when you get back.

I've been there bro, it wasn't all cupcakes and rainbows.

 

[Mesa]

God I hate you Mesa.... Why did you have to post that heavily one sided and slightly BLIND video again? As a veteran, it makes me want to disembowel myself with a broken stick.

I respect the man's decision, but he is ignoring the facts... I posted this before, but got no response... So I will post it again. Please pay attention this time, it's not hard.

please state your sources.

 

[CAhobbit]

my cat's breath smells like catfood.

What's a diorama?

I couldn't resist. Sorry.

 

[DarkArtist81]

please state your sources.

I DID in the other post... VetVoice.com. And just step into any DAV across the country and ask THEM what they think about John McCain.

AND if you read the quote you will see that the votes in question are clearly listed for prosperity sake.

 

[Batty]

my cat's breath smells like catfood.

 

[The Craw]

 

[CelticPredator]

please state your sources.

IRAQ....in the ^^^^....thats a good source methinks.

 

[galactiboy]

Really... is this thread necessary? Isn't there a port in the storm where this would be more appropriate

 

[CelticPredator]

 

[DarkArtist81]

Really... is this thread necessary? Isn't there a port in the storm where this would be more appropriate

It's the equivalent of me starting a thread saying... "Vote Obama...check out this video with a testimonial from a random African American."

If HE supports him... you must as well. Make the right choice.