tmedlin: blog 
tmedlin's blog
we'll thank the troops for ya
Published Jul. 23, 2008
don't worry, we'll let you continue to appease your base.
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tmedlin: blog
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"But for every small step forward, Iraq has several more giant steps to take before victory can be declared on any one issue."
When Fox News published the AP story, they "forgot" to include that sentence...
But it's all a big success, right? Everything is working just fine in Iraq? Good, then we can bring the troops home. We can't do that because the Iraqi government is nowhere near stable enough to rule the country without assistance? Well, I guess the surge wasn't that successful after all since government stability was one of the most important goals of the surge.
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 24, 2008 8:33 a.m.
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 24, 2008 8:27 a.m.
If you were given 18 test questions and completely answered only one one or two while not finishing the others, would you call that a success? If passing one or two of 18 benchmarks is a "success", you must now have very high demands.
From AP: "[...]It also remains unclear just how many former Baath members will be able to return to their jobs. And while Oct. 1 had been identified as an election day, Baghdad hasn't been able to agree on the rules, possibly delaying the event by several weeks.
Likewise, militias and sectarian interests among Iraq's leaders still play a central role in the conflict. And U.S. military officials say they are unsure violence levels will stay down as troop levels return to 142,000 after a major buildup"
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 23, 2008 10:55 p.m.
GOLO member since August 22, 2007
July 23, 2008 2:36 p.m.
Let the Iraqis lead; Help Iraqis protect the population; Isolate extremists; Create space for political progress; Diversify political and economic efforts; and Situate the strategy in a regional approach.
Considering that the political progress has been minimal since the surge started, how can you declare the surge successful?
Yes, violence in Iraq has decreased, but not necessarily because of the surge. Violence in Basra has decreased. Was that because of the surge? Certainly not. Violence in the Anbar province has decreased, largely thanks to the "Anbar Awakening", which started in 2006, long before the surge was even conceived, much less put into action. Here's what then-Colonel. MacFarland writes about the reasons for success in the region: http://tinyurl.com/5tfz8h
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 23, 2008 11:07 a.m.
GOLO member since August 22, 2007
July 23, 2008 10:20 a.m.
July 23, 2008 10:15 a.m.
GOLO member since August 22, 2007
July 23, 2008 10:07 a.m.
GOLO member since August 22, 2007
July 23, 2008 10:04 a.m.
GOLO member since October 24, 2007
July 23, 2008 10:04 a.m.
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