Quiet victory

[spare_change]

By Rich Lowry
Monday, November 12, 2007

Forget the briefings from generals, the intelligence evaluations and the Pentagon status reports. There is a handy indicator for whether the war in Iraq is going well -- its relative absence from the front pages.

During the past month, the country's top newspapers have splashed Iraq stories on Page A-1, but most of them have had to do with the scandal concerning the security contractor Blackwater and the impending (but yet to materialize) Turkish invasion of the Kurdish north. Reports on major trends in the war tend to be relegated to inside pages because -- from the blows dealt to al-Qaida, to the rise of Sunni security volunteers, to Muqtada al-Sadr's cease-fire -- they have been largely positive.

Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, left, Iraqi Air Force Lt. Gen. Kamal Barzanji, commander of the Iraqi Air Force, centre, and Brig. Gen. Bob Allardice, commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, right, are seen in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007. U.S. troops killed Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri, the al-Qaida in Iraq mastermind of the bombing that destroyed the golden dome of a famed sacred Shiite shrine last year and set in motion an unrelenting cycle of sectarian bloodletting, the military said Sunday.

In an incisive account of the surge in the new issue of The Weekly Standard, military analyst Kimberly Kagan writes: "The total number of enemy attacks has fallen for four consecutive months, and has now reached levels last seen before the February 2006 Samarra mosque bombing. IED explosions have plummeted to late-2004 levels. Iraqi civilian casualties, which peaked at 3,000 in the month of December 2006, are now below 1,000 for the second straight month. The number of coalition soldiers killed in action has fallen for five straight months and is now at the lowest level since February 2004."

Seemingly every day brings a new encouraging number. The latest is that rocket and mortar attacks in Iraq have fallen to their lowest level in nearly two years. The left's initial reaction to the surge's success in reducing violence in Iraq was to declare Gen. David Petraeus a liar. Now, a new tack has become necessary -- finding creative ways to deny credit to the surge. Democrat Rep. David Obey from Wisconsin says insurgents are simply "running out of people to kill."

So between January and today everyone who could die in violence in Iraq perished? This is childish. It is true that the ethnic cleansing in Baghdad neighborhoods, once it is complete, creates a perverse kind of stability. But the reduction in violence has happened all around the country, in all-Sunni areas as well as in areas in parts of Baghdad that are still ethnic fault lines.

As Kagan writes, U.S. forces interposed themselves between warring factions in Baghdad, and on the outskirts of the city, attacked al-Qaida strongholds. This is why American casualties went up earlier this year and now -- with al-Qaida on the run -- are back down. As security has taken hold, the Sunnis have felt comfortable partnering with American forces to battle al-Qaida.

Defeating the terror group has been a consensus goal of all sides in the Iraq debate. Now that some U.S. commanders consider al-Qaida in Iraq all but routed, Democrats should be delighted. Instead they avert their eyes from the signal accomplishment of the U.S. military during the past year. Troops have never been so notionally "supported" by everyone, while having their accomplishments so ignored.

The political reconciliation that is so important to Iraq's long-term stability has yet to take place, but the first, necessary step is to get Iraqis to stop resorting to violence to resolve their differences. And whatever comes of Iraq, eliminating al-Qaida in Iraq is a desirable goal in its own right.

Bush repeatedly has said that there will be no ceremony on the deck of a battleship to mark victory over al-Qaida; when it comes to any eventual victory over al-Qaida in Iraq, not only will there be no ceremony, we'll be lucky to get a headline.

[spare_change]

The Washington Times summarized this week: "The Associated Press reported: 'Twilight brings traffic jams to the main shopping district of this once-affluent corner of Baghdad, and hundreds of people stroll past well-stocked vegetable stands, bakeries and butcher shops. To many in Amariyah, it seems little short of a miracle.'" According to The Washington Post: "The number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before the February 2006 bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra that touched off waves of sectarian killing. The death toll for American troops in October fell to 39, the lowest level since March 2006." And on Thursday, The New York Times noted: "American forces have routed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood in Baghdad, a top American general said today, allowing American troops involved in the 'surge' to depart as planned." Investor's Business Daily assessed: "Many military analysts -- including some who don't support the war -- have concluded that the U.S. and its allies are on the verge of winning."

Last weekend, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said violence between Sunnis and Shiites has nearly disappeared from Baghdad, with terrorist bombings down 77 percent. This was confirmed by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. forces south of the capital: "If we didn't have so many Iraqi people coming forward to help, I'd think this is a flash in the pan. But that's just not the case."

[Cotties]

I think the positive news articles are clearly around if people choose to read them..Well I should say have been around and hopefully will continue to be around. Front page news, not yet, maybe never.

[mrdiscreet]

BAGHDAD, Nov 12 (IPS) - The separation of religious groups in the face of sectarian violence has brought some semblance of relative calm to Baghdad. But many Iraqis see this as the uncertain consequence of a divide and rule policy.

Claims are going the rounds that sectarian violence in Iraq has fallen, and that the U.S. military "surge" has succeeded in reducing attacks against civilians. Baghdad residents speak of the other side of the coin – that they live now in a largely divided city that has brought this uneasy calm.

"I would like to agree with the idea that violence in Iraq has decreased and that everything is fine," retired general Waleed al-Ubaidy told IPS in Baghdad. "But the truth is far more bitter. All that has happened is a dramatic change in the demographic map of Iraq."

And as with Baquba and other violence-hit areas of Iraq, he says a part of the story in Baghdad is that there is nobody left to tell it. "Most of the honest journalists have left."

"Baghdad has been torn into two cities and many towns and neighbourhoods," Ahmad Ali, chief engineer from one of Baghdad's municipalities told IPS. "There is now the Shia Baghdad and the Sunni Baghdad to start with. Then, each is divided into little town-like pieces of the hundreds of thousands who had to leave their homes."

Many Baghdad residents say that the claims of reduced violence can be tested only when refugees go back home.

Many areas of Baghdad that were previously mixed are now totally Shia or totally Sunni. This follows the sectarian cleansing in mixed neighbourhoods by militias and death squads.

On the Russafa side of Tigris River, al-Adhamiya is now fully Sunni; the other areas are all Shia. The al-Karkh side of the river is purely Sunni except for Shula, Hurriya and small strips of Aamil which are dominated by Shia militias.

"If the situation is good, why are five million Iraqis living in exile," says 55- year-old Abu Mohammad who was evicted from Shula in West Baghdad to become a refugee in Amiriya, a few miles from his lost home.

"Americans and Iranians have succeeded in realising their old dream of dividing the Iraqi people into sects. That is the only success they can talk about."

Violence is no more hitting the headlines, but it clearly continues. Bodies of Iraqis killed after being tortured are still found in garbage dumps, although fewer than a few months ago.

"Iraqi and American officials should be ashamed of talking of 'unidentified bodies'," Haja Fadhila from the Ghazaliya area of western Baghdad told IPS. "These are the bodies of Iraqis who had families to support, and names to be proud of. But nobody talks about them, there is no media. It is as if it is all taking place on Mars."

The Iraqi ministries for health and interior have said that they are finding on average five to ten "unidentified bodies" on the streets of Baghdad every day.

"Those Americans and their Iraqi collaborators in the Green Zone talk of five or ten bodies being found everyday as if they were talking of insects," Thamir Aziz, a teacher in Adhamiya told IPS. "We know they are lying about the real number of martyrs, but even if it's true, is it not a disaster that so many innocent Iraqis are found dead every day?"

Most people blame the Iraqi police for the sectarian assassinations, and the U.S. military for doing little to stop them.

"The Americans ask (Prime Minister Nouri al) Maliki to stop the sectarian assassinations when they know very well that his ministers are ordering the sectarian cleansing," Mahmood Farhan from the Muslim Scholars Association, a leading Sunni group, told IPS.

A UN report released September 2005 held interior ministry forces responsible for an organised campaign of detentions, torture and killings. It said special police commando units accused of carrying out the killings were recruited from the Shia Badr and Mehdi militias.

Retired Col. James Steele, who served as advisor to Iraqi security forces under former U.S. ambassador John Negroponte, supervised the training of these forces.

Steele had been commander of the U.S. military advisors group in El Salvador in 1984-86; Negroponte was U.S. ambassador to neighbouring Honduras 1981-85. Negroponte was accused of widespread human rights violations by the Honduras Commission on Human Rights in 1994. The Commission reported the torture and disappearance of at least 184 political workers.

The violations Negroponte oversaw in Honduras were carried out by operatives trained by the CIA, according to a CIA working group set up in 1996 to look into the U.S. role in Honduras.

The CIA records document that "special intelligence units", better known as "death squads", comprised CIA-trained Honduran armed units which kidnapped, tortured and killed thousands of people suspected of supporting leftist guerrillas.

Negroponte was ambassador to Iraq for close to a year from June 2004.

Interesting that even John "death squad" Negroponte doesn't have bona fides for the Bush adminsitration, reportedly shoved out of his intellgence czar role when he wouldn't prepare an NIE on Iran to Cheney's liking.

[PunkyBob]

Might just be a lull...insurgency and fighting an occupying force never quite dies...remember Viet Nam?

"If the situation is good, why are five million Iraqis living in exile," says 55- year-old Abu Mohammad who was evicted from Shula in West Baghdad to become a refugee in Amiriya, a few miles from his lost home.

"Americans and Iranians have succeeded in realising their old dream of dividing the Iraqi people into sects. That is the only success they can talk about."

[mrdiscreet]

Bombing hits Baghdad Green Zone
Baghdad attack

US military officials in Iraq say a roadside bomb has killed two civilians in the centre of Baghdad.

The US military said three other people were injured by the explosion near the heavily defended Green Zone housing the US embassy and government ministries.

Correspondents say it is the biggest attack there for weeks after a series of army operations to restore security.

The military also said three US soldiers were killed in separate attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Two soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Diyala province and a third was shot dead in the city of Mosul.

Rush hour

The roadside bomb in the capital targeted a US convoy near the Green Zone, badly damaging an armoured Stryker vehicle.

Witnesses say the bomb was set off at the foot of a watchtower during the morning rush hour, when hundreds of Iraqis were waiting to enter the zone.

Another civilian was killed in a car bombing in northern Baghdad.

Reports say Iraqi troops have seized the west Baghdad headquarters of the Sunni clerics' group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, hardline critics of the Shia-led government.

[p.a]

By Rich Lowry
Monday, November 12, 2007

Forget the briefings from generals, the intelligence evaluations and the Pentagon status reports. There is a handy indicator for whether the war in Iraq is going well -- its relative absence from the front pages.

During the past month, the country's top newspapers have splashed Iraq stories on Page A-1, but most of them have had to do with the scandal concerning the security contractor Blackwater and the impending (but yet to materialize) Turkish invasion of the Kurdish north. Reports on major trends in the war tend to be relegated to inside pages because -- from the blows dealt to al-Qaida, to the rise of Sunni security volunteers, to Muqtada al-Sadr's cease-fire -- they have been largely positive.

Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, left, Iraqi Air Force Lt. Gen. Kamal Barzanji, commander of the Iraqi Air Force, centre, and Brig. Gen. Bob Allardice, commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, right, are seen in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007. U.S. troops killed Haitham Sabah Shaker Mohammed al-Badri, the al-Qaida in Iraq mastermind of the bombing that destroyed the golden dome of a famed sacred Shiite shrine last year and set in motion an unrelenting cycle of sectarian bloodletting, the military said Sunday.

In an incisive account of the surge in the new issue of The Weekly Standard, military analyst Kimberly Kagan writes: "The total number of enemy attacks has fallen for four consecutive months, and has now reached levels last seen before the February 2006 Samarra mosque bombing. IED explosions have plummeted to late-2004 levels. Iraqi civilian casualties, which peaked at 3,000 in the month of December 2006, are now below 1,000 for the second straight month. The number of coalition soldiers killed in action has fallen for five straight months and is now at the lowest level since February 2004."

Seemingly every day brings a new encouraging number. The latest is that rocket and mortar attacks in Iraq have fallen to their lowest level in nearly two years. The left's initial reaction to the surge's success in reducing violence in Iraq was to declare Gen. David Petraeus a liar. Now, a new tack has become necessary -- finding creative ways to deny credit to the surge. Democrat Rep. David Obey from Wisconsin says insurgents are simply "running out of people to kill."

So between January and today everyone who could die in violence in Iraq perished? This is childish. It is true that the ethnic cleansing in Baghdad neighborhoods, once it is complete, creates a perverse kind of stability. But the reduction in violence has happened all around the country, in all-Sunni areas as well as in areas in parts of Baghdad that are still ethnic fault lines.

As Kagan writes, U.S. forces interposed themselves between warring factions in Baghdad, and on the outskirts of the city, attacked al-Qaida strongholds. This is why American casualties went up earlier this year and now -- with al-Qaida on the run -- are back down. As security has taken hold, the Sunnis have felt comfortable partnering with American forces to battle al-Qaida.

Defeating the terror group has been a consensus goal of all sides in the Iraq debate. Now that some U.S. commanders consider al-Qaida in Iraq all but routed, Democrats should be delighted. Instead they avert their eyes from the signal accomplishment of the U.S. military during the past year. Troops have never been so notionally "supported" by everyone, while having their accomplishments so ignored.

The political reconciliation that is so important to Iraq's long-term stability has yet to take place, but the first, necessary step is to get Iraqis to stop resorting to violence to resolve their differences. And whatever comes of Iraq, eliminating al-Qaida in Iraq is a desirable goal in its own right.

Bush repeatedly has said that there will be no ceremony on the deck of a battleship to mark victory over al-Qaida; when it comes to any eventual victory over al-Qaida in Iraq, not only will there be no ceremony, we'll be lucky to get a headline.

Well now thats great news. So that means the troops ( all the troops ) will be comeing home soon right?

[tt]

Oh yeah, great stuff in Iraq. 2007 was the WORST YEAR yet for U.S Soldiers Killed In Action.

Black Water Mercs killing Innocent Men, Women and Children.

The Kurds are staging raids into Turkey.

The so-called elected Government has yet to meet any real goals established by the U.S. and the cost of the war there will top out at Two Trillion Dollars ($2,000,000,000,000.00). No elected offical (U.S.) has yet to determine where this money is going to come from.

U.S. troops were sent into combat lacking proper body armor, forcing family and friends to purchase armor for them and ship it to Iraq, hopefully before the recipient got blown away. U.S. Troops were forced to garbage dumps for suitable armor plating for the vehicles they used in Iraq as well. Who knew that armored vehicles might actually need armor plating, how about those men, who never having seen a shot fired in anger who sent our troops into combat in the first place?

Veteran sent home for further medical treatment after losing arms, legs, hands, feet etc. were billeted in rooms that had walls black with mold and were issued mouse traps, vermin are problem at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Veteran Hospitals across the country are closing due to budget cuts and there has been a marked increase in Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Yep, great news out of Iraq......NOT

Here's some more "Good News" out of Iraq. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) has determined that the shooting of Fourteen (14) of Seventeen (17) Iraqi Civilians (Men, Women and Children) was "Unjustified" and "Violated rules of deadly force."

The Iraqi Government, thinking that they have the right to detemine who does and does not have diplomatic immunity, has introduced laws removing such immunity from "Private Security." firms operating in Iraq. The immunity was put in place by former U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremmer. He used such firms when he traveled about Iraq.

And the band played on.

[tt]

Might just be a lull...insurgency and fighting an occupying force never quite dies...remember Viet Nam?

I remember Nam, from September 1971 - April 1973. Wish like hell I could forget.

[Cotties]

Reporters say Baghdad too dangerous despite surge By David Morgan
Wed Nov 28, 12:20 AM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit, despite a recent drop in violence attributed to the build-up of U.S. forces, a poll released on Wednesday said.


The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that many U.S. journalists believe coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict.

A separate Pew poll released on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of Americans believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well, up from 34 percent in June, amid signs of declining Iraqi civilian casualties and progress against Islamist militants such as al Qaeda in Iraq.

But most journalists said they believe violence and the threat of violence have increased during their tenures.

Much of the danger for journalists is faced by local Iraqis, who often do most of the reporting outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, the data showed.

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. news organizations have had local Iraqi staff killed or kidnapped within the past year, the survey said. About two-thirds of news outlets said local staff face physical or verbal threats at least several times a month.

"Above all, the journalists -- most of them veteran war correspondents -- describe conditions in Iraq as the most perilous they have ever encountered, and this above everything else is influencing the reporting," the authors said in a report that accompanied the data.

At least 122 journalists and 41 media support staff have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists says. About 85 percent of those killed were Iraqis.

Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism surveyed 111 journalists who have worked in Iraq for 29 news organizations, all but one of them U.S.-based. The poll was conducted September 28 through November 7, Pew said.

HIGH MARKS FOR REPORTING EFFORT

Pew had tried to reach a total of 181 journalists, which it believes are nearly all those who have covered Iraq for American news organizations.

The journalists gave high marks to the overall reporting effort, with 74 percent rating news-gathering as good or excellent. The highest marks went to coverage of U.S. troops and the war against insurgents.

Despite claims by U.S. officials that reporting from Iraq is negatively biased, 70 percent of those surveyed believe overall coverage is accurate, while 15 percent say the coverage makes the situation look better than it is.

Forty-four percent of journalists believe reporting has treated the Bush administration fairly, while 43 percent said coverage has been too easy on U.S. officials.

But the data also showed that 67 percent are at least somewhat concerned that the accuracy and completeness of their reports have suffered because of ongoing security problems that limit their access to the country.

President George W. Bush's so-called surge strategy to stabilize Baghdad and its environs has been credited with a fall-off in attacks on Iraqi civilians and U.S. coalition forces over the past two months.

But 87 percent of respondents said at least half of Baghdad remains too dangerous for a Western journalist to visit, with the capital's Shi'ite-dominated Sadr City enclave rated the most dangerous spot in Iraq. Eighteen percent said the entire city of Baghdad is too dangerous for travel.

Most U.S. journalists have traveled to danger spots such as Sadr City, either under the protection of private security guards or the U.S. military.

"Eight in 10 journalists believe conditions have deteriorated for reporters since their own first posting in the country," the survey's authors said.

Under-reported subjects of the war include the plight of Iraqi civilians, Shi'ite-on-Shi'ite violence in southern Iraq and general events occurring outside Baghdad, journalists said.

[tt]

Reporters say Baghdad too dangerous despite surge By David Morgan
Wed Nov 28, 12:20 AM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit, despite a recent drop in violence attributed to the build-up of U.S. forces, a poll released on Wednesday said.


The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed that many U.S. journalists believe coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict.

A separate Pew poll released on Tuesday showed that 48 percent of Americans believe the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going very or fairly well, up from 34 percent in June, amid signs of declining Iraqi civilian casualties and progress against Islamist militants such as al Qaeda in Iraq.

But most journalists said they believe violence and the threat of violence have increased during their tenures.

Much of the danger for journalists is faced by local Iraqis, who often do most of the reporting outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, the data showed.

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. news organizations have had local Iraqi staff killed or kidnapped within the past year, the survey said. About two-thirds of news outlets said local staff face physical or verbal threats at least several times a month.

"Above all, the journalists -- most of them veteran war correspondents -- describe conditions in Iraq as the most perilous they have ever encountered, and this above everything else is influencing the reporting," the authors said in a report that accompanied the data.

At least 122 journalists and 41 media support staff have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists says. About 85 percent of those killed were Iraqis.

Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism surveyed 111 journalists who have worked in Iraq for 29 news organizations, all but one of them U.S.-based. The poll was conducted September 28 through November 7, Pew said.

HIGH MARKS FOR REPORTING EFFORT

Pew had tried to reach a total of 181 journalists, which it believes are nearly all those who have covered Iraq for American news organizations.

The journalists gave high marks to the overall reporting effort, with 74 percent rating news-gathering as good or excellent. The highest marks went to coverage of U.S. troops and the war against insurgents.

Despite claims by U.S. officials that reporting from Iraq is negatively biased, 70 percent of those surveyed believe overall coverage is accurate, while 15 percent say the coverage makes the situation look better than it is.

Forty-four percent of journalists believe reporting has treated the Bush administration fairly, while 43 percent said coverage has been too easy on U.S. officials.

But the data also showed that 67 percent are at least somewhat concerned that the accuracy and completeness of their reports have suffered because of ongoing security problems that limit their access to the country.

President George W. Bush's so-called surge strategy to stabilize Baghdad and its environs has been credited with a fall-off in attacks on Iraqi civilians and U.S. coalition forces over the past two months.

But 87 percent of respondents said at least half of Baghdad remains too dangerous for a Western journalist to visit, with the capital's Shi'ite-dominated Sadr City enclave rated the most dangerous spot in Iraq. Eighteen percent said the entire city of Baghdad is too dangerous for travel.

Most U.S. journalists have traveled to danger spots such as Sadr City, either under the protection of private security guards or the U.S. military.

"Eight in 10 journalists believe conditions have deteriorated for reporters since their own first posting in the country," the survey's authors said.

Under-reported subjects of the war include the plight of Iraqi civilians, Shi'ite-on-Shi'ite violence in southern Iraq and general events occurring outside Baghdad, journalists said.

There you go again, using facts to muddy up vision of Bush's Iraq.

[Cotties]

Facts???I thought I would just past it as it was relevant to the topic and may encourage peoples opinions



When I read it, to me it's journalist being asked questions. I don't know their agenda, I just found the article relevant...

Please by all means give me an opinion on the subject. Not judge fellow members opinions.
There you go again, .

[Iwantutowantme]

Facts???I thought I would just past it as it was relevant to the topic and may encourage peoples opinions



When I read it, to me it's journalist being asked questions. I don't know their agenda, I just found the article relevant...

Please by all means give me an opinion on the subject. Not judge fellow members opinions.

**** Great,let's not be judgemental :) That would be refreshing ...
I know you dont want my opinon but here it is: :) Regardless of how good or bad the war in Iraq is going.....Bush and his cronies and their 'controllers' wanted permanent bases in Iraq. They wanted US troops to stay there permanently and will do anything they can to achieve that end. Working 24/7 to do just that. Plans to go to war with Sadam's Iraq was in the works long before 9/ll. Plans to get out of Iraq once Sadam was toppled was not even considered. There were no plans for a VICTORY over the terrorist (so called war on terrorism). Their (Bush and company) plan was to occupy Iraq. They accomplished that and more. The puzzing question remains: Should we pull out of Iraq? If we stay, the debt of the American taxpayers will be increased beyond comprehension (part of the Bush plan). We should cut our CHINA-JAPAN-EUROPEANCITA BANK CREDIT CARD and go back to 'pay as you go' terms. Bankrupting American tax payers is BIG BUISNESS.

I vote to pull US troops out of Iraq. We really dont need their oil, we cannot afford this war, we dont belong there. We are there because of manufactured lies and a corrupt administration and corporate interests. We also do have the capasity in America to feed our oil hungry appetites (which was greatly induced by big oil). Starting with using the oil from Alaska for the US only.