Leaving Iraq With Honor
Salena Zito’s latest column, titled “To leave Iraq with honor” answers the Democrats’ accusations that President Bush doesn’t have a plan to “win the peace” in Iraq. Let’s take a look:
As the war in Iraq today begins its fourth year, reconstruction efforts, in the hands of Provincial Reconstructive Teams (PRTs), are proceeding, despite what you may have heard. These teams are experts sent to help the new governments in Iraq’s 18 provinces shore up security, establish democratic foundations and manage rebuilding. They consist of a combination of Iraqi civilians and U.S. or coalition forces.
Daniel Speckhard, top aide to U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, manages the effort as the special ambassador for reconstruction. “(PRTs) are an essential component of our counterinsurgency strategy,” he said in a telephone interview from Baghdad. “The government then earns the credibility of the people and takes away and denies some of the oxygen of the insurgency.” The process will be long and difficult.
This single paragraph puts the lie to John Murtha’s lies and slanders that Iraqis hate the Americans and that there’s less of everything than before the invasion. To believe Murtha, you’d then believe that there’s less electricity per day, less water being treated and that there’s more garbage in the streets.
While I admit that the transition didn’t start well, that’s in the past. By all accounts, whether you listen to David Ignatius or Ralph Peters, teh outlook from Iraq is noticeably improving almost daily. That’s the purpose of my “News from the Iraqi Theater” series is about. Democrats demand a faster pace when they know it isn’t possible. These are construction jobs, which aren’t completed in a couple days or even a couple of weeks. Some of the projects, frankly will take several months to a year.
Implicit in Democrats’ cries of incompetence is the belief that Iraq’s infrastructure was solid. Nothing’s further from the truth. When our troops got there, the infrastructure was degraded beyond what they’d anticipated. Also implicit is the belief that the Army Corps of Engineers isn’t progressing fast enough. It’s like they want ‘microwave results’ from a ’slow cooker’ world.
Democrats’ expectations are as unreasonable as your average John Murtha policy.
Technorati Tags: Bush, Iraq, Army Corps of Engineers, Infrastructure, John Murtha
Cross-post at LetFreedomRing