Sea Change In Iraq Detected
Gen. Peter Pace stated in a Time Magazine interview that he’s seen a “sea change” in the security in Baghdad, Ramadi and elsewhere in Iraq. The timing of this article couldn’t happen at a worse time for Gen. Reid’s Round Heel Brigades. Just when Harry Reid plans an all-nighter leading up to a vote on unilateral withdrawal, Gen. Pace’s article hits the ‘newsstands’.
After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday.
He was asked whether this would inform his thinking about whether to continue the current strategy, with extra U.S. troops battling to security Baghdad and Anbar province. “It will because what I’m hearing now is a sea change that is taking place in many places here,” he replied. “It’s no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaida out of Ramadi, for example, but rather, now that they have been pushed out, helping the local police and the local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground and set up their systems.”
This confirms what Michael Yon told Hugh Hewitt’s radio audience. In that interview, Yon said that AQI is “running out of places to go.”
There’s still alot of improvements to be made in Iraq, especially politically, but the evidence is mounting and undeniable that things are changing for the better, especially in Anbar and Diyala provinces.
One thing that’s certain is that Gen. Pace has as big of a bullhorn as Harry Reid has. When he says that he’s noticed a sea change in Iraqi security, people will listen. The same is certainly true of Gen. Petraeus.
In fact, it’s apparent that Harry Reid’s strategy to cut off debate so they can pass their defeatist bill is a sign that he can’t afford to have future Iraq policy hanging on Gen. Petraeus’ report. When Gen. Petraeus testifies in September, the nation’s eyes will be focused on his testimony. If he gives a detailed report that tells the American people that (a) the war is winnable, (b) Iraq is much more secure than before the surge and (c) that AQI forces have been permanently pushed out of their strongholds, I’ll bet the ranch that opinions will change significantly.
Don’t expect Reid’s ‘army’ to give up easily. Just expect them to lose the battle.
Technorati Tags: Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs Of Staff, David Petraeus, Rick Lynch, Ray Odierno, Michael Yon, Hugh Hewitt, AQI, Harry Reid
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
July 17th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Everyone neeeds to send Bull O’Reilly a copy of this article. He has all but joined the defeatist ranks the last month and it realy sicken me. In fact if I never saw another “Body Language” or “Quiz show” segment EVER again it’ll be too soon and with his defeatist ‘tude lately it makes me wonder why I even watch Hard Copy part Duex.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Sea change?
Is the violence shifting from one province to another really a change, let alone one which would qualify as a transformation? Hardly. Kathleen Hicks of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies: “The bigger question is whether any kind of security progress at the pace we’re likely to see is going to translate into a political settlement,” Hicks said. “I think the answer is no.” And since the purpose of the so-called “surge” is to allow the Iraqis to get their act in gear, this does not bode well, as the article points out. “Pace’s comment ’strains your credibility,’ especially on a day when a National Intelligence Estimate predicted that al-Qaida would likely ‘leverage’ its contacts in Iraq to mount an attack on American soil,” says Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution.
Even the presnit himself said that the Iraqis have made little progress on the oh-so-minimal and unbinding benchmarks, with his own
administrationcabal giving themselves a grade that amounts to “a gentleman’s ‘F’” as Jon Stewart puts it, with progress in only 8 of 18 areas.Meanwhile, the Iraqis continue to suffer under our occupation:
I’m sure you’re all set to pounce on Lee Hamilton, who has been practically a lone voice on the reality in Iraq, saying “The president gave them a satisfactory rating. But all they’ve done is create a committee” to work on a host of legislative issues aimed at completing the transition from the Saddam Hussein era. “I am extremely doubtful about it. He’s had quite a bit of time now. He’s known exactly what he’s had to do. He hasn’t done it. His rhetoric is pretty good. His performance is pretty bad.”
So, if by “sea change” you mean more of the same, yeah, I guess it’s a sea change. Otherwise, it’s still pretty dismal.
Even BillO, the bulwark of spin, thinks it’s lost. Please send him a copy of this article. I’m sure he’ll come around.
July 18th, 2007 at 7:32 am
sounds like complete fluff and propaganda
bombs are going off daily, Al Qaeda is reported to be stronger than ever - thanks in large part to the Iraq war which is a better recruiting tool than anything Bin Laden could have hoped for
it’s well past time to scale this fiasco back - special forces are the only troops we should be using in the war on terror. And they should be hunting terrorists, not policing Bagdad.
let the Iraqi people take responsibility for their future