Upbeat Iraqi News
In one of the most encouraging stories I’ve read about Iraq in awhile, the AP is reporting that “Iraqi leaders reached a breakthrough deal on last minute changes in the constitution Tuesday, and at least one Sunni Arab party said it would reverse its rejection of the document and urge its supporters to approve it in next weekend’s referendum.” By itself, that would be good news enough because it’s a hint that Iraqis are getting a better understanding of the concept of governing. There’s better news in this story, too.
A top Sunni negotiator, Ayad al-Samarraie of the Iraqi Islamic Party, said that if the current parliament approves the measure, “we will stop the campaign rejecting the constitution and we will call on Sunni Arabs to vote yes.”
The ratification of the Iraqi Constitution is far more important to Americans than the parliamentary elections. That isn’t to say that parliamentary elections aren’t a significant event but if ratification of the Constitution fails, then it’s back to square one and would mark a significant setback for the Bush administration and would be a monumental loss for the Iraqi people.
In other Iraq news, Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales (Ret.) was on Brit Hume’s show tonight and reported major progress in the developing of the Iraqi Army. The 2 most surprising things that Gen. Scales mentioned was how proficient the troops were. He reported of a division that he visited that he thought performed well. Brit asked him if this was “one of those” groups that had American troops embedded with them. Ge. Scales said it was but that there were “only about 10 or 12″ embedded with this group that “wasn’t fully formed yet.” Brit asked him if this was a group “of a couple hundred or what?” Gen. Scales said “Oh no. This is a division, about 9,000 soldiers.” Brit reacted much like I did, namely we were both shocked at this.
This division is only about 75% formed. Gen. Scales said that the general raided a junkyard to start building “the armored vehicles they’d need” and that “they did this without help” from the Americans or contractors or the Iraqi government. To me, that screams out that they’re taking their job extremely seriously, which is a very good sign.
Gen. Scales also mentioned that the airport road that was so dangerous to drive a year ago has pretty much been cleaned up. He said that the “6th Infantry Division” is responsible for keeping that area clean and that they’re actually better at it than the Americans patrolling the area. He said that knowing culture matters and that the Iraqis are very good at picking out the insurgents “by their body language.”
Gen. Scales also said that reporters who don’t get their facts straight back here in the U.S. should “come on over” and get embedded with the units so they could give people an accurate portrayal of the facts.
Finally, Gen. Scales said that there’s about 80 Iraqi divisions that have American troops embedded in them and that there’s approximately 2,500 Americans embedded in those 80 divisions.
Overall, I’d say that it’s long past overdue that the Agenda Media runs a upbeat summary of the progress that’s been made in troop training, with the Constitutional process and in their learning how to govern.
Cross-posted at Let Freedom Ring
October 12th, 2005 at 11:49 am
I’m not shocked when Gen. Scales lies/misleads anymore. Be realistic There is no upbeat news from Iraq. The airport road has been “pretty much been cleaned up” -I don’t believe this. Iraqis are very good at picking out the insurgents “by their body language”- yeah right! We are training Iraqi spies that will use that training to kill more Americans. The Bush Administration is afraid of using our nuclear weapons to win this “war on terror” and that is why we will not win. It’s sad, really.
October 12th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
For upbeat news from iraq go to
http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/
http://goodnewsfromthefront.com/
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/
http://rightfielder.blogspot.com
Nuke Iraq? 2 problems.
1) The American people don’t have the stomach for it. One or two more natural disasters and the bleeding hearts will be tapping national security to hand out freebies.
2) The Muslim world. This would be to declare a holy war.
October 12th, 2005 at 1:42 pm
Response: “The American people don’t have a stomach for it” How would you know? The American people have the stomach for it!President Bush Administration does not. Our “war president” is afraid to use nuclear weapons. Bottom Line. When did this planet become a “Muslim world” and why do you even care about the enemy? Talk about bleeding heart! We are already involved in a “Holy War” Stop underestimating the American people and start to realize we may have been overestimating President Bush’s ability to be a strong leader unafraid of taken strong action, Rightfielder.
October 12th, 2005 at 1:49 pm
Conservatives and exiles desert war campaign
By Guy Dinmore
Published: October 11 2005 17:19 | Last updated: October 11 2005 17:19
Even among the strongest advocates in Washington of the war in Iraq there is a sense of alarm these days, with harsh criticism directed particularly at the draft constitution, which they see as a betrayal of principles and a recipe for disintegration of the Iraqi state.
Expressions of concern among conservatives and former Iraqi exiles, seen also in the rising disillusionment of the American public, reflect a widening gap with the Bush administration and its claims of “incredible political progress†in Iraq.
At the Heritage Foundation, Bing West, a former marine who has been embedded with 17 battalions in Iraq, cautioned that the referendum would not lead to a “political epiphanyâ€Â.
“Brute force will win this war,†he said.
October 12th, 2005 at 3:21 pm
Ben says “The Bush Administration is afraid of using our nuclear weapons to win this “war on terror†and that is why we will not win.”
Ben, It isn’t fright that causes them to not use nuclear weapons, it’s wisdom. Frankly, if we didn’t care about collateral damage, we could unleash a lethal dose of conventional bombs.
The notion of using a nuclear bomb to wipe out pockets of 50 terrorists here and 25 there shows the level of Ben’s military expertise.
As for me, Bob Scales reporting and predictions have proven right far more often than they’ve proven to be wrong. I’ll trust his reporting over Ben’s bluster anytime.