Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:47:00
on’tday entionmay uccesssay!
A gloomy haze has settled over the nation’s prosecution of the War on Terror as of late. It seems like we can only watch helplessly as Nancy Pelosi and Jack Murtha size up new angles of attack for undermining the war effort. The media is chomping at the bit the tell the story of an America, bruised and humbled and exhausted, heading for the exits in Iraq.
But something interesting is happening on the way to the “new direction.” Early indications are that the troop surge into Baghdad is working. It hasn’t been reported on widely, but murders in Baghdad are down 70%, attacks are down 80%, Mahdi Army chief Moqtada al-Sadr has reportedly made off for Iran, and many Baghdadis who had fled the violence now feel it’s safe enough to return. The strategy that Congress is busy denouncing is proving to be our best hope for victory.
In Iraq, there’s a sense that change is in the air—literally. Omar of Iraq the Model spots a B-1 Bomber in the skies of Baghdad for the first time since the end of the major combat. On the ground, Omar writes that the signs that Iraqis are getting serious about security are more palpable. With the help of Compstat-like technology, security forces are cracking down at checkpoints (even ambulances are getting stopped) and getting nimbler about locating them strategically so the terrorists don’t know what to expect.
This turnaround in Baghdad is confirmed at home by the media’s near-deafening silence. If it seems like you’ve heard less about how Iraq is spiraling into civil war in the weeks since the surge was announced, this is why. Even some discordant voices in the media are starting to wonder what’s happening. Time magazine worries that it’s “Quiet in Baghdad. Too quiet.” That’s right—a dramatic reduction in violence is actually bad news.
It’s too early to claim victory just yet; the operation is just two weeks old. But U.S. troops have been able to accomplish all of this with just one more brigade in-country, with four more on the way by May. These encouraging early returns show the potential for success when we apply concentrated military force to the security problem. When the Army and Marine Corps are on offense, carrying out combat operations and clearing out insurgent strongholds, we win. When we lay back, carrying out routine patrols and playing Baghdad beat cop, we lose.
The key to success is staying power.
Not much else to say...it goes on to talk about the Daffyd ab-Hugh post I mentioned the other day.
Hat tip: Wizbang
Posted by JimK at 02:47 AM on February 26, 2007
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Categories: News, Politics, The Middle East, The Blogosphere, War, U.S. Military
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Comments:
#2 Posted by Drumwaster 
on 02/27 at 12:50 PM -
{clears throat politely}
Welcome to the party, pal…
{/John McClane}
#3 Posted by Buzzion on 02/27 at 12:53 PM -
Yeah but he didn’t ban you for demonstrating that he’s a lying hypocrite that can’t actually defend himself against differing viewpoints unless he makes it a strawman argument that no one had actually claimed.
#4 Posted by Drumwaster on 02/27 at 01:44 PM -
No, he didn’t “fire” me. I “quit”. I’m surprised that you had the guts to keep throwing yourself on that particular hand grenade. I gave up on him long before.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.”
The results weren’t changing, so I walked away. I only have to be called a lying motherfucker (for refusing to accept his opinion as fact) a few dozen times before I comprehend that the person using it is willfully deluding himself. But he’s the “True Conservative”.
More self-delusion. My life has gone on as before, but without the mental stress of having to put up with him and his psychophants. (Yes, that was a deliberate misspelling.)
#5 Posted by Ryley R. Hayes on 02/27 at 03:25 PM -
I don’t doubt it, as I’ve heard quite a bit of good news in the last couple weeks.
But I would like to see more on these 70% 80% statistics. I’d rather have more than Townhall to refer to.
#6 Posted by JimK on 02/27 at 07:53 PM -
Guys, I really don’t want to turn this into another place where people who hate Lee come to bash him. He and I certainly disagree on the basic way of looking at the situation. But I didn’t go after him personally and I don’t feel comfortable everyone else using my disagreement on Iraq as a launching pad to start attacking him. He’s stubborn. I get it. TRUST me, I get it. He’s been my friend for a long, long time, and the two of us have always joked about how stubborn we both are. In jest, truth and all that.
I’m not trying to win anything or make him look stupid or practice my troll-killing skills on him. I just want to change his mind. That’s what I was trying to get him to understand a few days ago. I refused to engage in the escalation of ad hominem for that very reason.
I’m disappointed that he’s turned everything so completely personal, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it too. So I’m asking...be polite or take it somewhere else. More flies with honey and all that.
#7 Posted by Buzzion on 02/27 at 08:13 PM -
I’m not trying to win anything or make him look stupid or practice my troll-killing skills on him. I just want to change his mind. That’s what I was trying to get him to understand a few days ago. I refused to engage in the escalation of ad hominem for that very reason.
I’m disappointed that he’s turned everything so completely personal, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it too. So I’m asking...be polite or take it somewhere else. More flies with honey and all that.
That’s kind of the point jim. He began insulting. He lied, he demonstrated hypocrisy, he refused to actually read what was being said. I took everything he said, responded to every question and accusation he leveled at me, and only got really virulent when he began playing his victim card against the lies and strawmen he put up. If he were able to actually debate what was said rather than twisting and lying about what everyone was saying including you, then it wouldn’t even be a problem.
I won’t bring it up again.
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#1 Posted by Buzzion
on 02/27 at 11:20 AM -
Jim you really need to talk some sense into Lee. He’s demonstrated that he’s a hypocrite and liar. Both of which are easily proven. He can’t stand it when someone disagrees with him. When it happens it turns into a time for him to play the victim and belittler. He refused to address anything I actually threw at him, but of course demanded I answer questions he labeled to the letter in a manner and wording he deemed acceptable. He only debates strawmen now. He can’t handle real criticism, and needs to twist it into an accusation that he’s a liberal just so he can cope with it.