“The Surge has worked”
posted at 8:50 am on March 15, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Sergeant Anthony Diaz has been stationed in Baghdad since August, at about the time when the violence levels started consistently dropping throughout Iraq. He arrived a month before Hillary Clinton implied that his commander lied to Congress when testifying to the improvements that had already been made, and he remains in Iraq while they continue. Despite a national media that focuses only on the latest bombing, Diaz writes in the Washington Post that the surge has succeeded in giving Iraq a strong momentum for peace and democracy:
Since I arrived here last August, I have been struck by four things: the financial commitment we have made to reconstruction; the precipitous decline in violence; the inklings of representative government; and the small yet significant progress in communal relations between the mostly Shiite Iraqi army and the predominantly Sunni residents of this area. One often reads of the chaos plaguing Iraq. Yet the media accounts only infrequently seem to grasp the successes being achieved. …
The troop surge has contributed more soldiers to this small but critical area of Baghdad. But the building of the Adhamiyah wall, coupled with the sea change in the population’s attitude toward the coalition, also contributed greatly to the decline in violence. And our squadron’s ability to capitalize on these changes has been equally powerful. Building a local security force has been a slow, painful process. The people’s change in attitude toward the coalition has led to more citizens providing soldiers with information on crime suspects and potential locations of roadside explosives and weapons caches. All these things have shaped the successes we are seeing daily.
Late last year, I witnessed something inspirational in a rather unlikely setting: an ordinary neighborhood advisory council meeting. Attendance was the highest I had yet seen, with about 40 prominent locals present. The coalition was represented by our squadron commander, a few colonels from the embedded provincial reconstruction team and a political officer from the U.S. Embassy. Discussions ranged from the persistent lack of electricity to sewage problems to economic development. What struck me were the comments of some Sunni workers from the district’s power station, who came to complain that the (mostly Shiite) Iraqi army had mistreated them and accused them of distorting the distribution of electric power, something over which these workers have little control. The men said they would strike until they received better treatment and pleaded with the council chairman, a Sunni, for help. That was an unlikely outcome, given the entrenched animosity between Shiites and Sunnis and the lack of substantive political reconciliation even at the highest levels of government here. But these men did something many Americans would take for granted: They voiced grievances and sought assistance. These are the seeds of representative government, citizens coming forth and demanding change from their representatives. Much work remains to be done, but we have clearly made a start.
On one hand, the media coverage of Iraq has left a lot to be desired. Instead of embedding with troops, the traditional media outlets have either chosen to remain in the Green Zone and to rely on stringers for their reporting, or they have (rarely) run terrible risks by venturing out on their own for independent reporting. When doing the former, they wind up giving only the most superficial, if-it-bleeds-it-leads type of reporting, and in the latter, several have died or been kidnapped and terrorized, as in the case of Jill Carroll. Only a few will embed and get access to the real story of Iraq, and even then, the mainstream media outlets mostly ignore Michael Yon and Michael Totten.
Yet the troops themselves have had a historical opportunity to become war correspondents in the media, and the Washington Post should be commended for giving Sgt. Diaz that platform, live from the front. Milbloggers have carved out an entire media niche that allows those interested to find the information on what happens in Iraq besides the car bombs on which terrorists know the American media focus. No war in history has had this kind of direct access to a wide audience for the men and women fighting the war.
For this reason, we know that General David Petraeus wasn’t the one lying last September when he told Congress that Iraq was improving significantly. The anti-war activist lies about Iraq and the troops can get challenged — as can overly rosy assessments from the war’s supporters. Sgt. Diaz doesn’t write that Iraq has somehow transformed into Shangri-La or the Age of Aquarius has arrived in Baghdad; he knows that much work lies ahead to secure the gains already made. But he understands that this mission cannot be won on a politician’s timetable, and that we need to take heart that we have turned the corner and will succeed in this mission if we don’t quit on it first.
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The fact the the surge has been working is slowly seeping into the consciousness of the American public, despite the best efforts of the MSM to hide the truth. Won’t it be a delicious irony if McCain becomes President based on our success in Iraq?
ptolemy on March 15, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Even Jon Stewart acknowledges bluntly that “the surge has worked”, & that the media is silent about it.
Nice revisit of Iwo Jima in the screencap.
jgapinoy on March 15, 2008 at 9:05 AM
Aye, but that’s the rub. The media DOES grasp the power of the successes in Iraq. If they broadcasted these facts and they became widely known, the voting public would be questioning the politicians who have so loudly stated Iraq is a lost cause. Pelosi, Kennedy, Reid & Murtha et al would be looking at possibly losing their power base and therefore their influence. What media bias?
conservative educator on March 15, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Given the endless criticism the media unloads on our troops, one can easily conclude a), the media aren’t about to wander into the lion’s den and b), the troops don’t want these traitors within smelling distance of them anyway.
Seeking the truth takes some effort and a dose of diligent journalism. Laying back in the Green Zone eating croissants and drinking lattes takes no effort whatsoever. So in the end, the truth takes a backseat to safety, comfort and laziness.
fogw on March 15, 2008 at 9:14 AM
“… the media coverage of Iraq has left a lot to be desired.”
Understatement of the year. I just watched CNN say there were no Saddam/A.Q. links but as we’ve read he on HotAir, there were.
Tony737 on March 15, 2008 at 9:21 AM
This doesn’t bode well for the cut-and-run democrats as a win in Iraq is always a loss for those traitors, and yes I WILL question their patriotism!
DannoJyd on March 15, 2008 at 9:27 AM
“… media outlets have either chosen to remain in the Green Zone and to rely on stringers …”
Every branch of the military has it’s own camera crews, why can’t the media just use *their* footage? Oh, right, I forgot about the bias. The MEDIA’S bias that is.
Tony737 on March 15, 2008 at 9:28 AM
“… the building of the Adhamiyah wall, coupled with the sea change in the population’s attitude toward the coalition, also contributed greatly to the decline in violence.”
Wait, you mean they’ve built a WALL? And it’s WORKING? Hey, maybe WE should try that HERE!
Tony737 on March 15, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Ah, I see the “iconic picture of the war” is back.
It makes me wonder, did the person who chose this to be our official ’success picture’ actually think it through?
Dr. Mercury on March 15, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Sergeant Anthony Diaz…
General David Petraeus; One whom Senator Clinton should never have questioned with incredulity……
Since the good General’s statements appear to be most current and timing is litterly everything with respect to military operations. For now, I shall accept the General’s statements that; define “The [so called] Surge” as a rather dismal failure.
We must however; be patient and wait for the good General’s final words in April. One can always hope that there will be a miraculous turn around in the next few weeks?
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Good news, though the malapropism with inkling is unfortunate.
Tzetzes on March 15, 2008 at 10:58 AM
J_Gocht, I wouldn’t call the surge a dismal failure. Violence is down, “insurgents” are hiding, infrastructure is being rebuilt, Iraqi oil is flowing again, Shi’a and Sunni are beginning to talk to each other.
Iraq’s national government has failed to take full advantage of this lull. They have taken vacations, pontificated and passed a few meaningful pieces of legislation. For those who are impatient with Shi’a / Sunni hatred and wonder why reconciliation is taking so long, may I point to the Irish Catholics and Protestants? Reconciliation attempts have been going on there far longer than in Iraq, violence is way down in Ireland but they still aren’t there yet.
Final point the waffling of our government (US) and the uncertainty of whether or not our troops are going to be beating feet soon would make any Iraqi hesitant to move too precipitously. Look in any history book and find out what happened to collaborators with the losing side and you will understand why.
Duncan Khuver on March 15, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Do I have this right? Clinton, Pelosi, Reid etc. belong to a political party that introduced the superdelegate system with the express purpose of removing popular and democraticlly elected elements from control of the party’s nominating process. This in a country with centuries of demotratic tradition. But Baghdad must, in five years, make a transition to democracy. Could they come up with a 5 year plan to bring democracy to the Democratic party?
snaggletoothie on March 15, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Duncan Khuver, did you bother to read General Petraeus’s quote of Thursday last…
How does that square with your’s?
Is it possible that you are in camp with Senator McCain; one who is willing to spill our precious blood for the next hundred years and run us into a financial ditch not experienced since the thirties’.
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 11:31 AM
So, how’s the rEVOLution going?
Looks like J_Gocht only read the first couple of paragraphs from the article.
Here’s the full article he is referencing.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 12:09 PM
I like how you put your points forth in a calm and respectful way. I’ll try to do the same.
Hasn’t Obama and Clinton both stated that they will continue to pursue terrorists and fight the War On Terror? They have in fact said that very thing. Obama going as far as stating that he will pull out of Iraq and attack Al Queda in Pakistan. Obama also said that he would reserve the right to return to Iraq if Al Queda has a presence there (which they currently do).
So why is fighting Al Queda only a bad thing when it pertains to McCain? Most likely because McCain is not the candidate of choice for those who level such charges at McCain perhaps?
Has the military aspect of the surge been a success? Absolutely, without question.
Has the Iraq government squandered many opportunities for national reconciliation during the surge? Absolutely, without question. In fact, the Iraqi government going on vacation last August caused me a tremendous amount of angst and had me questioning myself at that time, “why are we bothering with them”.
But something has occurred in Iraq, something that has always been key to a calmer Iraq, something that suprised me on how long it took to occur:
Iraq is on the road to national reconciliation. We are killing and capturing Al Queda in Iraq and other places in the world where Al Queda is found. Iraqi’s are finally getting involved in securing their own independence. It would be a mistake to walk out on Iraq before Iraq is able to stand on it’s own two feet.
Hog Wild on March 15, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Its unforetunate so many lives have been lost.
The bi-product of terrorists using civilian body-counts as policy has been bloody, but its been an eye opener.
During the initial invasion it was an easy sell to the Iraqis that we were the conquerers to fear.
As time pased though, no matter how the media portrayed, the Iraqis learned full and well who they had to fear and it wasnt us.
The terrorists only means to an end was to make the war so bloody that it reinforced the cowards argument of leaving better off alone. That fact wasnt lost on the Iraqis.
It may be slow to some , but you must consider what we are trying to accomplish and where it is. There is also no other alternative except fight these scum until nations realise that they will not benefit from their prescence.
Sonosam on March 15, 2008 at 12:57 PM
We need to remember something important about our poor, beknighted liberal friends: They all believe that all good flows from the government. Therefore, there can be no reconciliation in Iraq until that reconciliation comes from the government (top-down). The idea that reconciliation might be happening from the bottom-up would not occur to them, or have any percieved value to them even if it is happening.
trigon on March 15, 2008 at 1:25 PM
Hog Wild, thanks for the compliment. I’m not so certain it’s deserved?
I’m certain General Petraeus, when he addresses congress in April; will deftly find a new way to put lipstick on the pig that is Iraq.
Reminds me of how Messrs Bernanke and Paulson are attempting to weave a fine silk purse out of the sow’s ear that defines the condition of our present economy.
Here’s one of President Bush’s best efforts to put a smiley face on it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy5lSO7fFGs
Back in 2004 President Bush gave us a misspoken hint of things to come…
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Dr. Mercury on March 15, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Oh please. There are Christians in Iraq. This has nothing to do with “the evil west” pushing “our” religion on an indigenous people. Learn a little more about Iraq before you suscribe to the imperialist notion of our action.
VolMagic on March 15, 2008 at 1:37 PM
My apologies…
Here’s the correct link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy5lSO7fFGs
Everyone needs a little smile now and then…?
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Ok, for you lefties who love the U.N., this is from the A.F.P.: The sectarian bloodshed which has ravaged Iraq since 2006 is now running at a “much lower” level, offering a chance for leaders to push national reconciliation, a top UN official said on Saturday. Staffan de Mistura, special representative in Iraq of the UN secretary general, said the country was no longer experiencing the high levels of communal bloodletting that followed an attack on a revered Shiite shrine in February 2006, despite “some horrific acts in the past few weeks.” Hey, if the U.N. says it, well then it must be true, eh lefties?
Tony737 on March 15, 2008 at 2:00 PM
J_Gocht - Please note that General Petraeus said
Please notice the key word sufficient. Implying that no progress has been made is every bit as wrong as the rosy proclamations are.
I believe Hog Wild expressed what I meant better than I did.
And like Hog Wild, I appreciate your thoughtful expression of your views.
Duncan Khuver on March 15, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Our fiat currency economics and abandonment of the gold standard has brought us to this, no?
Yet I fail to see the parallelism you are trying to establish between the Fed’s excuses and Gen. Petraeus’ comments on Iraq.
The Fed could be looking through a rose colored lens, but Gen. Petraeus is certainly not mincing words when he shows concern for an Iraqi government squandering a chance to seal the deal over there.
Care to explain this?
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Um…Christianity was not brought to Iraq with the invasion in ‘03.
There were Christians in Iraq before well before Islam was even a glimmer in the eye of Satan.
labrat on March 15, 2008 at 2:28 PM
Damn, Duncan Khuver. I don’t know if I can take anymore of this back slapping?
Thanks anyway for the heads-up. It’s like El Rushbo says,
Indeed.
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 2:34 PM
And by the way, don’t let any Muslims hear you referring to Iraq as “a pig”, much less wearing lipstick, or the mullahs will put out an open contract on you: reward, 72 virgins.
njcommuter on March 15, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 2:21 PM
I agree with respect to our fiat dollars; however we’ve been off or partially off the gold standard since 1862.
Does that ring a bell, EtB?
My point was that; Petraeus overwhelms his audience with endless Power Point presentations that intimate continued progress on the ground. Since there is no real sufficient, demonstrable progress… his colorful graphics are the only means at his disposal, as he leaves his listeners with a conundrum. Huh?
This is in the same sense, but by different means that Bernanke and Paulson utilize “Fed speak” a play on words, to riddle their audiences.
Alan Greenspan, was a past master of “Fed. Speak” as David Petraeus is of “Mil Speak”.
When Alan finished; you knew less then you did when he started, thirty minutes earlier.
In David’s case the content is different but the result is the same.
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 3:51 PM
Did Nancy or Harry get the memo?
ToddonCapeCod on March 15, 2008 at 3:53 PM
If so then the troops should be pretty much all coming home very soon now.
Just as if surgery works one would not be staying in the hospital having even more surgery with no end in sight.
Just as if the repair work on your car worked your car should not be in the repair shop having even more repair work with no end in sight.
However, maybe it depends on what the meaning of worked is and what the meaning of is, is. That must be it.
MB4 on March 15, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Harry Truman to Allied Forces: The A-bombing of Japan worked, but you will still have to pretty much all stay in the Pacific doing what you have been doing for the next fifty, make it a hundred, years.
MB4 on March 15, 2008 at 4:05 PM
njcommuter on March 15, 2008 at 3:11 PM
I’d forgotten about fatwa’s…!
Seventy two virgins would certainly kill a tottering olde geezer in my physical condition…!
Which goes first, the mind or the body…?
In my case, there seems to be congruency occurring.
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 4:21 PM
And then there is that too, the economy, which will likely soon eclipse Iraq in the minds of most voters.
UBS puts the banks’ total losses from the subprime fiasco at $600 billion. If that’s true, (and we expect it is) then the Fed is out of luck because, at some point, Bernanke will have to throw in the towel and let some of the bigger banks fail. And when that happens, the stock market will start lurching downward in 400 and 500 point increments. But what else can be done? Solvency can only be feigned for so long. Eventually, losses have to be accounted for and businesses have to fail. It’s that simple.
So far, the Fed’s actions have had only a marginal affect. The system is grinding to a standstill. The country’s two largest GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are presently carrying $4.5 trillion of loans on their books, are teetering towards bankruptcy. Both are gravely under-capitalized and (as a recent article in Barron’s shows) Fannies equity is mostly smoke and mirrors. No wonder investors are shunning their bonds. Additionally, the cost of corporate bond insurance is now higher than anytime in history, which makes funding for business expansion or new projects nearly impossible. The wheels have come of the cart. The debt markets are upside-down, consumer confidence is drooping and, as the Financial Times states, “A palpable sense of crisis pervades global trading floors.” It’s all pretty grim.
The banks are facing a “systemic margin call” which is leaving them capital-depleted and unwilling to lend. Thus, the credit markets are shutting down and there’s a stampede for the exits by the big players. Bernanke’s chances of reversing the trend are nil. The cash-strapped banks are calling in loans from the hedge funds which is causing massive deleveraging. That, in turn, is triggering a disorderly unwind of trillions of dollars of credit default swaps and other leveraged bets.
Its a disaster.
- Global Research
MB4 on March 15, 2008 at 4:26 PM
The administration’s policy of “surge till they merge” seems to have transmuted into “keep surging because they’re not merging”.
MB4 on March 15, 2008 at 4:33 PM
Clearly then, Ron Paul should be leading this country.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 8:17 PM
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 8:17 PM
EtB, if our almost worthless “greenbacks” were the only issue I might agree.
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 9:05 PM
In would appear we maybe in for more than just a little rock and roll with these financial geniuses’ leading the band…!
Bernanke Discards Monetary History with Bear Stearns Bailout
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aY2RvFA.yO_Q&refer=worldwide
Avoid Overcorrecting Economy, Bush Warns
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080315/bush.html?.v=2
J_Gocht on March 15, 2008 at 9:42 PM
I rather enjoy embedded reporters, some of them are good guys.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 9:54 PM
And that is what happened.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 9:56 PM
Hog wild is the shiz
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 9:58 PM
No. You don’t get it, maaaannnnn.
The rEVOLution starts NOW!
Fiat currency? Out!
Bushitler? Overthrown!
Legalize it? Hell yeah!
You dig, maaannn??
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Well, yeah I am all about legalizing drugs…
I don’t talk like that though :)
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:02 PM
No, maann, you ain’t feelin’ me!
Why don’t you feel my vibe, maannn?
Ron Paul feels my vibes…why can’t you?
Huh?
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Your statement has been noted for the record.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Im sorry, I dont speak freaker…Im going to turn back over to my table now…
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Record of worthless statements :)
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Too late.
Your statement has been recorded.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:15 PM
ahhh always so serious does not even know a pop culture reference when he sees it…:)
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:17 PM
Whatev…
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Indeed.
The impulse to minimize the damage is a common reaction. It serves to soothe your misgivings about the words you wished you had only thought about a bit more before you put them into permanent record.
And that is why you are still here.
Hoping.
No.
Praying for some chance to make it all better.
End game.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:25 PM
I have no misgivings about the words I just said, you are spouting out alot of pointless BS about “the record”.
You are one weird cat.
BTW, I will say it again, I belive in legalization.
*shrugs*
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Your statement has been recorded.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Good for you sunshine. Now can I get on with my evening without your BS.
BT BT
Where is that picture form anyone?
Is that a church?
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:42 PM
I don’t know.
Can you?
Considering the statements you have made, declaring your belief in the legalization of drugs, can you really “get on” with your evening?
Can you?
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:49 PM
Why not, I do not use drugs and never have. I do support legalization of posession. I support legalization and regulation, tax the hell out of it just like tobacco and liquor.
That is not going to prevent me from getting on with my evening, Ive had that opinion for a few years now, mostly after talking with my wife who has worked on the front lines of the drug war.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 10:53 PM
You and your wife’s opinions have been duly noted for the permanent record.
Thank you for your unabashed honesty.
It has been most revealing.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Ummm ok.
BTW, my wifes opinions were not discussed…
Please enlighten me to how they are “revealing”, I am waiting with bated breath.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Yes they were.
Busted.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Did I say my wife supported legalization.
She tells me a bunch of stories, talks about the cases she has had. Her opinion is actually quite different than mine.
If she didnt agree with the drug war do you think shed still be on the lines?
Oh snap…
Your powers of deduction fail again…
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:26 PM
What we see here, folks, is a failure to accept reality. We see an attempt of retractions, without success, to the statements that have already been made in front of God and country by “Squid Shark” and his “wife”.
Again, “Squid Shark”, you, and now your wife, have been beaten. By your own emotional stupidity.
You cannot rescind the statements you or your wife have made about the legalization of drugs in the United States of America.
Those statements will forever become a part of you and your wife’s permanent record.
To forever endure scrutiny by the government of the United States of America.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 11:37 PM
Whatever, there are no retractions here except in your own mind. A guy cant get around in here without you carping.
I am still waiting for what my opinion reveals about me
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:44 PM
The argument of an empty, lost mind who knows he is vanquished.
You cannot debate me.
Again.
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 11:49 PM
BTW, you must have a boring life to go around recording my posts :)
Have a good night et tu, it has been fun, as always.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:49 PM
Vanquished in the chesboard of your mind.
Also, if you consider saying my statement is “recorded” and “revealing” as a debate, I submit that you need to take a rhetoric class.
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:52 PM
If you are going to use that analogy, then isn’t physical therapy or rehab needed after surgery to finish the medical procedure?
Is there still not U.S. bases in Germany, Italy, Japan, and Korea still? Want to pull them out too?
Let’s give communism and terrorism a chance the new battle cry? Let’s pull our forces back, allow everyone else to fend for themselves and the world will love us for it?
That’s not only niave, it’s dangerous.
Hog Wild on March 15, 2008 at 11:57 PM
Gotta love the Hog, what is up Devil Dog!
Squid Shark on March 15, 2008 at 11:58 PM
That is what you’d like eyewitnesses to believe. However, the truth has a way of putting things into perspective.
In reality, for you and your wife, this has been far less than “fun”.
Now that you both have been noted for the record.
Sweet dreams…
Et tu Brute on March 15, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Riiiight, you sound like a sociopath, man.
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 12:05 AM
You right BTW, you are annoying and not really fun at all.
I have fun with people who actually debate.
Like a horsefly.
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 12:09 AM
Now I finally understand. I was curious as to the condesending dressing down I took in another thread from you Et tu Brute, I let it slide since I was new at Hot Air, kind of take a step back see what develops, trying not to jump to conclusions.
You support Ron Paul. The same Republican that blames 9-11 on the United States. A wealth of information I wasn’t previously privy to. “Like a laser beam” I now know who I am dealing with.
You blame America for everything. Nice to finally meet you.
Psst… it’s time for Ron Paul to withdraw from the Republican primary, he can’t win, McCain already won enough delegates to make it impossible for anyone else to get the nomination. It’s time to make that Independent run, he should “WOW” them with his 3% gains in the Republican primaries.
I hope that was condesending, I was making an effort.
Hog Wild on March 16, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Nice to have you back Hog.
I think he may just be a lonely person who likes tormenting people in the boards.
Or a 14 year old kid….
I am hitting the sack, wife is recovering from surgery and it is pill time at 0200 :)
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 12:37 AM
And now you too, Hog Wild, have also fallen for the ruse.
This is too easy.
Hey man, it’s all about the rEVOLution!
“You want answers?”
“I believe I’m entitled.”
“You want answers?”
“I want the truth!”
“You can’t handle the truth!!”
Et tu Brute on March 16, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Apparently speaking in charater and cryptic verse is his way of gaining “victory”, tonight.
OK ok, Im vanquished!
Gdnight
Have fun, devil dog.
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 12:47 AM
That’s from a movie is it not? Fantasy land? Hollywood’s portrayal of “how it is”?
Some truth for you, a Marine Colonel is college educated and world wise. I’ve met plenty, and none of them are stupid enough to convict themselves of murder a witness stand.
Fun to watch, but it ain’t real. Kind of like Ron Paul. Running fo President as a Republican. Fun to watch, but it ain’t real. Did you watch the debates? They got to Paul about every 8th question. What screams “you are not wanted” more than that?
Every contest has a loser. And you backed one.
Movie quotes… give me a break. I’m not ill informed. Give me some meat.
Hog Wild on March 16, 2008 at 1:01 AM
Is it safe for us little people yet?
platypus on March 16, 2008 at 1:05 AM
OK then, I can go along with that. Withdraw the troops (surgery) and send in the State Department (therapy) and the Peace Corps (rehab).
The situation in Iraq is not rationally equatable to that in Germany, Italy, Japan or Korea. Not even close.
Jewish World Review Feb. 15, 2008
Stop treating Sharia-supreme Iraq like post-war Japan
By Diana West
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com
Writing in the winter 2007-08 issue of The Objective Standard, John David Lewis offers an illuminating analysis of another U.S. occupation, this one thoroughly successful, in Japan (1945-1952). President Bush, of course, frequently refers to the democratization of Japan as a model for the democratization of Iraq (and the wider Islamic Middle East). But, as Lewis’ must-read essay makes historically clear, the president has been comparing apples and oranges.
It isn’t just that the total defeat and utter devastation of Japan nullifies the comparison with Iraq (which it does). There is something else. There is the completely different U.S. approach to Japan’s animating, warlike state religion of Shintoism, which, not incidentally, bears striking similarities to the animating, warlike state religion of Islam.
In 1945, our government was of one mind regarding state Shintoism. Lewis quotes Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, who wrote: “Shintoism, insofar as it is a religion of individual Japanese, is not to be interfered with. Shintoism, however, insofar as it is directed by the Japanese government, and as a measure enforced from above by the government, is to be done away with. … There will be no place for Shintoism in the schools. Shintoism as a state religion — National Shinto, that is — will go. … Our policy on this goes beyond Shinto. … The dissemination of Japanese militaristic and ultra-nationalistic ideology in any form will be completely suppressed.”
And it was, with fabulous results.
Obviously, there have been no analogous U.S. efforts to “de-jihadize” Islamic public culture even as the United States has spent lives, limbs, money and years trying, essentially, to stop the jihad in the Islamic Middle East — not even, to take a manageable example, in the U.S.-funded Palestinian Authority, where state-run media continue to incite Islamically motivated violence against Jews and Americans. And then there are all those U.S.-fostered constitutions that enshrine Sharia law — just the sort of ideological concession our forebears would never have made.
Bottom line? History shows that the conditions that drove the model transformation of Japan do not exist today with regard to the Islamic Middle East. We’re going to need another strategy — for starters, an immigration policy and new laws to halt the creep of Sharia — to ward off the Islamization of the West.
I am not the one being naive, but then maybe, for just an example, you didn’t see the recent poll of military officers.
From a survey of active duty officers:
Furthermore, it appears that many officers find that the efforts of US forces have sometimes been counterproductive. Asked what country had gained the “greatest strategic advantage” from the war in Iraq, 37% said Iran while 22% answered China. Just one in five of the officers answered that the US had gained the most.
I wonder how those percentages would change now.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Sunday in Baghdad for the first-ever visit by an Iranian president to Iraq, walking a red carpet past Iraqi troops to meet the president of a once-bitter enemy nation that’s now under growing Iranian influence.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani greeted Ahmadinejad at his car and the two kissed four times on the cheeks in the traditional fashion. A military honor guard saluted the two and a band played the two countries’ national anthems as they walked slowly down the red carpet at Talabani’s headquarters.
The visit gives Ahmadinejad a chance to highlight the relationship his nation has with post-Saddam Hussein Iraq while also serving as an act of defiance toward the U.S., which accuses Iran of training and giving weapons to Shiite extremists in Iraq.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to meet not only with Talabani but also Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, both of whom have made official visits to Iran since taking office.
MB4 on March 16, 2008 at 1:28 AM
Good morning, Gentlemen!
It would appear I missed most the fun here, after I retired…? It’s hell being a geezer.
Et tu Brute, I must agree … You sometimes come across as a bit harsh and more than a little bit annoying. Why is that? Were you indulging yourself?
Never mind, none of my business.
How do you feel this morning? Well I hope.
With respect to the so called “War on Drugs” it’s just a political gimmick used by airhead politicians to pontificate…and almost as despicable as the War in Iraq is and the War in Vietnam was.
EtB, You can bust me too, for the record… the permanent record!
Duly noted…? Huh?
EtB, you actually might have enjoyed duty in olde Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City. You didn’t have to buy your own “Sweet Mary” there. All you had to do was go into almost any bar, buy yourself a bottle of Vietnamese beer, BA MOI BA [# 33] sit down, relax and inhale deeply of the second hand smoke for a couple hours. You got a double kick…Mannnn!
Hog Wild, as a Marine I fine it hard to believe you weren’t aware of that movie?
SEMPER FIDELIS… from an olde soldier.
Best regards, to all!
J_Gocht on March 16, 2008 at 9:37 AM
platypus
Mon apologies,
Jump right in! The water’s fine!
J_Gocht on March 16, 2008 at 9:59 AM
According to EtB, none of those military voices matters. Your preching to the choir with me and Hog
Your posts are always appreciated, a younge sailor sends :)
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Et tu Brute, I never meant to cut off your response in this early morning, at the pass, in ambush, olde boy. There are definitely other authors, historians and nere-do-wells that agree with both your and Rep. Ron Paul’s philosophy.
J_Gocht on March 16, 2008 at 12:55 PM
MB4 on March 16, 2008 at 1:28 AM
I’m all for finding a better way. I’m all for talking before fighting. But who do you propose we talk to concerning terrorism attacks against the United States and the terroirst insurgents in Iraq who are trying to undermine that elected government?
Hog Wild on March 16, 2008 at 1:06 PM
Hog Wild, now that’s the pickle. Who do we talk “with” or “at” and under what circumstances?
It would appear to me… that consideration, is much more than long over due with respect to Iran.
Too much face-arrogance
The appropriate face-balance
Too little face- loss of all respect
Three thirds of a shell game… where’s the peanut? Under number 1, 2 or 3…?
Actually; it’s even much, more complicated than that…as you well understand.
The ethnic, tribal mores, political divisions and religious zealots must all be given most careful and serious consideration.
This concept of “indigenous understanding” is an element the cowboys that initiated our original blitzkrieg of “shock and awe” into Iraq, were totally, conceptually and ethnically ignorant…!
That sorry damn bunch of over paid, pompous civilian and military dumbe’s that put us in…didn’t have a clue then and till this day remain in total darkness…!
Time for a massive changing of the guard…!
J_Gocht on March 16, 2008 at 2:35 PM
I am not proposing that we talk to anybody. We should act in our own self interest, not engage so much of our resources in the folly of “nation building” an Islamic country. It is not our troops job to decide whether Mohammed’s rightful successor was Umar or Ali.
MB4 on March 16, 2008 at 2:40 PM
MB4,
I stated, and asked… “Under what circumstances…?”
I agree entirely, much better to rebuild bridges in Minnesota than spend a damn dime in Iraq…! Or anywhere else for that matter!
J_Gocht on March 16, 2008 at 2:57 PM
I have cast my line…
…and the fishing is well.
Et tu Brute on March 16, 2008 at 9:20 PM
EtB is a Ron Paul man….
Everything is becoming clear :)
Squid Shark on March 16, 2008 at 9:41 PM