The Beginning of the End in Iraq?
Perhaps the corner has turned in Iraq. New allies from the Republican ranks continue to join Democrats in calling for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq. White House Spokesman Tony Snow has confirmed that an upcoming report on the war's progress shows that very little progress has been made in meeting the "benchmarks" laid out for the Iraqi government. Snow stated that it should be looked as a "starting line" for determining the effectiveness of the "surge", once again showing that this administration is willing to allow troops to continue dying in Iraq to try to preserve its continually fading political capital. Somehow the administration is convinced that an additional 28,000 troops are going to be the deciding factor in a conflict that already has 140,000+ coalition troops and even more (160,000+) private military contractors operating.
The Brookings Institute gave this bleak assessment of surge progress in their July 5, 2007 Iraq Index Report:
"Car bombings remain prevalent enough that the current relative restraint exercised by most Shia militias will be difficult to sustain. There is no evidence that ethnic cleansing has declined significantly from its pre-surge level of roughly 100,000 persons displaced per month. Cities such as Kirkuk and Mosul remain tinderboxes, and have perhaps worsened in recent weeks. The economy remains stagnant and utility performance very mediocre. And perhaps worst of all, the Iraqi political system fails to deliver any real progress on the core issues dividing Sunni from Shia from Kurd".
Its surprising that our own country is unable to learn from the lessons of our own history. Every July 4th, we celebrate our Independence Day.... where we recall our struggle for autonomy from the British... unable to muster the supplies or manpower to confront a militarily superior, discplined fighting force... they turned to guerilla warfare....using raids, sabotage and attrition warfare to wear down the British Army. The Continental Army and local militias benefited from the help of external military forces during the Revolution (the French) to help win (although they would probably be called "insurgents" or "terrorists" in today's politically charged vernacular).
The War finally ended once the British determined that the human and economic costs were too high and the manner of conflict was not conducive to their military's capabilities... which is eerily similar to the situation that is occuring in today's conflicts. As a former soldier, I can tell you that driving from place to place waiting to be blown up by a bomb (nearly 80% of casualities according to NPR) is not the way to win a war.
The Brookings Institute gave this bleak assessment of surge progress in their July 5, 2007 Iraq Index Report:
"Car bombings remain prevalent enough that the current relative restraint exercised by most Shia militias will be difficult to sustain. There is no evidence that ethnic cleansing has declined significantly from its pre-surge level of roughly 100,000 persons displaced per month. Cities such as Kirkuk and Mosul remain tinderboxes, and have perhaps worsened in recent weeks. The economy remains stagnant and utility performance very mediocre. And perhaps worst of all, the Iraqi political system fails to deliver any real progress on the core issues dividing Sunni from Shia from Kurd".
Its surprising that our own country is unable to learn from the lessons of our own history. Every July 4th, we celebrate our Independence Day.... where we recall our struggle for autonomy from the British... unable to muster the supplies or manpower to confront a militarily superior, discplined fighting force... they turned to guerilla warfare....using raids, sabotage and attrition warfare to wear down the British Army. The Continental Army and local militias benefited from the help of external military forces during the Revolution (the French) to help win (although they would probably be called "insurgents" or "terrorists" in today's politically charged vernacular).
The War finally ended once the British determined that the human and economic costs were too high and the manner of conflict was not conducive to their military's capabilities... which is eerily similar to the situation that is occuring in today's conflicts. As a former soldier, I can tell you that driving from place to place waiting to be blown up by a bomb (nearly 80% of casualities according to NPR) is not the way to win a war.
"I can tell you that driving from place to place waiting to be blown up by a bomb (nearly 80% of casualities according to NPR) is not the way to win a war. "
Well how will the war be won and will it every be won? I believe we did the right thing by going into Iraqi, but I believe we are heading into the wrong direction. I frankly don't understand why hasn't the Iraqi government done anything as far passing laws that the US says it needs for a unity government, and why hasn't the Iraqi Military been able to take more control of more area than they have. I believe they both should be made to sink or swim, at least while we still have a life jacket to save them. If the American general public keeps going the way it is. The Democrates will have us out of Iraqi by next year. And in my eyes it will be bad news for Iraqi and America.
Posted by Michael Sronce on July 19, 2007 at 02:53 PM EDT #