update:
Well it has been an intresting day today. Towards the end of shift we had a sustdeil touchdown and pick up and trow 3 maintenace tents about 100 feet. Luckily no one was hurt and we all (military and civilians) worked together to get everything cleaned up. Other than that all is going well.
And to Scottd, I was talking to a Sunni truckdriver yesterday who is from Baghdad. He was here making a delivery to the base and I told him what you wrote. He told me that first of all it is the average Sunni that is fighting back against AQ and has asked the military for help (that I have not seen mentioned on the Caliphite News Network) and that they want the violence to end. He acknowledges that the strife between Sunni and Shite has been going on for years and will be going on long after we are all in the grave. He also said that a US pullout would be horrible and he wishes that Ameircan politicians would quit gambling with the lives of his countrymen just to score a political advantage in the '08 election (the Iraqi's pay closer attention to what is going on in American politics than the average American does). He said that AQ has plenty of reason to want to stay in Iraq. First it would give them a base of operations. He feels that if the US pulls out then more people will join AQ's ranks and we would see a Taliban type government put in place. He does not want to see his daughter subjected to that kind of treatment. Secondly, AQ would use the revenue they gain from Iraqi oil to finance bigger attacks on the West. He pointed out that if America leaves Iraq then AQ could spend the money used to pay for the attacks in Iraq to pay for attakcs on the West. He also told me that he wants to see the Iraqi military take the fight to the enemy so that they can prove themselves and therefore America would finally be able to leave his country. The Iraqi's want us to leave eventually, but not before they can truly defend themselves. So there you have it. That is the point of view from an Iraqi who lives with the violence on a daily basis. If that is not good enough for you then I can see that nothing can wash the liberal kool-aid out of your veins (which is probably the case).
Till next time, everyone keep up those prayers for our troops, they help out tremendously.
Well after many a sandstorm and lots of work on repairing the internet signal I am finally up and running again. I hope all is well back in Washington and I have even heard some pretty exciting stuff is going on in the 3rd CD (my CD) in regards to the 08 election.
As for here, things have been pretty quiet. I still hear about the occasional attack outside the wire, but thankfully no body has been seriously injured.
I did take a poll of Washingtonians I have meet here (all military members) and the genral consensus is that an R needs to win the Presidency in 08. They also agree that Hillary's poll numbers would go up if she would just not say anything (that is just one voice that is irratating).
Well got to run, but hope to be able to post soon. Keep the questions rolling and I will answer the ones that I can
Posted by TrueSoldier at May 31, 2007 09:16 AM | Email ThisWhat's the buzz on the 'surge'?
Wall Street Journal says it is not working, but Reuters says it is.
The Fourth Rail reports lots of action which is good; however, the fascists are suggesting the old truce scheme like Arafat did, so they can build up. Hopefully, our guys aren't falling for it.
Posted by: swatter on May 31, 2007 04:29 PMLot's of interesting politics going on here in washington, the latest is a 67 Billion dollar boondoggle transportation ballot package. We could pave Bagdad with that much cash.
You keep safe and stay in touch. Tell all the folks there that we will never ever stop supporting them.
If anyone needs anything from home, my offer is still there, just write!
God's speed in getting you all home safe!
Posted by: GS on May 31, 2007 07:51 PMI'll bet that didn't make the MSM.
Posted by: TrueSoldier on June 1, 2007 08:00 AMNot a single democrat candidate is talking about fighting terrorists, even though the FBI is reporting that they are in our midst planning everthing under the sun including a 7 city nuclear attack.
Massive tax hikes, healthcare for everyone, Hate Bush, Hate the VP. Hate Hate Hate
Keep it up TrueSoldier, tell everyone there we support them!
Keep Safe!
Al Qaeda is a fundamentalist Sunni movement; the secular Sunnis who made up most of the Baath party have little use for them. Sunni tribal leaders see them as a threat to their authority and Iraqi nationalism. And, of course, they are not tolerated at all by the Shiite majority.
The fact is, the chances of AQ becoming established in Iraq are practically nil. If we were to withdraw, the Iraqis would drive them out in no time and, without our presence in Iraq, AQ would have little incentive for being there. They were not significantly present during Saddam's regime. They came to fight Americans and to take advantage of anti-American sentiment generated by our botched occupation.
Pilgrim, there are reports that the surge may be working, just not fast enough. Seems there are some areas we had projected to take over by now, but we haven't.
Bottom line, have our troops taken their gloves off? Or are they still being handcuffed with their hands behind their backs?
Posted by: swatter on June 4, 2007 02:56 PMYou're entitled to believe whatever you want, but I'm curious. What in particular do you think I got wrong? Do you have anything but your own beliefs to back it up?
Thanks for getting back to me. I realize you probably don't have much time for web-surfing over there, so here's a link to one CNN story reporting that Sunnis are fighting AQ:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/01/iraq.insurgent.rift/index.html
I mentioned other places where the story was covered -- you'll have to look up your own cites. My point remains: this isn't a story that's being ignored by the so-called MSM.
As for AQ having a chance in Iraq, I doubt it. AQ has plenty of bases of operation where they are more welcome. As I noted, and you've confirmed, Iraqis have little use for AQ, and they will take care of them. Sure, AQ would like the oil revenue, but so would the Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites, and their associated militia -- AQ doesn't stand a chance against them. Nor is Sunni AQ going to put a Taliban govt (also Sunni) in place in a country that is mostly Shiite. They have support in Sunni Afghanistan and Pakistan, but not Iraq. For a while the Sunni Iraqis tolerated them, but, as you've reported, even that is eroding. AQ is simply not a major force in the Iraqi conflict.
You mentioned that you think the surge might be working, but you didn't say why. The US military just conducted its own assessment:
Their conclusions?
- So far, they have fallen far short of their original goals.
- They control fewer than one-third of the city's neighborhoods.
- The Iraqi government has failed to deliver the full strength of promised troops.
- In many cases, the Iraqi forces have performed poorly and often refuse to fight Shiite militia.
In other places it's been reported that the Iraqi police and army are heavily infiltrated by Shiite militia and their sympathizers. It's also been reported that violence may be down in some Bagdhad neighborhoods, but it's the same or up in others and violence outside the capital seems to be increasing. That just doesn't sound like success to me. Maybe it will start succeeding later, but it hasn't been successful yet.
Nope the troops have not been allowed to take the gloves off as of yet. I have heard tale that the war is being ran more by liberal lawyers over here than the military, but I can not confirm that to be the truth.
Scottd,
You are right that the Caliphite New Network has shown this story. We do not watch that network over here especially seeing that the network is willing to show insurgent/terrorist propaganda videos of our soldiers being killed by snipers and call that news.
I will say there is some truth to what you have heard, but as usual they are only half truths (I do not blame you for the half truths I blame the shody reporting). Most of these reporters never leave the "green zone" and really on stringers to get them their stories and lets face it things going boom make a splasher headline than Iraqi high school kids graduating and thanking the US Military for rebuilding their school so they could finish. Their is some infiltration of the police force and the military (more so in the police force) and they are being weeded out slowly. All in all though I must say that the average Iraqi citizen is very supportive of the troops and that is a huge. When I was over here in 2004 as a Sgt in the Army, the average Iraqi citizen was just as wary of the military as they were of the insurgents. I would have to believe that the tide is turning and I truly hope that I am right. Only time will tell, but only if we give it the time that is needed (no I do not have a set amount of time to be given). Remember, our great nation did not get back on its' feet immediately after the Revoulitionary war. It took the better part of 10 years for our nation to mature.
Posted by: TrueSoldier on June 5, 2007 08:38 AMDuring the day, they hung out at the bars and tried to pick up tidbits of information. Our feeling (I didn't go to VietNam but was in training just before the US pulled out) was they were parasites. Sounds like a bunch of them still are.
I still prefer Roggio at the 4th Rail for better information.
And you will have to ignore scottd; he seems like the type who keeps reinventing the word "success" to conform to his beliefs.
As you know, the real war is being fought in the States.
Posted by: swatter on June 5, 2007 09:19 AM