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Today we see news of a bomb in Baghdad that killed Iraqi children and adults.
Why are the Iraqi insurgents targeting their fellow-citizens? Does that seem like a way for them to win support?
The following is from William Truax, a Major in the USMC on the Multi-National Corps staff in Baghdad. It was written before, but is relevant to, today’s bombing in that city.
He argues that the insurgents are attacking their fellow Iraqis precisely because they are losing the popular support of the Iraqi people.
...[the recently published National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq], along with the car bombings and kidnappings in Baghdad in the past couple days are being portrayed in the media as more proof of absolute chaos and the intransigence of the insurgency.
From where I sit, at the Operational Headquarters in Baghdad, that just isn’t the case. Let’s lay out some background, first about the “National Intelligence Estimate.” The most glaring issue with its relevance is the fact that it was delivered to the White House in July. That means that the information that was used to derive the intelligence was gathered in the Spring – in the immediate aftermath of the April battle for Fallujah, and other events. The report doesn’t cover what has happened in July or August, let alone September.
The naysayers will point to the recent battles in Najaf and draw parallels between that and what happened in Fallujah in April. They aren’t even close. The bad guys did us a HUGE favor by gathering together in one place and trying to make a stand. It allowed us to focus on them and defeat them. Make no mistake, Al Sadr’s troops were thoroughly smashed. The estimated enemy killed in action is huge. Before the battles, the residents of the city were afraid to walk the streets. Al Sadr’s enforcers would seize people and bring them to his Islamic court where sentence was passed for religious or other violations. Long before the battles people were looking for their lost loved ones who had been taken to “court” and never seen again. Now Najafians can and do walk their streets in safety. Commerce has returned and the city is being rebuilt. Iraqi security forces and US troops are welcomed and smiled upon. That city was liberated again. It was not like Fallujah – the bad guys lost and are in hiding or dead.
You may not have even heard about the city of Samarra. Two weeks ago, that Sunni Triangle city was a “No-go” area for US troops. But guess what? The locals got sick of living in fear from the insurgents and foreign fighters that were there and let them know they weren’t welcome. They stopped hosting them in their houses and the mayor of the town brokered a deal with the US commander to return Iraqi government sovereignty to the city without a fight. The people saw what was on the horizon and decided they didn’t want their city looking like Fallujah in April or Najaf in August.
Boom, boom, just like that two major “hot spots” cool down in rapid succession. Does that mean that those towns are completely pacified? No. What it does mean is that we are learning how to do this the right way. The US commander in Samarra saw an opportunity and took it – probably the biggest victory of his military career and nary a shot was fired in anger. Things will still happen in those cities, and you can be sure that the bad guys really want to take them back. Those achievements, more than anything else in my opinion, account for the surge in violence in recent days – especially the violence directed at Iraqis by the insurgents. Both in Najaf and Samarra ordinary people stepped out and took sides with the Iraqi government against the insurgents, and the bad guys are hopping mad. They are trying to instill fear once again. The worst thing we could do now is pull back and let that scum back into people’s homes and lives.
So, you may hear analysts and prognosticators on CNN, ABC and the like in the next few days talking about how bleak the situation is here in Iraq, but from where I sit, it’s looking significantly better now than when I got here. The momentum is moving in our favor, and all Americans need to know that, so please, please, pass this on to those who care and will pass it on to others. It is very demoralizing for us here in uniform to read & hear such negativity in our press. It is fodder for our enemies to use against us and against the vast majority of Iraqis who want their new government to succeed. It causes the American public to start thinking about the acceptability of “cutting our losses” and pulling out, which would be devastating for Iraq for generations to come, and Muslim militants would claim a huge victory, causing us to have to continue to fight them elsewhere (remember, in war “Away” games are always preferable to “Home” games). Reports like that also cause Iraqis begin to fear that we will pull out before we finish the job, and thus less willing to openly support their interim government and US/Coalition activities. We are realizing significant progress here – not propaganda progress, but real strides are being made. It’s terrible to see our national morale, and support for what we’re doing here, jeopardized by sensationalized stories hyped by media giants whose #1 priority is advertising income followed closely by their political agenda; getting the story straight falls much further down on their priority scale, as Dan Rather and CBS News have so aptly demonstrated…
“Both in Najaf and Samarra ordinary people stepped out and took sides with the Iraqi government against the insurgents, and the bad guys are hopping mad. They are trying to instill fear once again.” That’s the money quote.
If you have questions for Bill, I can forward them. He writes “Feedback is always welcome, though I can’t promise an immediate response….”
(Hit Tip to Sal.)
Last Friday in his speech at Temple University in Philadelphia, John Kerry as usual repeated one of the preposterous canards of his campaign, saying “We have alienated our allies, and we are going it alone.’’
Mark R. Levin fact-checks this via counts of troops in the US-led coalition that fought the Korean War, versus those for Iraq. I’ve added the percentages.
Well, look at that. US forces made up 90% of coalition troops in Korea, versus just 84% in Iraq. That shows the Iraq coalition is even more multilateral than the Korean coalition.
Also, the Korean coalition included only 15 nations, versus 32 in Iraq.
Also, look how much help France contributed to the Korean effort: a big, giant 0.3%. That’s 3-tenths of one percent! Gee, whatta drag that we don’t have all that help this time around.
What is Kerry smoking? Doesn’t he know what “unilateral” means?
unilateral
adj.
1. Of, on, relating to, involving, or affecting only one side: a unilateral advantage in defense (New Republic).
2. Performed or undertaken by only one side: unilateral disarmament.
It’s not unilateral if there are 30+ countries involved.
You’d think if Kerry doesn’t know this, at least the NY TIMES would.
The Left can make fun of Bush pronouncing “nuclear” the way people say it in Texas, for month after month. But somehow the NY TIMES can’t bring itself to point out that Kerry doesn’t know the meaning of the word “unilateral.”
I’ve posted frequently that it looks like Kerry has no idea what he’s talking about. Others are now saying the same thing. John Armor at ChronWatch fact-checks the rest of Edwards’ speech, asking:
We only had seven allies with us at the end of World War II. Hasnt Kerry ever read a history book?
Read the whole thing.
There is something very strange going on with the Left when Liberals advocate the kind of cheating we associate with villains in action movies. Here we have one of the leading Liberal blogs, The Daily Kos (featured in a recent NY TIMES article on blogging), explicitly advocating deceit for the purpose of sabotaging the other party:
Poll Added – I’m Volunteering For Bush For Last 72 Hours – You Should Too
I like to keep up with the enemy and i am on their mailing list. Got an email asking me to help in the last 72 hours. I am going to sign up to help. We should get as many of us as possible to sign up to help in the last 72 hours. May or may not make a difference, but could really screw up their organizing for GOTV if enough of us do the same thing.
So he wants to “sign up to help” and then try to “screw up their organizing.”
This is what all the villains do when they cheat in competitions in the movies—for example, in that Star Wars movie where the villain threw a wrench into the engine of another racer. Amazingly, the site takes a poll, so that we can document what percentage of Daily Kos readers would like to engage in this sort of thing. The poll actually uses the word “dirty” to describe what they’re talking about.
And, here are the results, as of 9-27-04, with 196 votes counted. 62% do not object to fighting dirty.
Bankrupt, corrupt, abandoning any pretense of trying to win on the merits of their case, i.e. on the merits of their ability to keep America safe: that’s the Liberal position as represented by The Daily Kos. It doesn’t speak well for the Dems.
Dexter Lehtinen, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, was a reconnaissance-platoon leader in Vietnam. In National Review Online he writes:
In 1971, I awoke from three days of unconsciousness aboard a hospital ship off the coast of Vietnam. I could not see, my jaws were wired shut, and my left cheekbone was missing, a gaping hole in its place.
Later, while still in that condition at St. Albans Naval Hospital, one of my earliest recollections was hearing of John Kerry’s testimony before Congress. I remember lying there, in disbelief, as I learned how Kerry told the world that I served in an Army reminiscent of Genghis Khan’s; that officers like me routinely let their men plunder villages and rape villagers at will; that “war crimes” committed in Vietnam by my fellow soldiers “were not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.”
Then Kerry went to Paris, meeting with North Vietnamese enemy officials, while our soldiers continued to fight in the field. The pain and disbelief I felt listening to his words went deeper than the pain I felt from the enemy fire that seriously wounded my face.
Eighteen months later I was discharged from the hospital, the enemy-inflicted wounds fully healed. But more than 30 years later, the wounds inflicted by John Kerry continue to bring pain to scores of Vietnam veterans. Those wounds from the bearing of false witness against a generation of courageous young Americans who fought and died in Vietnam are much more serious than any wound warranting a Purple Heart. Those wounds go to the heart and soul. Those wounds never go away.
Read the whole thing.
From John Kerry’s speech regarding his four-point plan to deal with Iraq:
First, the President has to get the promised international support so our men and women in uniform dont have to go it alone.
...we cannot hope to succeed unless we rebuild and lead strong alliances so that other nations share the burden with us. That is the only way to succeed.
However, France and Germany have now dismissed Kerry on this.
No French or German turn on Iraq
French and German government officials say they will not significantly increase military assistance in Iraq even if John Kerry, the Democratic presidential challenger, is elected on November 2.
Mr Kerry, who has attacked President George W. Bush for failing to broaden the US-led alliance in Iraq, has pledged to improve relations with European allies and increase international military assistance in Iraq.
“I cannot imagine that there will be any change in our decision not to send troops, whoever becomes president,” Gert Weisskirchen, member of parliament and foreign policy expert for Germany’s ruling Social Democratic Party, said in an interview.
... Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, said last week that France, which has tense relations with interim prime minister Iyad Allawi, had no plans to send troops “either now or later”.
That view reflects the concerns of many EU and Nato officials, who say the dangers in Iraq and the difficulty of extricating troops already there could make European governments reluctant to send personnel, regardless of the outcome of the US election.
A French government official said: “People don’t expect that much would change under a Kerry administration, even if things can only get better. We do not anticipate a sudden honeymoon in the event Kerry replaces Bush.
It looks like Kerry just says whatever he thinks people want to hear. He doesn’t mind contradicting himself and he doesn’t bother to check the facts.
Throughout his campaign Kerry has trumpeted that he will do a better job than Bush of working with France and Germany. And here they are saying that he’s mistaken.
I’ve posted several times that it appears that Kerry has no idea what he’s talking about. And here we see that Kerry had no idea what he was talking about with regard to point #1 of his four-point plan for dealing with Iraq.
(Hit Tip to Sal.)
We’ve heard that colleges are teaching Communism to students.
It’s one thing to read a book about it or to see an excellent documentary about it. I’ve even blogged about one instance of it. But to actually encounter the effect it’s had on someone, is something different.
In a recent post, When Talking to Liberals About Iraq, I described a conversation I’d had with a very smart, well-educated guy, a liberal I happened to get into a conversation with at a local Apple store. Not surprisingy, I’ve spoken to a whole bunch of wonderful, bright, well-educated people who have liberal views. My acquaintance from the Apple store was kind enough to exchange some email with me on the subject of the war in Iraq.
He expressed a view that our high standard of living is a result of Capitalism, which, he feels, can only thrive by oppressing those of other nations who provide us with low-cost labor, and with resources. He noted that Americans enjoy many goods and privileges “even at the lower class levels”. He felt that there can be no equality for the people of the world as long as Capitalism is in use.
And my response on reading this was… waitaminnit. What does he want to replace Capitalism with? Who says Capitalism oppresses those of other nations? “Lower class levels?” Was he taught Communism in college?
I emailed to ask if it was true that he’d been taught Marxism or Communism. At this time he has not yet responded.
Now it made more sense to me why he bought into Michael Moore’s absurd accusation that the Iraq war was conducted for the benefit of companies such as Halliburton. It could well be that he’d been taught in college that Capitalism produces just such distortions; that he’d been taught in college to disparage our institutions.
This is so uncool. First and foremost, it’s false: Communism has led to tragedy wherever it’s been used, while Capitalism has been the most successful engine ever devised for building wealth and raising living standards. And far from oppressing other nations, we are doing everything we can to bring Capitalism and Democracy to them, as we have done in Germany and Japan. We’ve just spent over $100 billion to bring them to Iraq, in an effort powered by the bravery and skills of our soldiers.
It’s an attack on all Americans, to the extent that it teaches people to disparage the institutions that make this country great and which are bringing prosperity to other countries as well.
Finally, it teaches people to get used to believing things that are counter to the demonstrable facts. Which may be part of the explanation of how so many Liberals believe so many things which are not only not true, but counter to so many known facts, such as almost everything in Michael Moore’s film.
To those readers who are in college, are they teaching you Communism? I’d like to hear from you about it. And to those who are not in college, consider asking people you know who are, if that’s what’s going on at their university.
In June I asked, Can Kerry Survive the Presidential Debates?
I’m going out on a limb here to speculate that the debates will hammer Kerry’s standing in the polls.
Even his own supporters can’t tell what he’s talking about. Everything he says contradicts something else he said in the past. His acceptance speech at his own convention resulted in no bounce for him in the polls.
So I may not even be out on that much of a limb. I’m speculating that Kerry will do so poorly in the debates, that his current low standing in the polls will look to him like the good old days.
I mean, what else are you going to call it? She’s in Arizona, and she says this:
12 News Reporter: Most of the polls are tracking that Sen John Kerry as doing a better job on the economy. My question is, why hasnt that transferred overall in the poll numbers?
Teresa: It has, of course. Of course it has.
Reporter: Hes still down.
Teresa: Hes not. Did you see the polls today? You saw Zogby and ARG
Reporter: Yes, but hes still down in Arizona.
Teresa: Oh, who cares? You know, one state is not a whole state. In the whole United States, he is even, even, and in some of them one point ahead, and in some one point behind.
And let’s face it, John Kerry married her.
This is very funny. Click here for the audio.
Strangers on my flight,
turbans they’re packin’.
Wonderin’ if they might,
plan a hijacking.
They could pull a stunt,
before this flight is through…
Something’s on their minds.
I saw them mutter.
What that in their hands?
Looks like box cutters,
I’m gonna kick some ass,
if they make a move.
Does anyone know who this singer is?
(Hat tip to: Lily Steiner).
Updated 6-19-05: with a new link to the audio.
Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad Allawi spoke to a joint meeting of Congress:
Offering a simple, “Thank you America,” Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad Allawi declared Thursday that his country is moving successfully past the war that ousted Saddam Hussein and vowed that elections will take place next year as scheduled.
“Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time,” Allawi told a joint meeting of Congress, an appearance that President Bush’s advisers hoped would ease American voters’ doubts about the troubled campaign in Iraq.
Despite struggles and setbacks, “the values of liberty and democracy” are taking hold in his country, Allawi proudly exclaimed. “We could hold elections tomorrow” in 15 of 18 provinces, he said, even though terror operatives hope to disrupt them.
“The insurgency in Iraq is destructive but small, and it has not and will never resonate with the Iraqi people,” Allawi said.
As I’ve noted before, if there’s no civil war in Iraq, it’s game over, America wins.
Mainstream media has expressed many fears of a civil war in Iraq. But anybody reading the Iraqi bloggers would know that the vast majority of the Iraqi people are thrilled with freedom. How could they not be, given the torture they were accustomed to for decades? Here’s just one example, from Iraq at a Glance:
Yesterday I was in AlHurriya Olympic Swimming Pool together with my friends, while we were there, the Iraqi soccer team alternates entered the place with the goalkeepers coach Ahmed Jasim..
I met one of the players, Akram Sabeeh, the goalkeeper and talked for few minutes, then I asked some questions and told him that Id publish his words on the internet and hes agreed, so I gladly began my questions:
A: What do you feel when you play now? I think theres a difference than those days during the ex-regime?
Akram: look, I was seriously afraid when I was playing, they were really horrible days under Uday, I was afraid to do anything that might be misunderstood and the result would be the jail.
Now, I feel free when I play soccer, I feel that Im playing to improve myself and never afraid of anyone.
A: So you feel that you are free now?
Akram: of course free.
A: Have you ever been jailed?
Akram: Yes, for 10 days.
A: what for?
Akram: Because I shouted at the referee!
A: Isnt it a humiliating act to be jailed for this reason?
Akram: Yes, but Uday was enjoying doing so, I might be lucky to be jailed only, other players were being beaten severely, tortured and many other brutal acts, youve heard about that?
A:Yes..lets forget what was Uday doing… what about the economical status?
Akram: my salary was 20$ and now it is 200$.
A: wonderful..multiplied by 10..
Akram: Yes, I can think in my future now!
Of course the Iraqi people love freedom and democracy.
Letterman’s Top 10 List from last night:
10. Stick to stories everyone can agree on, like cookies are delicious.
9. Move nightly “happy hour” to after the broadcast.
8. Stop hiring guys with crazy names like “Morley.”
7. Can’t figure out if a news story is true? Let Judge Joe Brown decide.
6. Every time Mike Wallace tells a lie he gets a life-threatening electrical shock.
5. Newsroom patrolled by some kind of lovable but strict “truth monkey.”
4. If it turns out the story is wrong, give away 276 brand new cars.
3. After delivering a report, correspondent must add, “or maybe not—who knows?”
2. Newscast consists of Dan Rather sitting down to watch Tom Brokaw.
1. Oh, I dunno, stop making up crap?
The following quotes are circulating on the Internet. They’re all from prominent Democrats, and are vouched for as accurate by the Truth or Fiction web site.
You know what really bugs me about all those pictures of John Kerry surfing and playing sports? This is a time when terrorists are killing civilians in Russia, Iraq and elsewhere, and are looking for any way they can to get into the U.S. and kill more of our civilians on our soil. Why does Kerry’s campaign choose to portray him playing sports at a time like this?
