Iraq greeted the fifth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein with violence and Baghdad under curfew.
Fighting broke out after midnight in Sadr City, the eastern Baghdad stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, killing six people and wounding at least 15.
US general David Petraeus stated, during testimony to the US Congress yesterday, that further troop withdrawals should be held back for at least 45 days after completing the pullout of the "surge" forces by July.
US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker warned that the "achievements" of the surge were "reversible."
Like it or not, the US will have to pull out at some stage and allow Iraq to find its own path to the future.
Showing posts with label surge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surge. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
War in Three Months
As Bush and his colleagues try to console themselves that the so called "surge" has worked, and has achieved a measurable reduction in violence in Iraq, they may care to reflect on an interview given to The Independent by Abu Marouf the Sunni commander of 13,000 fighters who formerly fought the Americans.
Abu Marouf is threatening to withdraw his support, and allow al-Qa'ida to return, if his fighters are not incorporated into the Iraqi army and police.
Quote:
"If there is no change in three months there will be war again."
Bush needs to wake up to the fact that the violence in Iraq has fallen, not because of the surge, but because the United States has handed power to the guerrillas who previously fought it.
Mission accomplished!
Abu Marouf is threatening to withdraw his support, and allow al-Qa'ida to return, if his fighters are not incorporated into the Iraqi army and police.
Quote:
"If there is no change in three months there will be war again."
Bush needs to wake up to the fact that the violence in Iraq has fallen, not because of the surge, but because the United States has handed power to the guerrillas who previously fought it.
Mission accomplished!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Surge Likely To Fail
British MP's have questioned the likelihood of Presidents Bush's surge strategy actually succeeding.
A report by the Commons foreign affairs committee concluded:
"It is too early to provide a definitive assessment of the US 'surge' but it does not look likely to succeed.
We believe that the success of this strategy will ultimately ride on whether Iraq's politicians are able to reach agreement on a number of key issues."
In other words, the fate if Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqi politicians. Unfortunately, the current Prime Minister of Iraq is failing miserably; as such the future looks bleak.
A report by the Commons foreign affairs committee concluded:
"It is too early to provide a definitive assessment of the US 'surge' but it does not look likely to succeed.
We believe that the success of this strategy will ultimately ride on whether Iraq's politicians are able to reach agreement on a number of key issues."
In other words, the fate if Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqi politicians. Unfortunately, the current Prime Minister of Iraq is failing miserably; as such the future looks bleak.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Pentagon Paints Grim Picture
A report issued by the Pentagon yesterday states that in the three months since sending in a "surge" of US troops, the overall levels of violence in Iraq have not decreased. All that has happened is that the violence has been displaced from Baghdad and Anbar, where U.S. forces are concentrated, to rise in most other provinces.
The report also notes that Iraq's government has proven "uneven" in delivering on its commitments under the strategy. Public pledges by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have in many cases produced no concrete results.
The report notes that:
"some analysts see a growing fragmentation of Iraq....the Iraqi people would be better off if the country were divided into three or more separate countries."
A mess by anyone's standards.
The report also notes that Iraq's government has proven "uneven" in delivering on its commitments under the strategy. Public pledges by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have in many cases produced no concrete results.
The report notes that:
"some analysts see a growing fragmentation of Iraq....the Iraqi people would be better off if the country were divided into three or more separate countries."
A mess by anyone's standards.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Leave Now
Sir Christopher Meyer, the UK's former ambassador to Washington, has told the Iraq Commission in London that the British and American military presence in Iraq is worsening security across the region and should be withdrawn quickly.
Quote:
"I personally believe that the presence of American and British and coalition forces is making things worse, not only inside Iraq but the wider region around Iraq. The arguments against staying for any greater length of time themselves strengthen with every day that passes.
I think the Iraqis are in fact sorting themselves out - often bloodily - independent of what we're doing."
This comes at the same time that the Americans themselves have realised that the security "surge" in Baghdad is failing.
As per the New York Times:
"Three months after the start of the Baghdad security plan that has added thousands of American and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city's neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation, according to some commanders and an internal military assessment.
The American assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to 'protect the population' and 'maintain physical influence over' only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods."
Mission accomplished!
Quote:
"I personally believe that the presence of American and British and coalition forces is making things worse, not only inside Iraq but the wider region around Iraq. The arguments against staying for any greater length of time themselves strengthen with every day that passes.
I think the Iraqis are in fact sorting themselves out - often bloodily - independent of what we're doing."
This comes at the same time that the Americans themselves have realised that the security "surge" in Baghdad is failing.
As per the New York Times:
"Three months after the start of the Baghdad security plan that has added thousands of American and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city's neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation, according to some commanders and an internal military assessment.
The American assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to 'protect the population' and 'maintain physical influence over' only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods."
Mission accomplished!
Friday, April 20, 2007
The Surge
When is a "surge" not a "surge"?
When it will take until June for the troops to be in situ.
When it will take until June for the troops to be in situ.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
The Iraq Fiasco
As President Bush Bush unveiled a $2.9 Trillion budget for 2008, of which $700BN is allocated for Iraq, the body count continues to rise.
The money would be better spent on research for an alternative to oil, as a fuel supply. The only real solution for the worsening Middle East crisis, is for the US and its allies to pull all of their troops out of the Middle East and to stop buying oil from there.
That will allow the Middle East to resolve its problems without interference.
The money would be better spent on research for an alternative to oil, as a fuel supply. The only real solution for the worsening Middle East crisis, is for the US and its allies to pull all of their troops out of the Middle East and to stop buying oil from there.
That will allow the Middle East to resolve its problems without interference.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Fortress Baghdad
President Bush announced the implementation of his "Fortress Baghdad" policy yesterday. Which, in summary, involves sending another 20,000 or so US troops to Baghdad together with a similar number of Iraqi troops.
In hard political terms, even though this is utter folly and will result in many more civilian and military deaths, Bush has no choice but to do this.
Bush is in the final leg of his presidency, he is looking to leave a legacy. Currently the legacy of his presidency will be that of catastrophic failure at home and abroad; with the Republican party pushed out of Congress, the Senate and more than likely the Oval Office.
Bush, in his mind, has nothing left to lose, and everything to gain by throwing another 20,000 troops at the problem.
The fact that they are to be positioned only in Baghdad indicates that Bush has realised that the rest of Iraq is now beyond hope. His strategy, if that phrase can be used for this folly, is to maintain fortress Baghdad and the world's largest embassy; thus giving the US some foothold in the Middle East, which is now in total chaos as a result of the failed US venture.
All is not lost for Bush, Britain's foreign secretary Margaret Beckett came out in strong support of Bush today; saying that she was pleased that he was doing this.
What she forgot to mention was that Britain will not be putting more troops in to back up our US allies, but in fact withdrawing 3,000 in the coming months.
Bush stands isolated in his Whitehouse bunker, at home and abroad, it is only a matter of time before he is forced to yield.
Unfortunately his imminent demise has been brought about at the heavy price of thousands of lives, and utter chaos in the Middle East.
Mission Accomplished!
In hard political terms, even though this is utter folly and will result in many more civilian and military deaths, Bush has no choice but to do this.
Bush is in the final leg of his presidency, he is looking to leave a legacy. Currently the legacy of his presidency will be that of catastrophic failure at home and abroad; with the Republican party pushed out of Congress, the Senate and more than likely the Oval Office.
Bush, in his mind, has nothing left to lose, and everything to gain by throwing another 20,000 troops at the problem.
The fact that they are to be positioned only in Baghdad indicates that Bush has realised that the rest of Iraq is now beyond hope. His strategy, if that phrase can be used for this folly, is to maintain fortress Baghdad and the world's largest embassy; thus giving the US some foothold in the Middle East, which is now in total chaos as a result of the failed US venture.
All is not lost for Bush, Britain's foreign secretary Margaret Beckett came out in strong support of Bush today; saying that she was pleased that he was doing this.
What she forgot to mention was that Britain will not be putting more troops in to back up our US allies, but in fact withdrawing 3,000 in the coming months.
Bush stands isolated in his Whitehouse bunker, at home and abroad, it is only a matter of time before he is forced to yield.
Unfortunately his imminent demise has been brought about at the heavy price of thousands of lives, and utter chaos in the Middle East.
Mission Accomplished!
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