Posted on 07/20/2007 10:14:54 PM PDT by sruleoflaw
Steve Wampler Friday, 20 July 2007 Page 10
Clinton, McNerney aren't listening to Iraqis
It is becoming clear that most congressional Democrats, from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, have no idea who America is fighting in Iraq, or they’re misleading the public.
In a July 10 op-ed in the New York Daily News, Clinton contends America’s military is caught in a civil war. McNerney also claims the conflict in Iraq is a civil war and that President Bush should withdraw our troops and pursue "diplomatic and political solutions."
They and other Democrats ought to spend more time listening to the Iraqis, who want our military to stay until Iraq is secure, and our top military officials, who argue that a premature withdrawal would lead to chaos in Iraq and the region.
In the most exhaustive post-March 2003 poll taken in Iraq earlier this year by Opinion Business Research, 73 percent of Iraqis said Iraq is not in a civil war and preferred their current government by a nearly 2-1 margin to Saddam Hussein.
Possibly blinded by their anti-war pasts or their lack of concern about U.S. national security, Clinton and McNerney seem unable to recognize that two of the main foes beyond Shiite militias the U.S. faces in Iraq are al-Qaida and Iranian terrorists.
In a July 11 Baghdad press conference, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner called al-Qaida in Iraq "the principal near-term threat." Between 80 percent and 90 percent of the suicide attacks in Iraq are carried out by foreign-born al-Qaida terrorists, Bergner said.
In May and June, coalition and Iraqi forces killed or captured hundreds of al-Qaida in Iraq, including 26 of its "high-value" leaders and a would-be bomber. They were 11 local al-Qaida leaders and five of their terrorist unit commanders, seven facilitators who smuggled foreign fighters, weapons and money into Iraq; and three car-bomb network chiefs.
In a July video, al-Qaida’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, described Iraq as the centerpiece of its anti-American terror campaign and insisted the Iraqi insurgency is under its direct leadership.
Al-Zawahri’s assertions are backed by the April announcement that U.S. forces had captured a senior al-Qaida operative and lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, who had been "personally chosen by bin Laden’s to monitor al-Qaida operations in Iraq." It is believed that al-Hadi may have been meant to mount operations outside Iraq against Western targets.
Despite knowing that al-Qaida sees Iraq as the central front and the same people who helped kill nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11 are helping direct the insurgency in Iraq, Clinton and McNerney want to surrender as soon as possible.
The "cut and run" approach favored by most Democrats would, says Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), represent "an epic victory for al-Qaida as significant as their attacks on 9/11." And it could lead to more attacks in America.
"(Our soldiers) want to fight terrorists here, so they don’t have to fight terrorists back home," said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of Multinational Division Center and the 3rd Infantry Division.
U.S. military officials stated in February that forensic evidence has implicated Iran in the deaths of at least 170 U.S. soldiers and the wounding of 620 soldiers.
A special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has taken groups of up to 60 Iraqi terrorists at a time and brought them to three camps near Tehran, where they have received training in mortars, rockets and improvised explosive devices. Iran has also funded terrorists at $3 million per month.
Sunday, the U.S. Army announced that its troops in Iraq uncovered a field containing 50 Iranian-made rocket launchers aimed at a U.S. Army base.
Just as a number of Democrats have sought to undermine this war almost from the start and to use it for political ends, along with insulting our troops in the field, today some Republicans — Sens. George Voinovich, Pete Domenici, Richard Lugar and John Warner — have supported retreat.
Analyst and former U.S. military officer Ralph Peters put it this way: "(If) Republicans are rushing to desert our troops and spit on the graves of heroes, the Democratic Party at least has been consistent — they’ve supported our enemies from the start, undercutting our troops and refusing to explain in detail what happens if we flee Iraq."
The party of surrender, with Clinton and McNerney, and the thankfully few wobbly Republicans, need to understand reality. America can’t wave the white flag in Iraq before Iran, which has been at war with our nation for nearly 30 years, or al-Qaida, which has been at war with us for nearly a decade, without grave consequences for Iraq, the Middle East and our security.
n Steve Wampler, a Tracy resident, is a former radio talk show host.
most congressional Democrats, .... have no idea who America is fighting in Iraq, or they’re misleading the public.
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Yep, following what is actually happening in Military Operations completely eludes Congressional Democrats;
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Press Releases, Democrat Majority Press refuse to release:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=4&Itemid=21
Saturday, 21 July 2007 IA, CF Soldiers discover “several tons” of explosives outside Mosul
Friday, 20 July 2007 3rd HBCT nabs top insurgent
Friday, 20 July 2007 Rocketman, assistant captured during Marne Avalanche
Friday, 20 July 2007 3 terrorists killed, 44 suspects detained in Coalition operations
Friday, 20 July 2007 MND-B aircrews kill three insurgents
Friday, 20 July 2007 Task Force Lightning Soldiers attacked
Friday, 20 July 2007 String of east Baghdad attacks leaves four Iraqis dead
Friday, 20 July 2007 Coalition Forces Capture High Value Terrorist with Ties to IRGC-QF
Friday, 20 July 2007 Weapons stockpiles destroyed near Iranian border
Friday, 20 July 2007 MNC-I Soldiers attacked
Friday, 20 July 2007 One insurgent killed, 9 others detained in Baghdad raid
Friday, 20 July 2007 Iraqi, Coalition Forces, detain Al-Qaeda leader in Mosul
Friday, 20 July 2007 GOI working to bring services back to Diyala
Friday, 20 July 2007 MNC-I Commander Statement
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Statement from Multi-National Force-Iraq condemning bridge attacks in Al Anbar
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Three Suspected Special Groups Terrorists Detained by Coalition Forces
Thursday, 19 July 2007 MND-B patrol struck by improvised explosive device
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Five militia suspects detained in Karkh
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Soldiers charged with murder
Thursday, 19 July 2007 ISF, CF continue clearing ‘Old Baqouba’
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Task Force Marne Soldier attacked
Thursday, 19 July 2007 12 detained in Coalition operations
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Iraqi informants lead U.S. Soldiers to weapons, IED caches
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Spartans strike dual targets for Marne Avalanche
Thursday, 19 July 2007 Senior al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist identified
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Militia rounds fall in Baghdad civilian communities
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 MNC-I Soldiers targeted by IED
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Iraqi National Police officers graduate from NCO Course
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Central Baghdad car bomb blast kills four, wounds four
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 MND-B patrol struck by roadside bomb
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Coalition Forces take offensive into eastern Baqouba
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Iraq Army and Coalition Forces detain two al-Qaeda Iraq leaders in Baghdad
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 10 Iraqis killed in Rusafa car bomb attack
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Coalition Forces kill three terrorists, detain two suspects
Wednesday, 18 July 2007 Update: Detainee captured June 28 identified
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Precision-guided munitions kills top al Qaeda leader
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Rusafa car bombings kill two, wound three others
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Fardh Al-Qanoon Update: MND-B general sees change, progress
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Precision-guided munitions kills top al Qaeda leader
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Coalition Forces detain suspected al-Qaeda senior leader in Mosul
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 MNF-I Iraqi First Program surpasses $1 Billion for year
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Iraqi Army, Coalition Forces capture Al Qaeda Emir in Qayyarah
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Provincial and security leaders rally against attack in Kirkuk
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Explosion in Adhamiyah kills one, wounds two Iraqi residents
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Statement by Gen. David Petraeus to Iraq Soccer Team
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Insurgents killed during Rusafa District firefight
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Joint Statement by Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and General David Petraeus Condemning Car Bombings in
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Marines launch Operation Mawtini in western Al Anbar
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 One call, 30 residents prevent car bombing in Adhamiyah
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 Homemade explosives uncovered
Read full Press Releases at:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=4&Itemid=21
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Democrats continue to have a uninformed crowd who they can manipulate.
How many times have we heard the dems use the words “civil war”?
Interesting that 73% of Iraqis think not.
This is great! Thank you for posting the press release info. The source for 73 percent of Iraqis not believing they are in a civil war is the March 18, 2007 Sunday Times of London. I would urge my fellow posters to bump this article and use it for letters to the editor. Steve
Yes, upon just reading the titles for a few days, one realizes we are the dominating force, and for Democrats to want to give that up, hands Iraq over to alot of enemies influence, and how dumb is that?
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