We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail...
Posted on 04/09/2008 6:56:48 PM PDT by NCjim
The outcome of the Iraq war may still be in the balance but U.S. President George W. Bush has already won the war about the war in Washington.
In November 2006 elections, Bush's Republican Party lost control of both houses of Congress largely due to public anger about Iraq. Democrats pledged to end the war that started in March 2003 and bring the troops home.
But testimony to Congress this week by the top commander on the ground, Army Gen. David Petraeus, indicates there will be about the same high level of U.S. troops in Iraq when Americans elect Bush's successor this November.
Bush managed to keep control thanks to a change of strategy, the appointment of a media-friendly and politically savvy commander in Petraeus, a reduction of violence in Iraq and the limited tools Congress has at its disposal.
After the 2006 election loss, which Bush himself described as a thumping, the president replaced Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the war's main architect. Many saw the move as a sign that Bush would change course and draw down in Iraq.
Bush and his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, did change course. But they decided they needed more, not fewer, troops to pull Iraq back from the brink of all-out civil war.
In January 2007, Bush ordered a "surge" of some 30,000 U.S. troops into Iraq, bringing the total to around 160,000. Petraeus, a counter-insurgency expert with a doctorate from Princeton University, took command the following month.
BUYING TIME
Petraeus soon made clear he saw his job as not just to improve security in Iraq but also to buy time for his efforts in the United States. He talked about speeding up the "Baghdad clock" and slowing down the "Washington clock."
The general recruited leading Washington military analysts as advisers and encouraged commanders to cultivate good relations with the media. That approach helped produce positive editorials and coverage of U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Even opponents of the war say Petraeus has been successful in winning time, although they are skeptical about progress towards lasting stability among factions in Iraq.
"You've succeeded in putting more time on the Washington clock," Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, told Petraeus on Wednesday.
"But the strategic failure is that the Iraqi politicians don't seem to have picked up a sense of urgency," said Skelton, a Democrat from Missouri.
Petraeus says he wants to halt troop drawdowns this summer when the combat forces from the "surge" have left. That should leave about 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, officers have said.
Analysts do not expect the total to drop dramatically in the following few months, making it likely Bush will hand over the White House to his Republican or Democratic successor with the number of troops in Iraq fairly close to the 133,700 who were there at the end of November 2006.
VIOLENCE DECLINED
Bush has managed to hold his course despite suffering a spate of defections last summer. Several senior Republican lawmakers called publicly for a change in strategy.
But around the same time, violence began to decline substantially in Iraq, thanks partly to the surge of U.S. forces but also to former Sunni insurgents joining the fight against al Qaeda and a ceasefire by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr's militia.
The war ceased to become the dominant issue in U.S. politics, particularly as worries about the economy grew.
In a series of votes, Democrats in the House of Representatives have managed to pass timetables for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq, only to see those efforts fizzle in the Senate, where Democrats have not been able to build a 60-vote majority needed to advance controversial legislation.
"It is clear that we do not have the votes in the United States Congress at this moment in time," said Sen. John Kerry, who had been the Democrats' presidential candidate in 2004.
He said any change in policy would likely have to wait until November's elections when Americans will choose members of all of the House and about a third of the Senate, as well as a new president.
"The American people are going to speak on this in November," Kerry said.
I wasn’t aware that Petraeus holds a Ph.D. from Princeton.
Hey, that reminds me, didn’t Lurch take up T Boone Pickens’ gauntlet and vow to prove he and the Swift Boat Vets to be liars and claim the million dollar prize? Haven’t heard a peep.
He’s a very impressive individual and obviously very competent
AS I exp[lained to my sons tonight, Americans are the most altruistic nation on the face of the earth, as well as the most hard working—we don’t quit until the job is done.
Yep, he’s a Genius. My Battalion Commander worked with him on the COIN manual and was obviously really impressed.
Yes, John, we are. Those of us who have been holding out for a victory that we now hold in our hands are thoroughly sick of the ones who fought it at every step.
BTW, everyone - did you know Kerry served in Vietnam?
Hey John Kerry STFU
Really? I hadn't heard that... *g
I could swear John McCain did too. They could probably make names for themselves if they used the experience for political advantange.
Thank you President Bush and General Patreaus. God Bless you both.
It’s been like fending off zombies, for years.
Hopefully all the anti-war rats who are up for election this Nov. will lose their seats.
and everyone here knows it.
“It’s been like fending off zombies...”
Right on the money! Excellent analogy.
And the Queen Zombie herself, Hillary, Rush wants us to get out and vote for!
(i’ve been watching zombie flicks tonite :)
I don’t think even Will Smith could stop Zombama at this point.
Wrong! We lost mainly because of Mark Foley and purist fools on the republican side that decided to stay home on election day.
I spend many falling-asleep moments developing how to reverse/cure the darkseekers per the original ending.
The alternate ending is truer to the book, but precludes the ability to save the darkseekers.
Surprised freepers didn't discuss the film much.
As the book I just finished reading put it, "defecation of a male bovine".
Despite its huge success, I found the film only moderately engaging.
The war ceased to become the dominant issue in U.S. politics, particularly as worries about the economy grew.
Two stunning statements from al-Reuters. The former Sunni insurgents joined the fight when they got smart and realized who the real enemy is. That didn't happen in a vacuum. It happened because the brave troops of the United States act professionally and honorably unlike the al-Qaeda animals.
The war ceased to be the dominant issue when the surge began working. The drive-bys then went looking for a new negative story they could pin on the Bush administration and found the economy waiting to be talked down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.