http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraqsurge/ en-us Mon, 7 Dec 2009 04:08:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2401830/posts Poor President Obama, he just can't bring himself to acknowledge the surge worked better than he and other skeptics, thought it would? I just don't understand why Senator Obama is being such a baby about the surge. Why can't he admit the obvious? It worked. Even as recently his Afghanistan speech last week: Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end. We will remove our combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next summer, and all of our troops by the end of 2011. That we are doing so is a testament to... Newsmax/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2401830/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 04:08:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372494/posts War On Terror: Sen. John Kerry, who was so wrong about Iraq, now says our commander in Afghanistan is "reaching too far, too fast" and that a "good enough" policy should suffice. It won't. Offering his advice on how to micromanage the war against the Taliban, Kerry said Gen. Stanley McChrystal, President Obama's hand-picked general to fight what he called a "war of necessity," is wrong in saying he needs 40,000 more troops to fight and win it. Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Kerry advocated a "good enough" policy designed not to achieve victory in al-Qaida's... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372494/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:00:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372440/posts War On Terror: Sen. John Kerry, who was so wrong about Iraq, now says our commander in Afghanistan is "reaching too far, too fast" and that a "good enough" policy should suffice. It won't. Offering his advice on how to micromanage the war against the Taliban, Kerry said Gen. Stanley McChrystal, President Obama's hand-picked general to fight what he called a "war of necessity," is wrong in saying he needs 40,000 more troops to fight and win it. Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Kerry advocated a "good enough" policy designed not to achieve victory in al-Qaida's... Investor's Business Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372440/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:52:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357147/posts War Strategy: When Bush and Petraeus proposed the surge in Iraq, Democrats demanded that the general testify before Congress. So why has the Senate blocked a similar invitation to our commander in Afghanistan? Those with memories longer than the 24-hour news cycle recall that in the dark days of the Iraq War, David Petraeus was summoned to Washington to explain the surge strategy that would eventually lead to victory in Iraq. Democrats hoped for a show trial. MoveOn.org took out a full-page ad in the New York Times labeling the commanding general of our efforts in Iraq "General Betray-us." Then... IBD Editorial http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357147/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 23:42:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059314/posts (LAS VEGAS) - John McCain told veterans today that Barack Obama stubbornly refuses to agree that the troop surge in Iraq has worked and took legislative steps to divert funding for the effort in order to prevent progress in the Iraq war. Speaking at the Disabled American Veterans conference in Las Vegas, McCain said Obama “tried to legislate failure,” adding that “I would rather lose an election than lose a war.” “Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines and to brave Iraqi fighters the surge has succeeded,” said McCain. “And yet Senator Obama still... CBS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059314/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:26:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052352/posts On Sunday's This Week, ABC's George Stephanopoulos condemned John McCain for charging that “Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” Stephanopoulos, who interviewed McCain on Saturday at his Arizona ranch, declared: “I can't believe you believe that.” McCain insisted “I'm not questioning his patriotism. I'm questioning his actions. I'm questioning his lack, total lack of understanding,” leading Stephanopoulos to counter: “But that is questioning his patriotism. When you say someone would rather lose a war, a candidate, that's questioning his honor, his decency, his character.” As McCain continued to defend his assessment, Stephanopoulos... News Busters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052352/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:10:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052147/posts CNN) -- With just 100 days until the election, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are accusing each other of shifting their positions when it comes to Iraq. Obama accused McCain of altering his stance after the senator from Arizona said 16 months would be a "pretty good timetable" for troop withdrawal, and McCain said Obama was becoming more inline with his position -- a "conditions-based" plan for withdrawal. In an interview with Newsweek, Obama was asked about what sort of U.S. troop presence he would keep in Iraq, now that he has talked with diplomatic and military leaders there.... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052147/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:22:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049791/posts There is some irony in the fact that Democrats, after years of deriding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a hopeless bungler and conniving Shiite sectarian, are now treating as sacrosanct his suggestion that Iraq will be ready to assume responsibility for its own security by 2010. Naturally this is because his position seems to support that of Barack Obama. A little skepticism is in order here. The prime minister has political motives for what he's saying -- whatever that is. An anonymous Iraqi official told the state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper, "Maliki thinks that Obama is most likely to win in... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049791/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:09:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050054/posts Senator Obama refuses to be boxed in between what he considers two “false choices”, either:1) …On such and such date, come Hell or high water we’ve gotten our troops out, and be blind to anything that happens in intermediate months2) …completely defer to whatever the commanders on the ground say (because his military and strategic knowledge is better than theirs)LINKBy dismissing out of hand the absoluteness of a calender date by which all Americans will be out of Iraq, Senator Obama has just capitulated the political left’s dogma for the past six years (a debate that started in 2002 before... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050054/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:08:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049436/posts Hello everyone - tried to post a blog earlier but I am afraid that it got lost in the system - perhaps it was eaten by that dog!Anyway, to be brief, was trying to say tonight on air that I welcome the Obama trip overseas - and hope it sets a precedent for all future candidates. At the same time, as an old-fashioned institutionalist who was strongly shaped by working in the White House, I believe that whether a President is right or wrong on policy, we have only one President at a time and he must be the chief negotiator... AC360 Newsroom http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049436/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:45:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049428/posts Barack Obama on his “Most Excellent World Tour” (The Iraq Stop) defends his position that the surge in Iraq did not work. In an interview on ABC (All Barack Channel) Obama would not acknowledge that the surge in Iraq has been successful. (Video Included) Stuck On Stupid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049428/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:34:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049230/posts One of the big topics of the day on the cable news channels is Drudge Report's story about the New York Times rejecting Sen. John McCain's proposed Op-Ed about Iraq. Fox News has Carl Cameron reporting the story, MSNBC's Chris Matthews talked about it on Hardball and Howard Kurtz gave his take last hour on CNN: "One irony of the internet age: the rejected piece will probably wind up getting far more attention by the controversy whipped up by Matt Drudge then if the New York Times had just gone ahead and published it," said Kurtz. We hear prime time... TVNEWSER http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049230/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047108/posts The nation's top military officer Wednesday declared the security situation in Iraq "remarkably better," so good in fact that he expects to recommend more U.S. troop reductions this fall if conditions hold. Just back from a tour of two war fronts - Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - Adm. Michael G. Mullen said he expected to witness improvements in Baghdad and across Iraq, but was surprised by how well a 17-month-old U.S. troop surge has worked. "I won't go so far as to say that progress in Iraq, from a military perspective, has reached a tipping point or it is... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047108/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:22:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045489/posts 14 July 2008The war continues to abate in Iraq. Violence is still present, but, of course, Iraq was a relatively violent place long before Coalition forces moved in. I would go so far as to say that barring any major and unexpected developments (like an Israeli air strike on Iran and the retaliations that would follow), a fair-minded person could say with reasonable certainty that the war has ended. A new and better nation is growing legs. What's left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the... Michael Yon Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045489/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:33:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047092/posts More on the we've won front from Michael Totten:I’m reluctant to say “the war has ended,” as he did, but everything else he wrote is undoubtedly true. The war in Iraq is all but over right now, and it will be officially over if the current trends in violence continue their downward slide. That is a mathematical fact. Over the past few days al Qaeda has detonated several car bombs in Diyala. So, how is the war "over"? Totten goes on to say that the violence may never actually peter off to nothing in Iraq, but reminds us that violence... Jawa Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047092/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:42:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046380/posts A funny thing happened over on the Barack Obama campaign website in the last few days. The parts that stressed his opposition to the 2007 troop surge and his statement that more troops would make no difference in a civil war have somehow disappeared. John McCain and Obama have been going at it heavily in recent days over the benefits of the surge. The Arizona senator, who advocated the surge for years before the Bush administration employed it, says the resulting reduction in violence is proof it worked with progress on 15 of 18 political benchmarks and Obama's plan to... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046380/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:39:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045616/posts Sen. John McCain on Monday accused his Democratic presidential rival of flip-flopping on the war in Iraq, as a pair of new polls showed the Republican's strategy of painting Sen. Barack Obama as politically expedient is beginning to take hold with voters. As Mr. Obama repositions himself for the general election after exclusively targeting the Democratic base of committed liberals, it leaves some voters on the left feeling he is abandoning them on their top issue - Iraq - and has independents questioning his veracity. "If a perception takes hold that a candidate is flip-flopping on core convictions, that will... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045616/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:14:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041319/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) — After months vowing to get US troops home from Iraq, Barack Obama has succumbed to the war's political entanglements, struggling to explain his plan in the light of recent security gains. More than five years after the US invasion, the Iraq war is now enmeshing not only the Bush administration which started it, but both men fighting to inherit it, Democratic White House hopeful Obama and Republican John McCain. Obama is torn between a vow to end the war, which underpinned his win over Democratic foe Hillary Clinton and Republican claims his plan invites US humiliation, would... google afp http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041319/posts#comment Sun, 6 Jul 2008 03:12:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039984/posts BAGHDAD • Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc is close to rejoining the Shia-led government, officials said yesterday, a move that would amount to a long-awaited political breakthrough. Getting the Accordance Front to return to government after it quit nearly a year ago is widely seen as a key step in reconciling feuding factions after years of sectarian conflict. Sunni Arabs have little voice in the current cabinet, which is dominated by Shias and ethnic Kurds. Asked if the Front was set to rejoin, spokesman Salim Al Jubouri said: "Yes. Many of our demands have been executed ... sharing of responsibility,... The Penisula (Quatar) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039984/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 23:42:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035275/posts BAGHDAD (AFP) — The US military is to hand over security control of the former Sunni insurgent bastion of Anbar province to Iraqi forces in the next 10 days, a US military spokesman announced on Monday."The handover of Anbar is expected to take place in the next 10 days," Lieutenant David Russell told AFP, declining to provide an exact date.Anbar would be the tenth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed back to Iraqi forces by the US-led coalition amid a push to transfer security control of the entire country back to Baghdad.Anbar province in western Iraq, the country's largest,... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035275/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:23:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032358/posts Democrats no longer talk of the 18 benchmarks for measuring progress in Iraq because so much progress has now taken place. Way back in the dark days of 2007, when the only popular question about the Iraq war concerned the degree of tragedy, Congress’s Iraq “benchmarks” were all the rage among Democrats. Every argument against a continued U.S. presence in Iraq was constructed around the Maliki administration’s apparent inability to meet the political and security-based milestones as outlined by America’s Democratic-majority Congress. Then something happened. The gains of the troop surge allowed the Iraqi government and citizenry to implement the... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032358/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:47:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2023559/posts Nancy Pelosi(D-San Francisco) is the third in line for the Presidency. How is it that she gets away with such nonsense as crediting the goodwill of the Iranians for the surge in Iraq? This woman is Not too swift, illinformed , dangerous and a very loose unite. (Audio Included) Stuck On Stupid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2023559/posts#comment Fri, 30 May 2008 15:42:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001225/posts Fallujah is strange, sullen, wild-eyed, badass, and just plain mean,” writes Bing West in his 2005 war chronicle No True Glory. “Fallujans don’t like strangers, which includes anyone not homebred. Wear lipstick or Western-style long hair, sip a beer or listen to an American CD, and you risk the whip or a beating.” Fallujah has been Iraq’s bad-boy city since at least the time of the British in Mesopotamia; even then, travelers were warned to stay out. More recently, Saddam Hussein recruited some of his regime’s most ruthless officers from Fallujah. Even though it was a quieter city than most... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001225/posts#comment Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:57:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998620/posts General cites recent rise in violence and urges senators to halt troop withdrawals for at least 45 days this summer. WASHINGTON -- Arguing for a continuing U.S. troop presence, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus told Congress today that the recent flare-up of violence across Iraq demonstrates that recent security improvements are "fragile and reversible." The top U.S. commander said that troop reductions begun in December should continue through July, but that withdrawals should halt after that for at least 45 days. Petraeus said that further cuts would depend on progress in security, leading Democrats to charge that that Petraeus was... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998620/posts#comment Tue, 8 Apr 2008 20:27:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997726/posts One of our most faithful readers writes from Baghdad, where he is serving as an officer in the Army Reserve: I'm back over here for my fourth Army Reserve stint since 2004. What a difference a year makes. In late 2006 and early 2007, just after surge had been announced, many commentators and thinkers -- in uniform and out -- thought that Anbar was hopeless, a lost cause. Just google "Anbar Lost" to see what I mean. Nowadays, it has been weeks since we lost a soldier in Anbar. More incredibly Iraqi Army units, composed of Anbari Sunnis, have deployed... Powerline Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997726/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:47:37 GMT