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How has Moslem opinion and support of Terrorism changed since the WOT began? I ask this question because I think it has the greatest bearing on whether we are winning or not. Let me explain, I remember Rumsfeld saying at the beginning of the war in Iraq that we needed better metrics in order to find a better strategy in Iraq, which we were losing at the time, he never did find them. It was eventually Gen. Petreus that developed the winning strategy, but a strategy that’s working in one theater of the War, doesn’t answer the real question of...

NAJAF, Iraq - The city's first airport is weeks away from opening, but already a bigger one is talked about. Land prices are soaring. Merchants say they don't remember business ever being so good. Four years ago, Najaf was an urban battlefield, with American troops fighting Shiite militiamen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Today, the Shiite holy city is a hot spot of a different kind, thanks to improved security, a free-for-all market economy - and a direct pipeline to the Shiite-led government.

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2008 – Violence in Iraq dropped in May to its lowest level in four years, according to a Defense Department report released to Congress today. The quarterly report, required by Congress, measured progress in the country in March through May of this year. The report highlighted that all major violent indicators dropped during the reporting period by as much as 80 percent. “Coalition and Iraqi forces’ operations against al-Qaida in Iraq have degraded its ability to attack and terrorize the population,” the report reads. The report concedes, though, that al-Qaida still remains a major threat, and that...

COMBAT OUTPOST MURRAY — The battlefield in Iraq has become a classroom for military analyst Steven Biddle and several associates, who visited 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers on June 4 to get a sense of progress in the area. Biddle, a four-time visitor to Iraq and the author of two military-themed books entitled “Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle” and “Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy,” said his visit was multi-purposed. “Information in the (U.S.) is limited,” said Biddle, a senior fellow for defense policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Here,...

Good Judgment? A New Perspective on going to War in Iraq By Phillip J. Longo The Junior Senator from Illinois said in a debate with Mrs. Clinton said; “And on what I believe was the single most important foreign policy decision of this generation -- whether or not to go to war in Iraq -- I believe I showed the judgment of a commander in chief.” That he was right in his decision to vote against the war in Iraq. My fellow Americans, we have heard from Mrs. Clinton that she can make “The Hard” decisions. We have heard from...

Republicans seem lost as a party and here's one solution to bring them back into focus, since the Democrats are falling all over themselves to lose. They are LOSING NATIONALLY ergo Republicans need a WINNING NATIONAL STRATEGY. Hello, MR. NEWT redux...

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2008 – Increased security brought about by military success against insurgents in the western portion of Iraq’s Anbar province is enabling a drawdown of U.S. forces there as well as enhanced regional reconstruction efforts, a senior Marine commander told Pentagon reporters today. Amenah, a 2-year-old Iraqi girl from Haditha, was flown to the United States in February for successful surgery on her ailing heart. Haditha, located in formerly restive western Anbar province, today is experiencing reduced violence and widespread reconstruction. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Shawn Coolman  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The insurgents,...

You hear a lot these days about the chaotic state of the GOP race, which is obviously true insofar as lots of candidates still have a shot at winning. But I don't think it's true in the sense that several candidates have an equal shot of winning. My sense is that Mitt Romney emerges from Michigan with some pretty clear advantages. For one thing, the first kind of chaos ("type 1") makes it pretty tough for Romney's rivals to raise money, which will, perhaps more than anything else, influence the outcome of the 21 February 5th contests. As this Politico piece notes, the GOP's general fundraising environment...

Nearly 6,000 Sunni Arab residents joined a security pact with American forces Wednesday in what U.S. officers described as a critical step in plugging the remaining escape routes for extremists flushed from former strongholds.The new alliance — called the single largest single volunteer mobilization since the war began — covers the "last gateway" for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq seeking new havens in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.U.S. commanders have tried to build a ring around insurgents who fled military offensives launched earlier this year in the western Anbar province and later into Baghdad and surrounding areas. In...

Violence in Iraq has fallen at a rate that has surprised military commanders and even one of the architects of the “surge” that boosted US troop numbers in the country this year, according to figures gathered by the US. The figures show the numbers of suicide attacks, roadside bombings, mortar and other attacks on US forces and on the Iraqi population have more than halved since 30,000 extra troops in June. The military attributes the decline to the surge, the spread of local ceasefire deals across Iraq, a ceasefire by radical Shia militias and an improvement in the Iraqi security...

Mitt Romney, campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination with a name less known than Rudy Giuliani, says he will win his party's nod the old-fashioned way. The traditional campaign strategy of focusing on the premier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire is a proven recipe for success, Romney says in an interview with the Associated Press. Writer Liz Sidoti reports from Sioux City, Iowa, that the former Massachusetts governor believes he is "just following the same path that every nominee for president has followed.'' ...snip... ""I'm outworking them. That's what I'm going to do," Romney said of his Republican rivals....

I realize everything can change fast in Iowa and New Hampshire, and some are rightly skeptical about the value of polling in a caucus state. I also recognize that some pollsters' methods of figuring out who's a "likely voter" are better than others. But if I were a Romney guy, I'd be pretty pleased about the trends in those two primary states. Romney's had a lead in the Hawkeye state for a while, but that lead seems to be growing, across several pollsters. Romney is up 16 on his nearest competitor (Huckabee) in Zogby, up 8 on his nearest competitor...

Progress in Iraq Real, Momentum Growing, Odierno Says Iraq: Job Won IBD ^ | November 2, 2007 War On Terror: With killings of both U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians down sharply, both al-Qaida and Iran may believe they have lost the Iraq War. Thanks to the surge, our mission just might largely be accomplished. U.S. military deaths were recorded at 36 for October, down from 65 in September, according to an Associated Press count. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Baghdad, last week said the deaths of coalition forces have declined for five straight months and...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – While parts of Iraq remain violent and difficult, the Iraqi people are taking back their country with the help of U.S. troops, President Bush said during a speech on Fort Jackson, S.C., today. Bush spoke to soldiers graduating from basic training at the post. He told them that many of them will be serving in Iraq or Afghanistan as they continue their Army careers. There has been tremendous progress in Iraq, the president said, but more must be done. “The enemy remains determined, but what they have learned about the United States of America is,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – Iraqi citizens are increasingly coming together to voluntarily battle al Qaeda in Iraq, thereby saving American lives and reshaping military operations in the country, a coalition commander said today. “The willingness of the Sunni population to turn on (al Qaeda) has been a watershed in this war; there’s no other word for it,” Army Col. Martin Stanton told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Baghdad. Stanton is chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multinational Corps Iraq. “The ‘concerned local citizens’ are responsible for a significant drop in U.S. casualties,” he said. For...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2007 – A multi-pronged approach to conflict resolution that includes military force coupled with a powerful social push is vital to winning over hearts and minds and countering insurgents’ lure, a U.S. Central Command official said today. During a news conference at the Foreign Press Club here, Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert H. Holmes, deputy director of operations for U.S. Central Command, told reporters that his command is exploring a counterinsurgency concept called “effects synchronization.” “This is a new approach to looking at all of the national and international instruments of power that actually go beyond the...

Iraqi soldiers can fight. That’s something Americans serving alongside them have not always said with complete confidence. At the individual and small-unit level, Iraqis have been fighting well for close to three years. But only now are U.S. troops seeing the dramatic kinds of improvements and capabilities among the brigade and division-sized Iraqi units that one might expect from similarly trained Western forces. Much of the success of the Iraqi army is a result of training and operational leadership on the part of coalition forces, primarily — at least from my vantage point while there — U.S., British, and Australian...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretarySeptember 8, 2007 President's Radio Address   President's Radio Address  Audio  En Español       In Focus: Iraq THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Earlier this week, I traveled to Iraq's Anbar Province to visit our troops and see with my own eyes the remarkable changes they are making possible. If you want to see some photos from this trip, go to whitehouse.gov where you can view a slideshow of my visit. Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to the war on terror. This largely Sunni province covers nearly a third of Iraq....

Taking Islamofascists at their word http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/syndicated/story/3676104p-13063342c.html DEROY MURDOCK: Taking Islamofascists at their word -- Scripps Howard News Service Published: Thursday, August 9, 2007 NEW YORK Give Islamic extremists this: They are as clear as the desert sunshine about their plans for us infidels. Unlike America's former Cold War enemies, who swaddled their barbed wire and ballistic missiles in warm words about proletarian liberation, Muslim hotheads state their intentions with disarming candor. "The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said. "One of the primary responsibilities of the Muslim ruler is to...

WINNING IN IRAQ By RALPH PETERS July 26, 2007 -- TO a military professional, the tactical progress made in Iraq over the last few months is impressive. To a member of Congress, it's an annoyance. The herd animals on Capitol Hill - from both parties - just can't wait to go over the cliff on Iraq. And even when the media mention one or two of the successes achieved by our troops, the reports are grudging. Yet what's happening on the ground, right now, in Baghdad and in Iraq's most-troubled provinces, contributes directly to your security. In the words of...

ARLINGTON, Va., July 19, 2007 – Winning the war against terrorism requires warriors with multiple skills who can adapt to changing circumstances, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here last night. Today’s anti-terror war is unlike any other conflict the United States has fought before, Gates told Marine Corps Association members. In Afghanistan and Iraq, “the men and women wearing our nation’s uniform have assumed the roles of warrior, diplomat, humanitarian, and development expert,” Gates pointed out, noting ruthless extremists employ roadside bombs and guerilla-style hit-and-run attacks to kill or wound U.S. and coalition forces, host-nation troops and innocent civilians....

A single shot, from such close range it was deafening, knocked Tom Deierlein to the street. A sniper had been watching as Deierlein, a U.S. Army captain, and about a dozen other armed soldiers climbed out of their Humvees in Adhamiya, where Iraqi garbage collectors had been fired upon less than an hour before. The neighborhood was one of Baghdad’s most treacherous.

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2007 – Though the number of insurgent attacks in Afghanistan has increased as officials predicted it would with better weather, coalition forces are winning the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban in NATO’s Regional Command East, a U.S. official in Afghanistan said today. “The enemy continues to use all means available to him to attack our forces and disrupt the lives of Afghan civilians,” said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel, deputy commander for operations at Combined Joint Task Force 82. Speaking via teleconference from Bagram Air Base, Votel said the enemy is using improvised explosive devices,...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, June 24, 2007 – Afghanistan has come a long way in six years since the U.S. and NATO have worked with the nation, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said while visiting U.S. troops deployed here. U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, visiting Afghanistan on the second stop of a six-day trip, has been a first-hand witness to the improvements to the Afghani people’s way of life. Upon arrival in Kabul, the admiral visited the hangar that houses the joint operations center here. Almost six years ago, Giambastiani traveled with former Secretary of Defense...

HALLELUJAH! For the first time since Baghdad fell, our military in Iraq has a comprehensive, integrated plan to defeat our enemies. Until now, our efforts have always been piecemeal, stop-start affairs. Even our success in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 went unexploited. Things have changed. And terrorists, not just Iraqi civilians, are dying.

Columnist, journalist, commentator and author George Will is supporting his fellow baseball fan, Rudy Giuliani, for the Republican presidential nomination and saying that Mr. Giuliani's eight years as mayor of New York were "the most successful episode of conservative governance" in America in the twentieth century. BUT, Mr. Giuliani was the candidate of New York's LIBERAL Party in each of his three mayoral races (the first a failure, the next two successful)! AND, when running for mayor, Mr. Giuliani pledged to "rekindle the Rockefeller/Javits/Lefkowitz tradition" of the Republican Party and "produce the kind of change New York City saw with...

The key to saving Iraq from the scourge of Al-Qaeda is to subject captured fighters to the swift and deadly rule of tribal justice, according to the leader of a powerful new armed movement. Sheikh Hamid al-Hais leads the Anbar Salvation Council, the paramilitary wing of a coalition of Sunni tribes from Iraq's western desert, and he has a simple message for his new American allies in his battle with the insurgents. "I always tell the Americans 'Why detain the enemy? Leave him to me, don't detain him,'" he chuckled during an interview with AFP in a Baghdad hotel. Murderers...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The latest security crackdown in one part of Baghdad has led to significantly fewer attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces with improvised explosive devices, an American Army commander said on Friday. Col. J.B. Burton, who heads a brigade patrolling a 36-square-mile (93-square-km) area of western Baghdad where about 1 million people live, cautioned that difficult work lay ahead and that the United States was not declaring victory. "It is important to note that the overall effects of this new Baghdad security plan ... will not be seen in days or weeks, but over the course of months,"...

1) Respect The Base: The first rule of politics is, "take care of your base." That doesn't mean you give your supporters everything they want, but if your base isn't happy, you're going to have a rough time. Why? Because they're the people who donate money, volunteer to help candidates, talk you up to their friends, defend you when you're under attack, and, when they're happy at least, they’ll crawl over broken glass to come out and vote for you. Democrats bend over backwards to make their supporters happy. They pay an enormous amount of attention to what their activists...

Mr. Kahaner is the author of AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War, Wiley & Sons, November, 2006. If history is any gauge, the US will lose the current conflict in Iraq. Since the end of World War II, major US use of force against substantially weaker enemies – Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, for example – have ended poorly. The last remaining superpower is not alone in this phenomenon of strong armies losing to lesser foes: the American colonists beat the British, the Vietnamese forced France to leave Indochina and Afghanistan’s Mujahadeen drove the Soviets from their country. Why...

Butch's one man study report for winning the war on terror is due out tomorrow, unlike the Baker report which took months and millions of tax payers dollars, Butch's report was completed in a day at the cost 0 dollars for the tax payer, under Butch's plan losing is not an option, the plan will save lives down the road, unlike the Baker/Hamilton plan that will cost thousands of lives around the world. The sad fact is these morons are some of the reasons we have terrorist today. watch for Butch's plan 12/07/06

Robert M. Gates was unanimously approved by a Senate committee yesterday to become President Bush's new defense secretary, after a day-long confirmation hearing in which he bluntly stated that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq. Gates also told the panel that "it's too soon to tell" whether the Bush administration made the right decision in launching the invasion in March 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.

"Stay the Course" vs "Cut & Run"

FreepersThis is just a list of some ideas and concepts maybe we should strive for to get it back together for 2008?1 - End the bickering on FR and the name calling and finger pointing - This is the DU and Moveon.org's biggest hope for us and lets work together and get reunified. Losers always whine and moan and throw tantrums when they fail. Its winners that objectively look at the reasons why adapt, evolve and move on.2 - Be an optimist and positive thinker and not a pessimist and a negative thinker. You are a self fulfilling prodigy by...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – Defining “winning” is important to the war on terror, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a news conference today. The war on terror is not going to end as World War II did -- with an instrument of surrender signed on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Marine Gen. Peter Pace said winning in this war on terrorism will be determined by conditions, not a signature on a piece of paper. “Winning is having security in the countries we're trying to help that allows for those governments to...

Great campaigns have been formed when bright ideas, rarely at the forefront of the public mind but which resonate with vigorous strength when introduced, are presented. I can think of no better issue that could accomplish this in this day and age than alternative sentencing. The issue, if presented correctly, has the power to change the focus of the election. The reasoning is simple. Most people believe that in today's day and age, when a variety of options exist to deal with and deter crime, no one who isn't a threat to society should ever be locked up. Indeed, it...

The fall 2006 elections are now just two months away. Although the conventional wisdom is that Republicans will have a tough time this fall, I believe that we can still win -- but not without substantial changes. In this edition of "Winning the Future," I outline 11 values-led policies that are both morally right and that enjoy (not coincidentally) the overwhelming support of the American people. These are the values and the policies that Republicans should embrace this fall. Here's the key: Republican victory in 2006 depends on a return to the American values that twice elected Ronald Reagan and...

Having worked on several political campaigns, it is my strong opinion that the following strategies should be implemented in the '06 election. These consist of three strategies: a) On a local level - A strategy employed by a Conservative Canadian politician who won every polling station in his district b) On a national level - Explaining our reasoning, why our programs and solutions are right; putting the Democrats on offense, exposing their record of cowardice, complacency and ineptitude on security and their disastrous record on economic issues (including their 50 cent/gal gas tax proposal) and exposing their hypocrisy, their politicizing...

U.S. Army Maj. Jeremy Beauchamp, battalion surgeon, 1st Battalion 68th Civil Affairs Regiment, holds up an x-ray of an Iraqi boy's head that shows a bullet lodged in his brain during a Medical Civil Action Project in Tahrir, Iraq, Aug. 16, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Paul J. Harris Winning Hearts, Minds With a Medical Project U.S. and Iraqi soldiers conduct a Medical Civil Action Project in the town of Tahrir, Iraq. By U.S. Army Pfc. Paul J. Harris TAHRIR, Iraq, Aug. 17, 2006 -- With tears welling up, a little Iraqi girl reacts to receiving a shot...

I wrote a story for Michael Yon’s Frontline Forum a week ago about the town I am stationed in right now named Qayyarah. Qayyarah is a model for other Iraqi cities because it was once a haven for terrorists but is now safe enough for anyone to travel around in without fear of terrorists. The main reason for the safety of Qayyarah lies with one man: General Ali. He is a myth-like figure around our base and everyone knows his name. He is a strict military man but is the type of man Iraq needs so desperately right now. I...

From: Franklin D Terrell Date: 2006/06/16 Fri PM 02:49:14 EDT Subject: Army Retired General Officer Conference This comes from a contact who's still actively involved in our nation's defense activities. Below is an email I recently received from one of those individuals, written by an attendee to the conference. Some interesting insights. Earlier this week I attended a retired general and flag officer conference at Fort Carson, hosted by MGen Bob Mixon, the 7th Infantry Division Commander which calls the Fort its home. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ft. Carson, it is a huge installation located to...

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that the Republicans will prevail in the midterm elections because of a strong economy and the ability of the Bush administration to prevent another terrorist attack. Polls show voters favor Democrats taking charge in November, but Cheney said the GOP will maintain its majority control in the Senate and House. He cited an economy that's "kicking along in very good shape" and President Bush's record in the war on terror. "And we protected the United States against further attack from the terrorists," Cheney said in an interview on Sean Hannity's radio show....

Armed groups shun electronic media to counter U.S. high-tech surveillance -- Saad Albazzaz No mobile phones, no landlines, no Internet – that is the message anti-U.S. rebels have recently received from their commanders. The message is believed to have even spread in neighboring states as part of the package of instructions foreign fighters receive before heading to Iraq. “You are not to use electronic communication or even land lines when communicating,” said a leaflet which the groups distributed recently. The instructions are apparently a response to what are described as ‘moderate successes’ U.S. troops have achieved in the past few...

I sent a letter to Tommy Franks asking him to get into the Senate race a few weeks ago. His partner sent me back a really nice response that implied he was considering it. Please go to tommyfranks.com to encourage him to get into the race. We only have until Friday. With enough encouragement, maybe there's still time to defeat Bill Nelson. I wish Harris could do it, but I don't believe she can. The text of my email to him follows.

RUSH: There are Republicans planning to abandon George W. Bush in droves, particularly during this election year. Bush has had it, a 36%, 33% approval rating. The guy's an albatross around their neck. "We've got to get out of there! We don't want Bush doing anything but raising money for this," blah, blah, blah, blah. There's precedent for this. By the way, a couple of pollsters saying it's a bad move for the Republicans. You know, Republicans, I'll just give you some advice right now. All of you Republicans in Congress -- including you, Chuck Hagel and Olympia Snowe and...

Republicans need to commit to winningBRUCE HAWKINS GUEST COLUMNIST The Republican Party is in the proverbial pickle jar. President Bush is staying the course admirably, but it is clear many voters would choose a different one. They want social programs rolled back, not increased through a prescription drug giveaway. They want illegal immigration stopped and borders controlled; they don't want amnesty, green card voting and a choice of Spanish or English at ATMs. They want to see the fruits of the war on terrorism, not $3 a gallon gasoline and nuclear threats. They want U.S. troops supported, not prosecuted for...

Iraqi Police in action. Words from Iraq. Personal stuff cut out...... I could wait to tell you what we saw today. As usual we were doing our routine patrols and as we were heading back to Mares. We saw that the IP’s (Iraqi Police) had one of the main roads closed. Shortly after, we realized that they were working on an IED placed on the right of the road exactly where we normally pass by to make a right turn. This people have a great sense of bravery, because even with the limitation on the equipment that they were using...

NEW YORK (AP) - Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft use of the Internet and other modern communications methods that the American government has failed to master, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday. In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Rumsfeld sounded a theme he frequently raises as a key to eventually winning the global war on terrorism: countering anti-Western messages from Islamic extremists. "Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but for the most part we - our country,...

Rumsfeld Says Extremists Winning Media WarBy AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer 20 minutes ago U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld gestures while speaking Friday Feb. 17, 2006 at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft use of the Internet and other modern communications methods that the American government has failed to master, Rumsfeld said Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) NEW YORK - Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups have poisoned the Muslim public's view of the United States through deft...

Al Qaeda's Big Boast By DANIEL BENJAMIN and STEVEN SIMON IF Osama bin Laden's aim in releasing an audiotape was to gauge his enemies' reaction, he must have been gratified to find that America's leaders and opinion-makers understand him little better than they did on 9/11. The proof is in how his offer of a "long-term truce" was treated. The White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, declared: "We do not negotiate with terrorists." Vice President Dick Cheney saw Mr. bin Laden's offer as "some kind of ploy." SNIP Yet, while Osama bin Laden has seldom used the word "truce," the vision...