Why the "surge" is working
Now that Dr Paul has commented on McCain's plan for a new 100 Years' War, this might be a bit of information that will help the next time a candidate brags about how well the "surge" is working. It's working because we're paying off the enemy, including al-Qaida!
Here are excerpts from a report aired on NPR's Morning Edition on 1/8/08:
"If it wasn't just the surge, how did it happen?
"It could be, in part, exhaustion among Sunnis, tired of fighting and dying. Or also, in part, a cease-fire declared by the largest Shiite militia, others say.
"But another part, and possibly the most significant, can be traced to the end of last May. That month, 126 U.S. troops died; it was the second deadliest month for U.S. forces during the war. Petraeus was under pressure to reduce those casualties.
"'Petraeus seems to have concluded that it was essential to cut deals with the Sunni insurgents if he was going to succeed in reducing U.S. casualties,' Macgregor says.
"The military now calls those 'deals' the Concerned Local Citizens program or simply, CLCs.
"It's a somewhat abstract euphemism. The CLC program turns groups of former insurgents, including fighters for al-Qaida in Iraq, into paid, temporary allies of the U.S. military.... Some 70,000 former insurgents are now being paid $10 a day by the U.S. military. It costs about a quarter billion dollars a year.
"It's a controversial strategy, and Macgregor warns that it's creating a parallel military force in Iraq that is made up almost entirely of Sunni Muslims....
"The largest Shiite militia group has temporarily sworn-off attacking both the U.S. military and Sunni Muslims. Sunni groups are, for the time being, allying themselves with the United States for a fee. And in the north, Kurdish militants are focused on Turkey rather than Iraq. It is a waiting game.
"And still, quietly, each group builds its own armory, preparing for the inevitability of fighting another day."
The entire article is here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17899543
I find this unbelievable and astounding. I hope someone from Dr Paul's campaign reads this board and will pass this on to him. I'll be eagerly waiting for him to ask, "What are we thinking?!? Haven't we been here before? When we will learn?"
DeBosco
Search and avoid--another reason why the surge is working
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/66160/
Operation Get Out Alive
Morale among US soldiers in the country is so poor, many are simply parking their Humvees and pretending to be on patrol, called "search and avoid" missions.
"So we would go find an open field and park, and call our base every hour to tell them we were searching for weapons caches in the fields and doing weapons patrols and everything was going fine," he said, adding, "All our enlisted people became very disenchanted with our chain of command."
Millard said "search and avoid" missions continue today across Iraq. "One of my buddies is in Baghdad right now and we email all the time," he explained, "He just told me that nearly each day they pull into a parking lot, drink soda and shoot at the cans. They pay Iraqi kids to bring them things and spread the word that they are not doing anything and to please just leave them alone."
Another reason the surge is working is
the media says the surge is working.
There you go believing the media again.
Please stop watching that crap. It is propaganda. All of a sudden things are cool in Iraq. Bullsh%$ there is an election going on and the war mongers have to be elected.....easy?
Think about it. Negative articles about have Iraq have diminished by 50% since September...why?
Guys, do you think the media just lies about SOME things and tells the truth about others?
Unify