ABC News transcript via The Corner;
CHARLES GIBSONSome encouraging news from Baghdad tonight. A few weeks ago, the decision was made to redeploy thousands of US troops to the Baghdad area from other areas of Iraq to secure the city and reduce a number of daily attacks.
Well, the numbers are preliminary, but it seems to be working. After two weeks, Iraqi authorities say the number of violent attacks has gone down by 30%. ABC's Terry McCarthy got an exclusive chance to travel with a unit through one of Baghdad's most dangerous areas.
TERRY MCCARTHY
Space-aged vehicles in Baghdad's side streets. These Stryker armored troop carriers moved in 2 weeks ago with 5,000 extra US troops to patrol the Iraqi capital.
LIEUTENANT PATRICK PATTERSON
It's new. People don't know what to expect.
TERRY MCCARTHY
By saturating some of the most dangerous neighborhoods, they have reduced violence across Baghdad by almost a third. US figures, calculated differently, show a 22% drop. Either way, the Americans are fired up.
LIEUTENANT PATRICK PATTERSON
It's been great. We get a lot of smiles and waves.
TERRY MCCARTHY
One of the most dramatic drops in violence has happened in the Dora neighborhood. In July, up to 20 people here were killed here every day. Then US and Iraqi troops poured in, searching 4,000 buildings in the first 4 days. Their commander, Colonel Michael Beech, was also determined to stop car bombs.
COLONEL MICHAEL BEECH
We established entry control points where we inspect, even now, every single vehicle in and out.
TERRY MCCARTHY
Over 14 days of the stepped-up patrols in Dora, there has been just one killing.
We're on Mechanic Street in Dora, in Southern Baghdad. A month ago this was one of the most dangerous places in the city. All these stores would have been closed.
But since the extra American troops have moved back in, people feel it's now safe to do business here. 'I'm happy because we're safe," he says. 'The stores are open and we can move around freely." But US commanders told us the additional American fire power can only be a temporary solution.
COLONEL MICHAEL BEECHIt has to be the Iraqi people with the Iraqi security forces that ultimately bring success and security to Baghdad.
TERRY MCCARTHY
Hope has often gone sour in Iraq. If the country's political leaders cannot make their own peace, America's later success in Baghdad could quickly be reversed. Terry McCarthy, ABC News, Baghdad.
With safety comes democracy.
Who is this Terry McCarthy, where has he and his reporting been? Imagine, a MSM journalist actually reporting something positive from Iraq!
Yup demonstrations of presence work. And yes there may be an argument for there not being enough troops to secure the country as opposed to win the war.
Sadly the iraqis trust the Americans more than their own police. That has to change.
But nice to see some positive reporting come out.
Troop strength in Iraq today is back up to 138,000, notes military analyst John Pike of globalsecurity.com, a research and consulting firm specializing in security issues. "All that happy talk earlier this year about getting below 100,000 by the end of this year now seems premature."
www.csmonitor.com/2006/0824/p02s02-usmi.htm
Brutal violence in Iraq.
“A suicide car bombing and clashes between Shiite militia and Iraqi security forces left at least 50 people dead Monday in a brutal contradiction of the prime minister’s claim that bloodshed was decreasing…The dead included eight American soldiers, one of the U.S. military’s deadliest weekends in months.”
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060828/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/012912.php
One must extend a little forgiveness to Carl Ernst, Ernst Zundel and . . .
y: ABUHURAIRAH at August 28, 2006 09:22 PM
Did you notice the frustration and rage expressed by comments all in upper case?
Those poor Islamonazies. There are Persian supremacists who once ruled the ME and now Mahoud *Almondjeans has had a vision and he thinks they should rule the whole ME once again.
Islamonazies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Northern Iraq, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt are just a few who totally reject the prospect of Iran [Persia] Shia rule.
Frustrating bug that is. Bad for Iran.
Muqtada al-Sadr running around with the *Black bands* kidnapping Sunni and beheading those who don't pay the ransom. Bad for Iran.
Alzawiri handing out money to the confused people of Lebanon for repair of their houses, not realizing it is only a down payment for when their homes are smashed again in the next conflict. Bad for Iran.
Hezbullah is really the Army of Iran. The Lebanese are going to wake up to the fact that homes should be smashed in Iran, not Lebanon. Bad for Iran.
Syria too fears the Persians and never want to be enslaved by them. Bad for Iran.
So you see the Islamonazies have many painful dilemmas to deal with and you must allow them to scream and yell in frustration.
They are so mad they just want to smash everything, including themselves.
Bad for Iran. = TG