At Instapundit, another email from Michael Yon;
I cannot believe my eyes and ears in Anbar. Very quiet where I am. Did a foot patrol today with Iraqi Army and a couple of Marines. Local population was friendly. Have not heard a shot fired in anger in days. (Whereas before the sounds of war were nearly always in the air.)
More confirmation of earlier reports coming out of Anbar that local tribal leaders have turned on Al Qaeda.
Strategy Page;
So far this year, many more parts of central Iraq have been cleared of terrorists, and the remaining ones know they have to maintain their visibility to survive. Setting off several bombs a day keeps the terrorists in the news, even if the explosions take place in a smaller and smaller area of Iraq. The terrorists play more to the international media, than they do to anyone inside Iraq. The terrorists are already hated and feared throughout the country, even in Sunni Arab areas. There, the terrorists must increasingly divert resources to terrorize Sunni Arabs, and keep them in line. They are aided by Islamic conservatives, who see all the unrest as an opportunity to impose Taliban like rules on the population. If the terrorists accomplish nothing else, they will have shown how to manipulate the mass media, and divert attention from the true origins of the terrorists, and their objectives. It's been a masterful job which, of course, the mass media will have no interest in examining anytime soon.
JD Johannes spent three weeks with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Baghdad;
"Some people forget that the sectarian violence kicked off in 2005 as part a deliberate strategy by AQIZ. Too many people assume that Sunni and Shia in Iraq have been killing each other for centuries.The war in Iraq is plagued by a Congress who lacks the information to cast a vote and a public who lacks the basic knowledge to take part in an opinion poll.
[...]
Is there hope for Baghdad? Yes. The additional U.S. forces from the surge are already showing limited signs of success. They are not the signs quantified by London or D.C. think tanks.
Every Battalion Commander I talked with gave me the same metrics to measure success--Commerce, people returning to their homes, essential services, kids playing soccer in fields they haven't played on in 2 years, professionalization of the police and security services.
Those are things that do not fit well in an index and things a person can only see on the ground by going back to the same areas of operation every few months.
Lots more at both those links - plus this letter from Steve Miska, LTC, Infantry, Task Force Justice Commander.
All lies. These guys are paid by the Taliban/Shi'ite/Sunnis to make it look like things are great,so that the Yanks and others will leave. Girls aren't going to school,wells aren't being built,infrastructure is a mess. Well according to CBCpravda,anyways.
Islamic fanaticism has killed far more muslims than Americans...it's only a matter of time until the majority reject fanatical militants.
Don't hold your breath waiting for **ANY** of this to be reported by mainstream news.
No wonder people are turning from it in droves.
Journalists are scumbags - pure and simple.
"If the terrorists accomplish nothing else, they will have shown how to manipulate the mass media, and divert attention from the true origins of the terrorists, and their objectives."
Hey CBC's 'The National', hey 'News Net', ya hear that ?? ---- Guilty by association one would think.
You will be able to tell how close success is in Iraq, the louder the squealing the closer success. The left does not want success, it proves them wrong.
My Rant.
I still maintain the true enemy of Western ways and its values are the enemy within, the left. They are the same useless and unproductive rot that undermine most things that are progressive. Their mindset allows progress only as long as it benefits them in the narrow confines of protect me my life my job at any cost. The enemy of the West is not the taliban or al-qaeda or the next set of terrorists to come down the pike but those within our society that aid and abet them in their task. Stemming terrorism and it’s spread starts at home.
"Setting off several bombs a day keeps the terrorists in the news, even if the explosions take place in a smaller and smaller area of Iraq. The terrorists play more to the international media, than they do to anyone inside Iraq. The terrorists are already hated and feared throughout the country ... aided by Islamic conservatives, who see all the unrest as an opportunity to impose Taliban like rules on the population. If the terrorists accomplish nothing else, they will have shown how to manipulate the mass media, and divert attention from the true origins of the terrorists, and their objectives. It's been a masterful job which, of course, the mass media will have no interest in examining anytime soon."
What an amazing quote that applies to Islamist terrorists, wherever they are, and their willing dupes, the media.
Will Cdn media (Oliver et al) ever apologize to the soldiers and the public, now that the "detainee scandal" has been shown to be fiction, for their misinformation. Where are the retractions? Oh, they've moved on to some other Tory scandal, or are running a story about how Harper is in danger of losing next election.
I'm not accusing entire media of liberal bias, but there are a powerful few (Torstar, CBC) who act like experts on military affairs, until they open their mouth and we realize they know nothing. Always negative news spin. But no, they're just going after the Tories, not the soldiers, right? Just like Somalia, right? Yeah, right.
Shamrock, *YOU* might not be accusing the ENTIRE Cdn news mediaof bias but *I* am. The 5 or 6 journalists in Canada that MIGHT be called conservative do NOTHING to counteract the Liberal bias. The whole dammed lot of them are asssholes.
The age old dictum is controversy sells, why spread good news?
Western Canadian,
Well you are half right, because you only report the half of the matter.
You are right about the left. When the USSR fell, and the Chinese went pseudo-capitalist, they turned to enviro-mentalism and islamo-fascism, and took over the eformer and got suckered by the latter, simply because these movements also hate the liberty and wealth and health that capitalism has brought humanity.
Western Canadian,
Well you are half right, because you only report the half of the matter.
You are right about the left. When the USSR fell, and the Chinese went pseudo-capitalist, they turned to enviro-mentalism and islamo-fascism, and took over the eformer and got suckered by the latter, simply because these movements also hate the liberty and wealth and health that capitalism has brought humanity.
Outstanding series of links!
Are you sure it's not the old neo-cons in Iraq ploy ... I love a good ploy once in a while.
The surge is working! The number of American troops killed is way down. Thanks to the U.S.A. we have democracy. Anyone who isn't a CBC socialist Librano can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Just click the link * This Letter* and read the comments under the Steve Minska view.
Excellent stuff. Better than what I had to say. = TG