Analysts & Commanders on the Ground Report Surge Successes
Democratic Leader Contemplates 'Real Big' Political Problems For Party if Troops Win
Washington,
Jul 31, 2007 -
Just five weeks after all of the reinforcements arrived on the ground in Iraq and General Petraeus commenced Operation Phantom Thunder, it’s beginning to look like the surge is working and Democratic leaders may be the ones looking for a “new way forward” in their partisan quest to retreat from the fight against al Qaeda.
According to at least one Democratic Party commander in Washington, Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), success in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq would cause a “real big problem” for his political party. “We, by and large, would be wise to wait on the report,” noting that Blue Dog Democrats might be tempted to support General Petraeus in September if progress on the ground continues, leaving Democratic leaders unable to force the withdrawal leftist activists have been seeking all year.
In fact, one Democratic freshman begrudgingly admitted some successes in the surge on his way home from a visit to Iraq yesterday, according to the Associated Press:
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“I’m more willing to work with finding a way forward to accommodate what the generals are saying,” [Rep. Jerry] McNerney [D-CA] told reporters Monday during a conference call from Germany on his way back to the U.S. He said he was impressed by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and by evidence of progress from President Bush's troop surge strategy in Ramadi in Anbar province. Petraeus argued in favor of giving the surge strategy time to work.” |
Republicans have battled Democrats all year for just that – time and support for American troops. And all year, Democrats have been calling the surge a failure, stating that the war had already been lost, and attempting to pass legislation in Congress to undermine our commanders and force a precipitous withdrawal from the biggest front in the Global War on Terror. But Republicans – and American troops – persevered, and it’s paying off.
In yesterday’s New York Times, two analysts from the liberal Brookings Institution who had previously criticized handling of the war in Iraq stated:
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“Viewed from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal…Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms.” |
That progress, in military terms, was outlined again yesterday by Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox and Major General David Edgington from the ground in Iraq. According to these commanders:
- We have established a degree of tactical momentum, and will continue to build on that momentum.
- We continue to pressure former sanctuaries in the Baghdad Belts, around Ramadi and in and around Baqouba - denying al Qaeda in Iraq freedom of movement and disrupting extremist secret cells while increasing the confidence of the local citizens in the Coalition and Iraqi Security Force.
- In the last week, Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces seized more than 120 weapons caches.
- We have seized more weapons caches in the first six months of this year than all of last year combined.
- The Iraqi people themselves are turning against al Qaeda and working with coalition forces in Anbar Province, Baqoubah, Taji, Khalis and other areas through the country to eliminate terrorists where they hide.
House Republicans will continue to pressure Democrats to consider the facts on the ground, support General Petraeus and American troops in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq, and put U.S. national security ahead of partisan politics. Our commanders on the ground are reporting success in their operations. Democrats would be wise to heed their own words from not long ago – “Listen to the Generals.”
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