Comments on: Petraeus: We Need More Than Troops

"Industrial Strength Insurgency" In Afghanistan Must Be Overcome With Political And Economic Progress

[alphaa10-2009]

claydowner said, "The critics of the Iraq war really do not understand that just pulling out of Iraq won''t really change anything ..."
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Critics of the war advocate long-term success as national policy--and invading Iraq is a non-starter. As you point out, if pulling out the troops does nothing to change local politics, we must ask, why have American troops there, at all?

Bush, Cheney and certain advisers, however, are naive neocon militarists with an ulterior agenda, and focused on Iraq well before 911. Cheney acknowledged before his secret 2001 meeting wiith the oil majors (to craft a "national energy policy") that Iraq was the last largely untapped asset in the geopolitical scramble for oil. It was clear Bush and Cheney intended to capture Iraq first-- no matter what means, fair or foul, would be required.

What supporters of the Iraq invasion never understood is military occupation is not a sustainable option for this country. We are not a colonial power, and cannot justify any pretext for the occupation offered by Bush-- especially his bogus claims of national security.

Bush has led the country on a consistent path to disaster. Our blood and treasure have been spent at a profligate rate by the same Bush who inherited a budget surplus in 2001. Bush neary doubled the national debt because he refused to raise taxes to pay for his war. But the costs have been incurred, and must be paid. The cost of Bush''s war will be passed along to the next president (regardless of party).

[alphaa10-2009]

Sunni cooperation with US forces made the later troop surge more effective, but the troop surge, itself, did not create Sunni cooperation.

The heralded troop surge was the creature of Washington politics, not military planners, and unfortunately another deceit foisted on the American people.

The principal criticisms of the troop surge are (1) US troops have neither the numbers nor the staying power to function as the permanent police of Baghdad and (2) Bush has not increased troop levels elsewhere, so The Thirty Thousand must come out of the US budget for other Iraqi provinces.

The surge becomes simply a Bush public relations exercise, robbing Peter to pay Paul-- last seen when Bush pulled combat units from Afghanistan into Iraq.

In contrast, the so-called "Anbar Awakening" is widely-credited for the reduction in violence. The Awakening councils are locally-driven by Sunni nationalism (not to be confused with an Iraqi nationalism under Saddam). The Awakening is not pro-American, per se, but an effort to recapture local control of local politics. The Americans are a means to an end, and most Iraqis (especially Sunni) want US troops out.

[jntlw-2009]

What General Patraeus is stating is what Barak Obama has been saying all along. Barak Obama is the man to be our next president. Obama has the foresight and good judgment. McCain has a great militry record but lacks in good judgment and is playing the same old policies as Bush. Bush policies has been the downfall of this once great nation. We need a strong leader with foresight to put us back on the right path. Obama is the man!

[misha128-2009]

Sunni regions were considerably less organized than the Shiite and Kurdish regions because of their initial violence levels and non-participation were not aided with the passage of the Reconciliation Law. The Reconciliation Law (falsely claimed success), intended to reinstate qualified Sunnis excluded in the initial post-war setup of the government, backfired as significant numbers of "previously qualified" Sunnis were disqualified (not expected) and fewer "previously disqualified" Sunnis were reinstated than expected.

Further indications of failure came with the backsliding provincial elections (another claimed success) as they were first delayed and then canceled entirely for 2008. The Sunnis remain under represented and their regions remain disorganized due to a boycott of the national elections and the cancellation of provincial elections.

The formal sharing of oil revenues between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is only a interim agreement as the Oil Law is not completed.

Sunni insurgents (most are still disqualified from government jobs) were paid and guaranteed future jobs (government) by US forces in exchange for their cooperation (the "Anbar Awakening") cannot be satisfied with the proceeding issues. Especially considering the risks associated with the eventual withdrawal of US troops, opening the real possibility for civil war a between the factions considering all the unresolved issues.

It sounds like General Petraeus'' advice also still applies to Iraq?

[blamegovt]

General Petraeus has always supported the Iraqis and that is the primary reason why he is very respected in that country. Thanks to him and our American sons and daughters defending our nation.

[bob5ford]

We need to get the heck out of there. What we need to start doing is worrying about South America. Bolivia and Venezuela both have socialist governments that are popular at the moment. As soon as they start to have problems they will blame the US. Venezuela has already invited the Russians to base military aircraft there. The next real threat we face will not be far away across an ocean but in our own back yard. And it won%u2019t play out on the evening news, it will play out in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and possibly Florida if Cuba becomes involved with a real shooting war. With our military tied up overseas where they don%u2019t belong it will be up to the militia to fight this war. Sound surreal? It may be real, sooner then you think!! Venezuela%u2019s government took over the cement plants owned by Mexico there recently. They say the banks are next. It%u2019s getting closer. Update, Bolivia and Venezuela kicked out our ambassadors and recalled theirs. Russian forces based there will be next.

[mart7lin]

When Petraeus speaks, McCain and neocons don''t listen. IRAQ NEEDS MORE THAN TROOPS. "Political, economic and diplomatic activity is critical to capitalize on gains in the security arena," he said.
THIS IS WHAT OBAMA HAS BEEN SAYING.

OBAMA HAS A BRAIN (McCain/Palin thinks foreign policy is being able to see Russia from her house! The Russians are laughing at them too.)

[bob5ford]

We need to get the heck out of there. What we need to start doing is worrying about South America. Bolivia and Venezuela both have socialist governments that are popular at the moment. As soon as they start to have problems they will blame the US. Venezuela has already invited the Russians to base military aircraft there. The next real threat we face will not be far away across an ocean but in our own back yard. And it won%u2019t play out on the evening news, it will play out in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and possibly Florida if Cuba becomes involved with a real shooting war. With our military tied up overseas where they don%u2019t belong it will be up to the militia to fight this war. Sound surreal? It may be real, sooner then you think!! Venezuela%u2019s government took over the cement plants owned by Mexico there recently. They say the banks are next. It%u2019s getting closer. Update, Bolivia and Venezuela kicked out our ambassadors and recalled theirs. Russian forces based there will be next.

[bob5ford]

We need to get the heck out of there. What we need to start doing is worrying about South America. Bolivia and Venezuela both have socialist governments that are popular at the moment. As soon as they start to have problems they will blame the US. Venezuela has already invited the Russians to base military aircraft there. The next real threat we face will not be far away across an ocean but in our own back yard. And it won%u2019t play out on the evening news, it will play out in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and possibly Florida if Cuba becomes involved with a real shooting war. With our military tied up overseas where they don%u2019t belong it will be up to the militia to fight this war. Sound surreal? It may be real, sooner then you think!! Venezuela%u2019s government took over the cement plants owned by Mexico there recently. They say the banks are next. It%u2019s getting closer. Update, Bolivia and Venezuela kicked out our ambassadors and recalled theirs. Russian forces based there will be next.

[bob5ford]

We need to get the heck out of there. What we need to start doing is worrying about South America. Bolivia and Venezuela both have socialist governments that are popular at the moment. As soon as they start to have problems they will blame the US. Venezuela has already invited the Russians to base military aircraft there. The next real threat we face will not be far away across an ocean but in our own back yard. And it won%u2019t play out on the evening news, it will play out in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and possibly Florida if Cuba becomes involved with a real shooting war. With our military tied up overseas where they don%u2019t belong it will be up to the militia to fight this war. Sound surreal? It may be real, sooner then you think!! Venezuela%u2019s government took over the cement plants owned by Mexico there recently. They say the banks are next. It%u2019s getting closer. Update, Bolivia and Venezuela kicked out our ambassadors and recalled theirs. Russian forces based there will be next.