Iraqi Leaders Welcome Petraeus Testimony

However, Violence Continues With Deadly U.S. Raid In Baghdad

(CBS/AP)  The Iraqi government on Tuesday welcomed U.S. congressional testimony from America's top general in Iraq, saying the need for U.S. military support here would decrease over time.

National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, reading from a government statement, said the Iraqis believed that "in the near future" the need for U.S. and other coalition forces "will decrease."

"The aim of the Iraqi government is to achieve self-reliance in security as soon as possible, but we still need the support of coalition forces to reach this point," cautioned al-Rubaie, who in the past has often given rosy pictures of Iraq's capabilities.

Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker began testimony before U.S. Congress on Monday, with Petraeus calling for a gradual reduction - but still significant number - of U.S. troops in Iraq. He said he has recommended that in December an Army brigade - numbering 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers - be withdrawn, and that between December and next July four additional Army brigades plus two Marine battalions leave Iraq without being replaced.

That would still leave a U.S. force of approximately 130,000 - about the same number that were in Iraq before U.S. President George W. Bush announced his troop buildup in January.

Al-Rubaie said Tuesday that Petraeus' report showed a "transparency in evaluating the situation" and that the U.S.-led coalition is "enabling us to be successful."

Monday's Capitol Hill testimony was frequently interrupted by anti-war protesters, and Petraeus heard strong rebuttals from some U.S. lawmakers who oppose America's continued involvement in the 4 1/2 year war that has claimed at least 3,772 U.S. lives.

Referring to the clamor, al-Rubaie (seen at left) said: "We understand... the impatience and disappointment of our coalition supporters who expected more (progress) sooner."

"We Iraqis are of course impatient, and wish the progress were more rapid," he said.

Meanwhile, ordinary Iraqis said Tuesday that Petraeus and Crocker's testimony in Washington meant little for their daily struggles in Baghdad.

"I was listening to the report last night, and I think it's a forgery lacking credibility. They (the Americans) care for their interests only," said a Baghdad resident who gave only his nickname, Abu Ali, out of fear of reprisals.

"It might be propaganda ahead of U.S. elections," he added. He said he favors a quicker American military withdrawal than Petraeus has recommended.

In other developments:

Nine soldiers' deaths were reported Monday by the U.S. military in Iraq, including seven killed in a vehicle accident in Baghdad. The seven Multinational Division-Baghdad soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded in a western section of the capital, the military said in a statement.

Turkey will host a conference in late October on Iraq's security and future attended by neighboring Muslim countries and outside supporters, the United States said Tuesday. The meeting to be held in Istanbul will be the third neighbors conference aimed at achieving commitments on ways to stabilize the country. In a similar conference in May held in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, neighbors promised to stop foreign militants from joining Iraq's insurgency, a pledge that the United States says has not been met.

Blast-caused head injuries sustained by U.S. soldiers in Iraq are so different from the ones doctors are used to seeing from falls and car crashes that treating them is as much faith as it is science. "We're seeing things we've never seen before," say doctors.

Violence continued Tuesday, with U.S. troops killing nine suspects in a pre-dawn raid on the Baghdad Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, the military said. Iraqi police and witnesses said only three people were killed, all civilians.

Iraqi officials said eight others were injured in the operation in Sadr City - home to 2.5 million of Baghdad's poorest residents as well the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

A resident who described himself as a tribal leader, Hussein Mohammed Mishan, said one of those killed was a teenage boy who was shot dead by American troops when he opened his front door to see what was going on outside.

At least two children were among the wounded, an Iraqi officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

The U.S. raid was conducted to "detain criminals involved in murder, kidnapping, IED and mortar attacks and weapons smuggling," the military said in a statement. Nine "armed terrorists" were killed and eight others were captured, it said.

The Iraqi officer put the number of suspects arrested at 10, and said eight civilian cars were damaged as well. Several sheep and cattle were also killed in a yard fire ignited by gunfire, he added.

Associated Press Television News footage showed at least four flattened cars, with windshields shattered and doors crumpled. Witnesses said U.S. military vehicles had driven over then in narrow dirt passageways between city blocks.

The video also showed at least two homes with door locks blown off and the interiors ransacked.

The U.S. statement said American aircraft fired on a dump truck believed to have been used by terrorists. It was destroyed.

A day earlier, U.S. and Iraqi troops killed three civilians during a similar raid in the same area, police and residents said. The U.S. military denied there were any civilian or military casualties from Monday's operation, which it described as targeting a suspected Shiite extremist who eluded capture.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 6:45 PM EDT

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill

It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it. Robert E. Lee

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war. Simone Weil

If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. Thomas Paine

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Winston Churchill

One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 6:37 PM EDT

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. Ben Franklin

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Ben Franklin

We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. John F. Kennedy

There''s a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn''t a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature. Barbara Kingsolver

They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war -- as though the absence of war was the same as peace. Dorothy Thompson

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy. George Washington

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. John Adams

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 6:29 PM EDT

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry

USA''s PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 6:22 PM EDT

Franklin D. Roosevelt''s Infamy Speech
December 8, 1941/September 12, 2001
The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 6:09 PM EDT

VOTE FOR JEFFERSON%u2026 VOTE GOP%u2026

dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone....

gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses.....

What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad

Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam..... he killed plenty of them....

In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:

The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
MUSLIM PIRATES STRIKE AGAIN
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2005/06/muslim-pirates-strike-again.html

Reply to this comment

by pepperp1 September 11, 2007 5:47 PM EDT

Unfortunate, but the Shia have chosen to slaughter the Sunnis and the Sunnis have chosen to slaughter the Shia. 5 years, thousands of dead trillions spent is too much.



Wholesale mass destruction of Sunnis should not be aided by America, tens of thousands dead.



CHOOSE LIFE FOR OUR TROOPS call your Senator and tell him 5 years later, 4,000 dead, 34,000 wounded, tens of thousands of Iraqi dead, and 2 Trillion is too much CHANGE THE MISSION.


%u2026%u2026%u2026%u2026modify the American mission to emphasize the training and advising of Iraqi security forces so that Iraqis would be pushed into the lead and a vast majority of American combat troops could be quickly withdrawn.





[phone] for the Senate, and [phone] for the House


Do not be distracted the facts are simple the math just as simple, the guilty sacrificing our soldiers and their lives unnecessary are the Republicans in the Senate Bush and Petraeus can not keep our troops in Iraq if 17 Republican Senators switch their vote for America and our Troops so they may come home and live long lives with their families.



28 Soldiers dead in 6 days since Bush declared we are kicking arse in IRAQ. Ask Romney if he to would also want to live vicariously through our soldiers since he too did not serve in the last war.

Reply to this comment

by radiob-2009 September 11, 2007 5:44 PM EDT

At 1.3 trillion of the treasury owned by the Chinese government its not just the democratic party that is owned by the Chinese.

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 5:31 PM EDT

CHINESE OWN DEMONIC-RATS AND BUY THEM THE ELECTIONS!!!

The tale of shady Chinese Clinton donors avoiding U.S. justice is a familiar one that dates back to the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandal known as Chinagate. The Clintons took millions in laundered foreign campaign donations from Chinese Communists in exchange for liberalizing trade policy with China, dropping pending indictments against influential Chinese figures, spots on a U.S. trade mission and overnight stays at the White House.
Many of the Chinagate donors were successfully prosecuted even though Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department. More than 100 people connected to the fundraising scandal fled the country, however. Norman Hsu seems to be following their lead.
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/hillary_donor_flees_like_china.html

and you thought gonzales was bad...

Reply to this comment

by toldyouso21 September 11, 2007 5:20 PM EDT

Asking Patreaus if the surge is working, is like asking a compulsive gambler/or gambling addict if he thinks his "big win" can happen with his next bet. LMAO

Reply to this comment

by j-whitman September 11, 2007 4:57 PM EDT

SNAFU -- Generic plans, limited troops

Reply to this comment

by toldyouso21 September 11, 2007 4:10 PM EDT

Patreaus is NOT dishonest--he just has a one tracked mind. Patraeus is a flawed general.For him, Success in war is the ONLY option. Either git ''er done or die trying...and that goes for all who are under him.

He could answer no differently at the hearings and he has the conviction of his beliefs. He also has blinders on and staying the course is his ONLY option--because if he leaves, he failed and that is NOT an option.

No one should be surprised that Patreaus wants to stay the course and is touting success as around the corner. He was saying the same thing in 2004. He is consistent, even if he is wrong. He will continue to say the same thing if he is at the helm in 2012 or 2016. It is the way he is made. It does not make him right or the sacrifices right--it is just the way he is.

Bush finally struck the war mongeror''''s jackpot with this guy.

Reply to this comment

by toldyouso21 September 11, 2007 3:43 PM EDT

correction:

Some BIG QUESTIONs FOR ANY NEO CON OR DEMOCRAT: Why should Iraqis cooperate with us in conquering them?

Why do we expect them to?

Why do Americans expect the rest of the world to help pay for and/or clean up an American war of choice that has gone badly? Why don''''t we clean up our own mess?

Would Al Maliki or any other Iraqi official be for us staying if we did not pay their salaries and keep them in power? What do the Iraqi people say?

Because the Iraqi people are the ones who KNOW where the IEDs are planted and they are the ones who support and hide the insurgents--Al Maliki and his cronies, just take our checks, and go on vacation and take our weapons and training and make their own private armies--vying to see who can be the next Saddam.

Reply to this comment

by toldyouso21 September 11, 2007 3:39 PM EDT

BIG QUESTION FOR ANY NEO CON OR DEMOCRAT: Why should Iraqis cooperate with us in conquering them?

Why do we expect them to?

Why do Americans expect the rest of the world to help pay for and/or clean up an American war of choice that has gone badly? Why don''t we clean up our own mess?

Would Al Maliki or any other Iraqi official be for us staying if we did not pay their salaries and keep them in power? What do the Iraqi people say?

Because the Iraqi people are the ones who KNOW where the IEDs are planted.

Reply to this comment

by toldyouso21 September 11, 2007 3:35 PM EDT

Questions that should have been asked of Patreaus:

1. What was Bush''''s stated rationale for the surge and what it was to accomplish?

2. The first date to measure success was given as Spring 2007, then Summer 2007, then Fall 2007 and now Winter 2008 with true success slated for 2 to 4 years away or longer, why does the date for even gauging success not stable and keep getting further away?

3.. As violence went down in Iraq, Did it escalate elsewhere and how do those numbers differ or compare?

4. IN 2004, Patreaus was quoting as saying the signs of improvement in Iraq were very good and success was around the corner. Mr. Patreaus your assessment was not accurate then, why should we believe it now?

5. Is the political process in Iraq better or worse since 2006?

6. Various factions want Al Maliki to resign and there are talks of new elections or coups, how has our surged helped that process?

7. What is the state of the infrastructure? Has it improved since 2006? Anywhere?

We already know the answer to that and the answer is No real, sustained progress has been made. As for Anbar...it, Fallujah and other cities are calmed, stabilized and lost on a quarterly basis and have been so since 2003.
Posted by toldyouso21 at 12:32 PM : Sep 11, 2007

Reply to this comment

by brianbwb-2009 September 11, 2007 3:08 PM EDT

Its midnight here, I gotta go, see ya tomorrow.

Reply to this comment

by drummer94 September 11, 2007 3:07 PM EDT

I watched some of the "report" yesterday, and some today -Hagel and Feingold- and yep they were grillin the general and ambassador pretty good. Yesterday, a congressman was asking the same things. What really stood out, to me, were the questions of what is Iraq or really the fight in, have to do with winning the war on terror? I heard more of we are fighting the "ethno-sectarian"" (new term to me) AND aQI. (Another new term.) But the sunni''s are helping us fight aQI. I said to myself ***?

Reply to this comment

by gomesie22 September 11, 2007 3:07 PM EDT

Bush is just holding on in Iraq so he can dump this problem on the next President. He knows there is no chance of "victory". (What is victory by the way?)
He is using the American Military to achive this political goal of just holding on so that his presidency doesn''t have the stain of a lost war and that''s just crimminal. He''ll just blame the next president when we finially pull out of Iraq for loosing the war. It''s all about his political legacy.
Rebublicans, can you really say after eveything Bush has done or not done that you would be still supporting this war if Bush was a Democrate?

Reply to this comment

by lars008-2009 September 11, 2007 3:06 PM EDT

CHINESE OWN DEMONIC-RATS AND BUY THEM THE ELECTIONS!!!

The tale of shady Chinese Clinton donors avoiding U.S. justice is a familiar one that dates back to the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandal known as Chinagate. The Clintons took millions in laundered foreign campaign donations from Chinese Communists in exchange for liberalizing trade policy with China, dropping pending indictments against influential Chinese figures, spots on a U.S. trade mission and overnight stays at the White House.
Many of the Chinagate donors were successfully prosecuted even though Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department. More than 100 people connected to the fundraising scandal fled the country, however. Norman Hsu seems to be following their lead.
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/hillary_donor_flees_like_china.html

and you thought gonzales was bad...

Reply to this comment

by cbs_oliver September 11, 2007 3:01 PM EDT

"Iraqi Leaders Welcome Petraeus Testimony"

They have leaders in Iraq???
Posted by usmcvn at 10:02 AM : Sep 11, 2007

Yes, but few that like what we are doing there.

Those Iraqi leaders that like US policies are ineffective at building a consensus because the vast majority of Iraqis are not happy with the occupation.

The effective Iraqi leaders who could build a consensus are the ones current US policy calls for killing first.

Reply to this comment

by brianbwb-2009 September 11, 2007 2:54 PM EDT

Posted by drummer94,

That is why you start at the small subsidiaries, then work your way up. If the lap dogs are afraid to protect their master, and new lapdogs are afraid they will get what the first ones were afraid of, then the master soon has no lap dogs.

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[lars008-2009]

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill

It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it. Robert E. Lee

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war. Simone Weil

If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. Thomas Paine

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Winston Churchill

One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

[lars008-2009]

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. Ben Franklin

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Ben Franklin

We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. John F. Kennedy

There''s a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn''t a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature. Barbara Kingsolver

They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war -- as though the absence of war was the same as peace. Dorothy Thompson

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy. George Washington

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. John Adams

[lars008-2009]

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry

USA''s PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

[lars008-2009]

Franklin D. Roosevelt''s Infamy Speech
December 8, 1941/September 12, 2001
The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

[lars008-2009]

VOTE FOR JEFFERSON%u2026 VOTE GOP%u2026

dnc are like john adams and want to give the jihadist their lunch money hoping they will leave us alone....

gop are like thomas jefferson and want to spend their lunch money on weapons and go kick the jihadists in their arses.....

What Thomas Jefferson learned from the Muslim book of jihad

Thomas Jefferson knew about fascist nazi islam..... he killed plenty of them....

In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli''s envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:

The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
muslim justifies slavery and piracy%u2026
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
MUSLIM PIRATES STRIKE AGAIN
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2005/06/muslim-pirates-strike-again.html

[pepperp1]

Unfortunate, but the Shia have chosen to slaughter the Sunnis and the Sunnis have chosen to slaughter the Shia. 5 years, thousands of dead trillions spent is too much.



Wholesale mass destruction of Sunnis should not be aided by America, tens of thousands dead.



CHOOSE LIFE FOR OUR TROOPS call your Senator and tell him 5 years later, 4,000 dead, 34,000 wounded, tens of thousands of Iraqi dead, and 2 Trillion is too much CHANGE THE MISSION.


%u2026%u2026%u2026%u2026modify the American mission to emphasize the training and advising of Iraqi security forces so that Iraqis would be pushed into the lead and a vast majority of American combat troops could be quickly withdrawn.





[phone] for the Senate, and [phone] for the House


Do not be distracted the facts are simple the math just as simple, the guilty sacrificing our soldiers and their lives unnecessary are the Republicans in the Senate Bush and Petraeus can not keep our troops in Iraq if 17 Republican Senators switch their vote for America and our Troops so they may come home and live long lives with their families.



28 Soldiers dead in 6 days since Bush declared we are kicking arse in IRAQ. Ask Romney if he to would also want to live vicariously through our soldiers since he too did not serve in the last war.

[radiob-2009]

At 1.3 trillion of the treasury owned by the Chinese government its not just the democratic party that is owned by the Chinese.

[lars008-2009]

CHINESE OWN DEMONIC-RATS AND BUY THEM THE ELECTIONS!!!

The tale of shady Chinese Clinton donors avoiding U.S. justice is a familiar one that dates back to the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandal known as Chinagate. The Clintons took millions in laundered foreign campaign donations from Chinese Communists in exchange for liberalizing trade policy with China, dropping pending indictments against influential Chinese figures, spots on a U.S. trade mission and overnight stays at the White House.
Many of the Chinagate donors were successfully prosecuted even though Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department. More than 100 people connected to the fundraising scandal fled the country, however. Norman Hsu seems to be following their lead.
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/hillary_donor_flees_like_china.html

and you thought gonzales was bad...

[toldyouso21]

Asking Patreaus if the surge is working, is like asking a compulsive gambler/or gambling addict if he thinks his "big win" can happen with his next bet. LMAO

[j-whitman]

SNAFU -- Generic plans, limited troops

[toldyouso21]

Patreaus is NOT dishonest--he just has a one tracked mind. Patraeus is a flawed general.For him, Success in war is the ONLY option. Either git ''er done or die trying...and that goes for all who are under him.

He could answer no differently at the hearings and he has the conviction of his beliefs. He also has blinders on and staying the course is his ONLY option--because if he leaves, he failed and that is NOT an option.

No one should be surprised that Patreaus wants to stay the course and is touting success as around the corner. He was saying the same thing in 2004. He is consistent, even if he is wrong. He will continue to say the same thing if he is at the helm in 2012 or 2016. It is the way he is made. It does not make him right or the sacrifices right--it is just the way he is.

Bush finally struck the war mongeror''''s jackpot with this guy.

[toldyouso21]

correction:

Some BIG QUESTIONs FOR ANY NEO CON OR DEMOCRAT: Why should Iraqis cooperate with us in conquering them?

Why do we expect them to?

Why do Americans expect the rest of the world to help pay for and/or clean up an American war of choice that has gone badly? Why don''''t we clean up our own mess?

Would Al Maliki or any other Iraqi official be for us staying if we did not pay their salaries and keep them in power? What do the Iraqi people say?

Because the Iraqi people are the ones who KNOW where the IEDs are planted and they are the ones who support and hide the insurgents--Al Maliki and his cronies, just take our checks, and go on vacation and take our weapons and training and make their own private armies--vying to see who can be the next Saddam.

[toldyouso21]

BIG QUESTION FOR ANY NEO CON OR DEMOCRAT: Why should Iraqis cooperate with us in conquering them?

Why do we expect them to?

Why do Americans expect the rest of the world to help pay for and/or clean up an American war of choice that has gone badly? Why don''t we clean up our own mess?

Would Al Maliki or any other Iraqi official be for us staying if we did not pay their salaries and keep them in power? What do the Iraqi people say?

Because the Iraqi people are the ones who KNOW where the IEDs are planted.

[toldyouso21]

Questions that should have been asked of Patreaus:

1. What was Bush''''s stated rationale for the surge and what it was to accomplish?

2. The first date to measure success was given as Spring 2007, then Summer 2007, then Fall 2007 and now Winter 2008 with true success slated for 2 to 4 years away or longer, why does the date for even gauging success not stable and keep getting further away?

3.. As violence went down in Iraq, Did it escalate elsewhere and how do those numbers differ or compare?

4. IN 2004, Patreaus was quoting as saying the signs of improvement in Iraq were very good and success was around the corner. Mr. Patreaus your assessment was not accurate then, why should we believe it now?

5. Is the political process in Iraq better or worse since 2006?

6. Various factions want Al Maliki to resign and there are talks of new elections or coups, how has our surged helped that process?

7. What is the state of the infrastructure? Has it improved since 2006? Anywhere?

We already know the answer to that and the answer is No real, sustained progress has been made. As for Anbar...it, Fallujah and other cities are calmed, stabilized and lost on a quarterly basis and have been so since 2003.
Posted by toldyouso21 at 12:32 PM : Sep 11, 2007

[brianbwb-2009]

Its midnight here, I gotta go, see ya tomorrow.

[drummer94]

I watched some of the "report" yesterday, and some today -Hagel and Feingold- and yep they were grillin the general and ambassador pretty good. Yesterday, a congressman was asking the same things. What really stood out, to me, were the questions of what is Iraq or really the fight in, have to do with winning the war on terror? I heard more of we are fighting the "ethno-sectarian"" (new term to me) AND aQI. (Another new term.) But the sunni''s are helping us fight aQI. I said to myself ***?

[gomesie22]

Bush is just holding on in Iraq so he can dump this problem on the next President. He knows there is no chance of "victory". (What is victory by the way?)
He is using the American Military to achive this political goal of just holding on so that his presidency doesn''t have the stain of a lost war and that''s just crimminal. He''ll just blame the next president when we finially pull out of Iraq for loosing the war. It''s all about his political legacy.
Rebublicans, can you really say after eveything Bush has done or not done that you would be still supporting this war if Bush was a Democrate?

[lars008-2009]

CHINESE OWN DEMONIC-RATS AND BUY THEM THE ELECTIONS!!!

The tale of shady Chinese Clinton donors avoiding U.S. justice is a familiar one that dates back to the 1996 Clinton-Gore fundraising scandal known as Chinagate. The Clintons took millions in laundered foreign campaign donations from Chinese Communists in exchange for liberalizing trade policy with China, dropping pending indictments against influential Chinese figures, spots on a U.S. trade mission and overnight stays at the White House.
Many of the Chinagate donors were successfully prosecuted even though Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno blocked investigators%u2019 efforts at the Justice Department. More than 100 people connected to the fundraising scandal fled the country, however. Norman Hsu seems to be following their lead.
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/hillary_donor_flees_like_china.html

and you thought gonzales was bad...

[cbs_oliver]

"Iraqi Leaders Welcome Petraeus Testimony"

They have leaders in Iraq???
Posted by usmcvn at 10:02 AM : Sep 11, 2007

Yes, but few that like what we are doing there.

Those Iraqi leaders that like US policies are ineffective at building a consensus because the vast majority of Iraqis are not happy with the occupation.

The effective Iraqi leaders who could build a consensus are the ones current US policy calls for killing first.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by drummer94,

That is why you start at the small subsidiaries, then work your way up. If the lap dogs are afraid to protect their master, and new lapdogs are afraid they will get what the first ones were afraid of, then the master soon has no lap dogs.