Claims Of Iraqi Progress Deceptive

The Nation: Petraeus, Crocker Offer Views With Little Basis In Reality

(The Nation)  This column was written by Robert Scheer.

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Of course, Gen. David Petraeus predicts success in the Iraq War. What wonders couldn't generals achieve with more troops and more time? The battle is always going well until it is lost, and then they blame defeat on the politicians and the public.

There's no shortage of retired generals who will tell you we could have won in Vietnam, if only we had sent more troops, or bombed the dikes in the North, or been willing to kill more than the 3.4 million Vietnamese who died along with 59,000 American soldiers. Instead, the politicians and public, led by that bleeding heart President Richard Nixon, lost the will to win. Thus, the dominos fell to communism, and Red China and Red Vietnam now rule the world by dint of military force. Have you been to Wal-Mart lately? The triumph of communism is total.

Once again, we have a general repeatedly promising to save western civilization by turning the corner in yet another intractable and unnecessary foreign war. Back on Sept. 26, 2004, in the weeks before the midterm congressional elections, Petraeus took to the op-ed page of The Washington Post to make sure the voters didn't vote wrong. Despite appearances, he claimed the war in Iraq was going very well: "I see tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the ground up," Petraeus wrote. "The institutions that oversee them are being re-established from the top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously ... there has been progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to do."

So keen, it makes one's heart swell. So keen that three years later, after the expenditure of $450 billion more in taxpayer funds, and more U.S. troops in proportion to the Iraqi population than, at the height of the Vietnam War, we had in Vietnam, the good general now insists it would be disastrous to even think about bringing any American troops home before next summer.

That's at least another $150 billion and many more Iraqi and U.S. lives wasted. But wait — Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, also testified before Congress this week with Petraeus, and he has more good news about what he still celebrates as the "liberation of Iraq." Remember that Bush Administration promise that the oil-rich Iraqis would pick up the check for the cost of their liberation? Well, Crocker is bullish on that front: the Iraqi economy is on schedule to grow by 6 percent, according to his testimony. Perhaps he is referring to the additional money dumped into Iraq's economy by American taxpayers chipping in for the surge.

He certainly wasn't basing his estimate on any improvement in Iraqi oil production or any other economic component. As the International Monetary Fund reported last month in its annual review of Iraq's economy, "Economic growth has been slower than expected at the time of the last (review) mainly because the expected expansion of oil production has failed to materialize." In case you haven't noticed, oil is the Iraqi economy, yet a recent GAO report stated an additional $57 billion in U.S. tax dollars will be needed to bring oil and electricity production to the level where it can satisfy Iraq's domestic demand by the year 2015.

Ambassador Crocker actually had the nerve to compare the bloody religious fratricide in Iraq, which our inane invasion unleashed, to the American battle over state's rights, once again reducing the complexities of world history to an easily understood but totally irrelevant example from the American experience. In that case, a better analogy might have been made to the American Indian wars, given that the only thing the United States has been able to do effectively in Iraq is unleash superior firepower. At the current rate, Iraq will be liberated when there are no Iraqis.

Perhaps that is why this week's ABC/BBC poll shows that 70 percent of Iraqis believe security has deteriorated since the surge and that 60 percent believe attacks on U.S. forces are justified. And 93 percent of Sunnis, whom the general and ambassador claim are joining our side, want to see us dead.

As for optimism, only 29 percent of Iraqis now think the situation will get better, as opposed to 64 percent who shared that optimism before the surge -- which almost 70 percent of Iraqis believe has "hampered conditions for political dialogue, reconstruction and economic development."

So, ambassadors and generals lie. Get used to it.

[xzavierbrown]

Posted by IOWEIGN at 11:11 AM : Sep 16, 2007
+ report abuse


*****

I dont think there is anything that you would consider "workable" if it is not sold to you by some b rated hollywood comedian.

like I said, you will soon find out the meaning of ''fighting''.

[sjc_1]

Laura Logan reported that the numbers of deaths were reported decreasing in areas where ethnic cleansing had taken place. If the other side is either dead or run off, there is no one left to kill, thus deaths are down. This sort of deception has got to stop. We are so used to being lied to by Bush, it seems common place anymore.

[ioweign]

i guess there is only one way to really demonstrate the seriousness of this matter...we need pull out troops out of middle east...ration gasoline ONLY TO non-liberals (BECAUSE THEY DONT DESERVE IT). open our borders to these terrorists..AND LET THESE LIBERALS DUKE IT OUT WITH THE MOHAMMADS..

Posted by xzavierbrown at 10:26 PM : Sep 15, 2007

Fred Thompson says Bush''s "No Child Left Behind" plan isn''t working. xzavierbrown proves it !

[bluestardad]

THERE ARE STILL NO METERS ON THE IRAQI OIL PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION PIPE LINES IN WHICH MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL ARE BEING STOLEN AND SOLD ON THE BLACK MARKET!

THE REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS ARE STILL FIGHTING TO STAY THE COURSE!

DEMOCRATS LIKE CARL LEVIN AND STENY HOYER ARE STILL BEING BLACK MAILED BY AIPAC THE ISRAELI LOBBY GROUP NOT TO CUT OFF FUNDING FOR THE WAR. MAYBE THEY GOT CAUGHT IN A MENS BATHROOM REACHING UNDER THE STALL AND THIS FACT WONT COME OUT AS LONG AS THEY DO WHAT THEY ARE TOLD!

AMERICAN PEOPLE STAND UP AND TAKE BACK YOUR GOVERNMENT!

[zorlacskates]

why are the bushie comments so stupid? i mean, really, are you guys that desperate that you''ve just completely given up? calling anybody you don''t like a traitor or a coward isn''t exactly winning over hearts and minds, then again, why pick a winning strategy now? "stay the course," eh?

[jcr103]

The problem is reality seems to have a liberal bias.

[brianbwb-2009]

"xzavirbrown is hilarious..." Posted by ainttaken

And his parents probably used the same "wisdom" to say the Viet Cong Communists would follow the soldiers home to the US.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Real Americans have no respect for traitors, Posted by One_American"

You call yourself "one American" but still support the traitor that is killing our soldiers and innocent Iraqis over lies. So much for that statement...

What bigger coward could there be than one who hides behind their keyboard and calls others cowards? Posted by jn122736

Bush. He is hiding behind sycophants like "one American"....

[brianbwb-2009]

The Nation: Petraeus, Crocker Offer Views With Little Basis In Reality

The Brian: Petraeus, Crocker Offer Views As Dictated By Bush, With A Little Meaningless Improvisation Thrown In.

[ioweign]

Back on Sept. 26, 2004, in the weeks before the midterm congressional elections, Petraeus took to the op-ed page of The Washington Post to make sure the voters didn''t vote wrong. Despite appearances, he claimed the war in Iraq was going very well: "I see tangible progress. Iraqi security elements are being rebuilt from the ground up," Petraeus wrote. "The institutions that oversee them are being re-established from the top down. And Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously ... there has been progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to do."

Isn''t the military covered by the Hatch Act !!

[xzavierbrown]

i guess there is only one way to really demonstrate the seriousness of this matter...we need pull out troops out of middle east...ration gasoline ONLY TO non-liberals (BECAUSE THEY DONT DESERVE IT). open our borders to these terrorists..AND LET THESE LIBERALS DUKE IT OUT WITH THE MOHAMMADS..

[dbl06]

I would like to hear from Ptraeus''s boss, Admiral Fallon who called Petraeus a "little *** kissing chickenshit."

[gkc99]

"Hang yourself, you worthless bum." Posted by One_American



After you Alphonse!

[andor3]

middleman8 said: "the bush never ending strategy plans are like a dog chasing its tail, going in circles and getting no where while accomplishing nothing."

And that has been their true goal all along--a never-ending occupation, a weak Iraqi government unable to defend its resources against the Americans, a steady flow of cash to the rich and certain corporate entities.

Bush&Co were never in this to "win." He''s never won anything in his life.

[middleman8]

the bush never ending strategy plans are like a dog chasing its tail, going in circles and getting no where while accomplishing nothing.

[jn122736]

More defeatist propaganda from the far-left "Nation", marching lock-step with MoveOn.org, and the lot of lying cowards such are the Democrats.

Real Americans have no respect for traitors, Robert Sheer.

Real Americans know that craven cowards like you lie for a living.

Hang yourself, you worthless bum.
Posted by One_American at 01:23 PM : Sep 15, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What bigger coward could there be than one who hides behind their keyboard and calls others cowards?

No doubt, those who stoop to that level have already learned that if they did such a thing in an open meeting/debate someone certainly would give them an attitude adjustment.

[myidoncbs]

"The battle is always going well until it is lost."

Such is the intense power of delusion that holds sway over the minds of those caught in the fervor of war.

The following quote reflects a more realistic view: "The only winning move is not to play the game."

Alas, reality doesn''t play well in BushWorld.

[nearl4511]

GW = surrender monkey.

Eat it up Bushies!

[nearl4511]

Actually, I realize that this article is by "THe Nation".

However, Bush surrendered to defeat with his change of strategy to support roles today. The surge was not any meaningful increase in troop numbers, but a change in stategy - targeted engagement.

The surge is over; the President himself declared it in so many words. DOn''t contradict the President you loyalists.

He has surrendered the "surge" approach today!

[nearl4511]

Another brilliant article by the NRO.

Only trouble is that the message failed to convince the White House report that came out the day after the "powerful testimony", nor Secretary Gates, nor General Pace.

In fact, the only ones who accepted the testimony as sweeping progress are those who were begging the outcome.

Today, the surge strategy is , in fact, OVER. Bush himself announced a standdown of troops to supporting roles. How ONE_American of him.