Friday, October 14, 2005
Best News From Iraq So Far This Month
A guest commentary from Lieutenant Colonel Gary Skubal, over at the excellent Real Clear Politics, about Iraqi operations in Tal Afar, is heart-warming, spine stiffening, lump-in-the-throat good news from Iraq, the best news so far this month. Money quotes:
But out of this apparent chaos comes the brilliance of the idea. Despite the volume of fire during the raid, I still don’t know if any shots came from the insurgents. To them it must have sounded like all hell was breaking loose and heading their way. The pilot of a cavalry scout helicopter above exclaimed over the radio, “it looks like ants everywhere” as he watched the commandos flowing through the courtyards and gardens. Later a seasoned cavalry sergeant likened the commandos to “a swarm of killer bees.” In some houses we entered, we found the suspects cowering in dark rooms. Other houses contained evidence of insurgents fleeing in haste. There was something new going on here. Terror had gripped the terrorists...
What I saw during my time with these men inspired my faith in a better future for Iraq. These commandos are accomplishing something that has challenged the best efforts of conventional forces for some time – hope for the Iraqi people on the street and, something we have long wished on the terrorists – a taste of their own medicine.
Read, as they say, the whole thing.
Iraqi Interior Ministry special forces, in American and British hand-me-down camo with AK 47 underfolders, happy to be on patrol in Baghdad the day before the Constitution is accepted. Photo by AP.
But out of this apparent chaos comes the brilliance of the idea. Despite the volume of fire during the raid, I still don’t know if any shots came from the insurgents. To them it must have sounded like all hell was breaking loose and heading their way. The pilot of a cavalry scout helicopter above exclaimed over the radio, “it looks like ants everywhere” as he watched the commandos flowing through the courtyards and gardens. Later a seasoned cavalry sergeant likened the commandos to “a swarm of killer bees.” In some houses we entered, we found the suspects cowering in dark rooms. Other houses contained evidence of insurgents fleeing in haste. There was something new going on here. Terror had gripped the terrorists...
What I saw during my time with these men inspired my faith in a better future for Iraq. These commandos are accomplishing something that has challenged the best efforts of conventional forces for some time – hope for the Iraqi people on the street and, something we have long wished on the terrorists – a taste of their own medicine.
Read, as they say, the whole thing.
Iraqi Interior Ministry special forces, in American and British hand-me-down camo with AK 47 underfolders, happy to be on patrol in Baghdad the day before the Constitution is accepted. Photo by AP.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:05 AM 
Comments:
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Optimisism is a great thing, but a great rule in life is never believe your own PR!
Still say situation is nowhere near becoming resolved, snippets of good news may be heartwarming, but the reality of the bigger picture is not good.
Still say situation is nowhere near becoming resolved, snippets of good news may be heartwarming, but the reality of the bigger picture is not good.
If you're not optimisistic about what's taking place in Iraq compared to what Saddam and his sons had going 3 years ago, you're just not paying attention. It's bigger picture good news with little snippets of tragedy here and there and the guys causing the tragedies are being hunted down and killed by American, Iraqi and British forces (among others). Still good to hear your contrarian views. And Seeker, do you mean a conga line? Just asking.
No,you can`t generalise, by making comparisons.....a bit like saying a nutron bomb is better than a nuclear bomb.
You just can`t do it.
We have replaced a bad situation with another bad situation.
And we all know it`s bad. You can`t say, well it`s less bad, and that makes everything alright.
And we can justify and rewrite history to suit our needs. After all, he wasn`t considered a problem when he was being supported by the west.
Our governments ignored the cries for help for a long time, because it wasn`t in their interests at the time to do anything about it.
So the pious stuff about "aren`t we good, we`ve liberated these poor people...." just doesn`t wash.
We have a mess. We helped create the mess by meddling, and now it`s a bigger mess.
And if Bush attempts to take on Iran next, he really needs committed.
You just can`t do it.
We have replaced a bad situation with another bad situation.
And we all know it`s bad. You can`t say, well it`s less bad, and that makes everything alright.
And we can justify and rewrite history to suit our needs. After all, he wasn`t considered a problem when he was being supported by the west.
Our governments ignored the cries for help for a long time, because it wasn`t in their interests at the time to do anything about it.
So the pious stuff about "aren`t we good, we`ve liberated these poor people...." just doesn`t wash.
We have a mess. We helped create the mess by meddling, and now it`s a bigger mess.
And if Bush attempts to take on Iran next, he really needs committed.
I disagree completely that it's a bigger mess in Iraq now. A nacent republic is better than a bellicose dictatorship. You can't even put them in the same paragraph, they are so dissimilar. And yes we supported Hussein in their war against Iran because of what Iran had done to our Embassy. I don't think it's fair to criticize a rational choice between bad and worse. I do agree that we should have taken out Hussein in 1991 (or anytime during the Clinton administration) but those failures do nothing to diminish the decision in 2003 to take on the duty and sacrifice. They guys who took out Hitler and occupied Germany afterwards were good guys--the guys taking out Hussein and occupying Iraq now are the good as well. Is that so hard to admit? We're going to let Iran develope nuclear weapons, (which is no more scary to me than Pakistan having them) because, as with Pakistan, we can't stop them.
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