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ist we will treat all others with decency demonstrating chivalry and soldierly compassion for people who have endured a lifetime under saddam s oppression got that although imperfectly executed sometimes over the intervening years as mike yon points out you can plainly see that the underlying strategy involved in winning over our enemies has not changed one iota since the war began give a decent american soldier a chance to set the example and the whole world will eventually beat its way towards your line of thought any more talk of defeat and retreat merely means the dhimmicrats and cowardly rethuglicans of the same stripe don t care if they undo everything the american fighting man has done over the last 6 years more blood doesn t mean a thing to them as long as they get reelected men will insist the war be won and brought to an end the only way it can end with a victory press on subsunk out matt burden at blackfive operations continue fred barnes in the weekly standard they can t handle the truth the democrats and the surge and finally hear from the man of the year himself gen david petraeus via steve schippert at nro the tank one man caucus 7 questions for gen petraeus in what is an excellent interview published at foreign policy italy s rai asked david petraeus seven questions his answers are very informative and easy for average americans to wrap their heads around sans often wonkish and technical counterinsurgency lingo that so often loses many right out of the gate in such discussions general petraeus even somewhat dispels the title of the interview seven questions gen david petraeus on winding down the surge he notes that it is proper to be more precise and note that it is a draw down of american forces in the surge but that with increasing iraqi roles the surge will continue once again i encourage you to get all your military news and analysis of military matters from milblogs journalists politicians political pundits and bloggers really do not know what they are talking about when it comes to military matters they all speak about military matters through a political or ideological anti or pro military bias if you want the best objective analysis go visit the milblogs january 10 2008 10 45pm posted by michael in mi al qaeda democrats general david petraeus iraq john mccain media bias michael yon military military blogs nancy pelosi rudy giuliani the long war war effort in iraq 1 comment 2007 person of the year gen david petraeus this is amazing and wonderful to see general petraeus man with a message of hope found via hotair the critics said it couldn t be done but the vision and determination of general david petraeus have brought greater security and cause for optimism to the people of iraq he is the sunday telegraph s person of the year for a man whose critics say he is far too fond of the television cameras general david petraeus commander of us forces in iraq has been rather out of the limelight this christmas the sprightly media friendly 55 year old is not perturbed however that his face is no longer number one item on the us networks as he said last week where iraq is concerned no news is good news today we put him in the spotlight again by naming gen petraeus as the sunday telegraph s person of the year a new annual accolade to recognise outstanding individual achievement he has been the man behind the us troop surge over the past 10 months the last ditch effort to end iraq s escalating civil war by putting an extra 28 000 american troops on the ground so far it has achieved what many feared was impossible sectarian killings are down al qaeda is on the run and the two million iraqis who fled the country are slowly returning progress in iraq is relative 538 civilians died last month but compared with the 3 000 peak of december last year it offers at least a glimmer of hope nonetheless why should we choose to nominate petraeus there has also been great british military leadership and bravery on display this year not least in helmand where british troops are now fighting a taliban foe as fierce as anything their american counterparts encountered in baghdad or fallujah but the reason for picking petraeus is simple iraq whatever the current crises in afghanistan and pakistan remains the west s biggest foreign policy challenge of this decade and if he can halt its slide into all out anarchy gen petraeus may save more than iraqi lives a failed iraq would not just be a second vietnam nor would it just be america s problem it would be a symbolic victory for al qaeda a safe haven for jihadists to plot future september 11s and july 7s and a battleground for a shia sunni struggle that could draw in the entire middle east our future peace and prosperity depend in part on fixing this mess and a year ago few had much hope to appreciate the scale of the task gen petraeus took on it is necessary to go back to february 22 2006 or as iraqis now refer to it their own september 11 that was when sunni led terrorists from al qaeda blew up the shia shrine in the city of samarra an act of provocation that finally achieved their goal of igniting sectarian civil war a year on an estimated 34 000 people had been killed on either side some of them members of the warring sunni and shia militias but most innocents tortured and killed at random us casualties continued to rise too but increasingly american troops became the bystanders in a religious conflict that many believed they could no longer tame except that is for gen petraeus read it all and in case you have not seen it already here is gen david petreaus letter to the troops via uncle jimbo at blackfive as 2007 draws to a close you should look back with pride on what you your fellow troopers our iraqi partners and iraqi coalition civilians have achieved in 2007 a year ago iraq was racked by horrific violence and on the brink of civil war now levels of violence and civilians and military casualties are significantly reduced and hope has been rekindled in many iraqi communities to be sure the progress is reversible and there is much more to be done nonetheless the hard fought accomplishments of 2007 have been substantial and i want to thank each of you for the contributions you made to them in response to the challenges that faced iraq a year ago we and our iraqi partners adopted a new approach we increased our focus on securing the iraqi people and in some cases delayed transition of tasks to iraqi forces additional u s and georgian forces were deployed to theater the tours of u s unites were extended and iraqi forces conducted a surge of their own generating well over 100 000 more iraqi police and soldiers during the year so that they too had additional forces to execute the new approach in places like ramadi baqubah arab jabour and baghdad you and our iraqi brothers fought often house by house block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood to wrest sanctuaries away from al qaeda iraq to disrupt extremist militia elements and to rid the streets of mafia like criminals having cleared areas you worked with iraqis to retain them establishing outposts in the areas we were securing developing iraqi security forces and empowering locals to help our efforts this approach has not been easy it has required steadfastness in the conduct of tough offensive operations creative solutions to the myriad problems on the ground and persistence over the course of many months and during countless trying situations through it all you have proven equal to every task continually demonstrating an impressive ability to conduct combat and stability operations in an exceedingly complex environment your accomplishments have given the iraqi people new confidence and prompted many citizens to reject terror and confront those who practice it as the months passed in 2007 in fact the tribal awakening that began in al anbar province spread to other parts of the country emboldened by improving security and tired of indiscriminate violence extremist ideology oppressive practices and criminal activity iraqis increasingly rejected al qaeda iraq and rogue militia elements over time the desire of iraqis to contribute to their own security has manifested itself in citizens volunteering for the police the army and concerned local citizen programs it has been reflected in citizens providing information that has helped us find far more than double the number of arms and weapons caches we found last year and it has been apparent in iraqi communities now supporting their local security forces as a result of your hard work and that of our iraqi comrades in arms and with the support of the local populace in many areas we have seen significant improvements in the security situation the number of attacks per week is down some 60 percent from a peak in june of this year to a level last seen consistently in the early summer of 2005 with fewer attacks we are also seeing significantly reduced loss of life the number of civilian deaths is down by some 75 percent since its height a year ago dropping to a level not seen since the beginning of 2006 and the number of coalition losses is down substantially as well we remain mindful that the past year s progress has been purchased through the sacrifice and selfless service of all those involved and that the new iraq must still contend with innumerable enemies and obstacles al qaeda iraq has been significantly degraded but it remains capable of horrific bombings militia extremists have been disrupted but they retain influence in many areas criminals have been apprehended but far too many still roam iraqi streets and intimidate local citizens and iraqi officials we and our iraqi partners will have to deal with each of these challenges in the new year to keep the situation headed in the right direction while the progress in a number of areas is fragile the security improvements have significantly changed the situation in many parts of iraq it is now imperative that we take advantage of these improvements by looking beyond the security arena and helping iraqi military and political leaders as they develop solutions in other areas as well solutions they can sustain over time at the tactical level this means an increasing focus on helping not just iraqi security forces with whom we must partner in all that we do but also helping iraqi governmental organizations as they endeavor to restore basic services to create employment opportunities to revitalize local markets to refurbish schools to spur local economic activity and to keep locals involved in contributing to local security we will have to do all of this of course while continuing to draw down our forces thinning our presence and gradually handing over responsibilities to our iraqi partners meanwhile at the national level we will focus on helping the iraqi government integrate local volunteers into the iraqi security forces and other employment develop greater ministerial capacity and capability aid displaced persons as they return and most importantly take the all important political and economic actions needed to exploit the opportunity provided by the gains in the security arena the pace of progress on important political actions to this point has been slower than iraqi leaders had hoped still there have been some important steps taken in recent months iraq s leaders reached agreement on the declaration of principles for friendship and cooperation with the united states which lays the groundwork for an enduring relationship between our nations the united nations security council approved iraq s request for a final renewal of the resolution that authorizes the coalition to operate in iraq iraq s leaders passed an important pension law that not only extends retirement benefits to iraqis previously left out but also represents the first of what we hope will be additional measures fostering national reconciliation and iraq s leaders have debated at length a second reconciliation related measure the accountability and justice bill the de ba athification reform law as well as the 2008 national budget both which likely will be brought up for a vote in early 2008 even so all iraqi participants recognize that much more must be done politically to put their country on an irreversible trajectory to national reconciliation and sustainable economic development we will needless to say work closely with our embassy teammates to support the iraq government as it strives to take advantage of the improved security environment by pursing political and economic progress the new year will bring many changes substantial force rotations and adjustments already underway will continue one army brigade combat team and a marine expeditionary unit have already redeployed without replacement in the coming months four additional brigades and two marine battalions will follow suit throughout that time we will continue to adapt to the security situation as it evolves and in the midst of all the changes we and our iraqi partners will strive to maintain the momentum to press the fight and to pursue iraq s enemies relentlessly solutions to many of the tough problems will continue to be found at your level together with local iraqi leaders and with your iraqi security force partners in company and battalion areas of operation and in individual neighborhoods an towns as you and your iraqi partners turn concepts into reality additional progress will emerge slowly and fitfully over time we will gradually see fewer bad days and accumulate more good days good weeks and good months the way ahead will not be easy inevitably there will be more tough days and tough weeks unforeseen challenges will emerge and success will require continued hard work commitment and initiative from all involved as we look to the future however we should remember how far we have come in the past year thanks to the tireless efforts and courageous actions of the iraqi people iraq s political and military leaders the iraqi security forces and each of you a great deal has been achieved in 2007 thus as we enter a new year we and our iraqi partners will have important accomplishments and a newfound sense of hope on which we can build as always all or your leaders our fellow citizens back home and i deeply appreciate the dedication professionalism commitment and courage you display on a daily basis it remains the greatest of honors to serve with each of you in this critical endeavor sincerely david h petraeus and it remains the greatest of honors to call myself an american when we have men like gen david petraeus and men and women in our armed forces representing the united states across the world december 30 2007 4 26pm posted by michael in mi general david petraeus iraq military the long war uk war effort in iraq comments off on 2007 person of the year gen david petraeus about we don t read and write poetry because it s cute we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race and t...
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