Give 'Surge' a Chance

Recently Peter Hegseth of Vets for Freedom wrote an interesting opinion piece that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. In it he states concern over the current debates going on in Congress by Democrats and Rinos. He fears that those in Congress will paint the picture that the "surge" is a failure and that the American Public will buy into that falsehood.

So, in the article he outlines four falsehhoods that are being portrayed by some in Congress:


Falsehood No. 1:

The "surge" is already a failure.

Fact: The surge is just beginning. All of the brigades Gen. Petraeus requested have only been in place since mid-June and already there are promising indicators. Since January, sectarian murders are substantially down, arms caches are being found at three times the rate of last year and young Sunnis and Shiites are joining the Iraqi security forces in record numbers.


Falsehood No. 2:

Gen. Petraeus believes the military has done all it can do in Iraq.

Fact: Sen. Reid often quotes Gen. Petraeus to support his position that the war is "lost." But a fair survey of Gen. Petraeus's remarks confirms that he believes the U.S. military must set the conditions for political progress. The ultimate solution to Iraq's problem is political reconciliation, which can only come with the improvements in security the surge is designed to achieve.


Falsehood No. 3:

The U.S. is playing insurgent "whack-a-mole" throughout Iraq.

Fact: Gen. Petraeus's mission is called the Baghdad Security Plan for a reason: Its limited aim is to pacify Iraq's capital and center of gravity, thereby shifting the country's balance of power. The strategy is for U.S. and Iraqi forces to clear multiple insurgent safe havens in and around Baghdad at once to prevent insurgents from relocating, then to maintain security by remaining within the communities and building trust with the locals who were being intimidated by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen.


Falsehood No. 4:

U.S. troops are not fighting an enemy in Iraq, just policing a "civil war."

Fact: America's enemies are invested in our defeat in Iraq. Al Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri say they want to "expel the Americans from Iraq" and establish a "caliphate" to "extend the jihad to the secular countries neighboring Iraq." These killers are intent on spreading their violent ideology, and believe stoking sectarian violence is the best way to achieve their goals. Al Qaeda may only make up 10% of the insurgency in Iraq, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in lethality. Gen. Petraeus has said that "80 to 90% of suicide bombers are foreign fighters," and by neutralizing them, we could stomp out the low-level civil war.

Talk Show America 7/13/2007