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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 3:27:08 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Must be nice to share Harry Reid's mystical clairvoyance. So where were you 2 Rain Men on Sept 10th, 2001? Uh huh. I thought so.

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 4:09:25 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

The Roggio Report American troops take the offensive in Iraq's violent Diyala province. by Bill Roggio The Weekly Standard 06/20/2007 The Baqubah region. The Diyala Campaign is underway. As part of major offensive operations throughout the belts regions of Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. forces have launched a large scale operation in the city of Baqubah, the provincial capital of Diyala. Dubbed Operation Arrowhead Ripper, the offensive is massive in scale. This is a division sized operation of "approximately 10,000 Soldiers, with a full complement of attack helicopters, close air support, Strykers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles." Over 30 al Qaeda operatives have been killed since the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division kicked off the operation with a "quick-strike nighttime air assault." Elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, and the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, are operating in Baqubah, along with the 2nd Brigade of the 5th Iraqi Army Division. American forces are in the lead of the assault, with the Iraqi Army in support. The 2-5 Iraqi Army Brigade killed four al Qaeda after receiving sniper fire, and captured two others. The New York Times, which incorrectly reported the operation as consisting of 2,000 U.S. troops, also reported that the western portion of the city of Baqubah has been sealed off with ground and air units as troops pursue the 300 to 500 Qaeda believed to be operating in the area. The 1920 Revolution Brigades, which turned on al Qaeda in Diyala and cleared the city of Buhriz with U.S. assistance, is actively working alongside Iraqi Army units in Baqubah. "The Iraqi forces were joined by some members of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, a Sunni Arab group with units that have recently repudiated a longstanding alliance with Al Qaeda, and witnesses said the two groups were welcomed by the residents," note the Times. Map of southern Diyala. Back in May, we noted that Diyala has become the main hub of al Qaeda's operations, and al Qaeda in Iraq made Baqubah the capital of its rump Islamic State of Iraq last year. Since the inception of the Baghdad Security Plan in mid-February, the security situation, which was deteriorating after U.S. forces pulled back last fall, has markedly worsened in Diyala. Al Qaeda has prepared fighting positions, supply bases, IED traps, bomb rigged buildings, and training camps throughout the province. Over 2,000 hardened al Qaeda fighters fled Baghdad and are now operating in Diyala. An American intelligence official and a U.S. military officer informed us that al Qaeda is operating along the lines of Hezbollah's military structure in Lebanon. Al Qaeda attacks in the region proved this, as a series of assaults along the Iranian border and elsewhere in the province bore the hallmark of a well-led, well-trained fighting unit. The fighting in Diyala will be hard. Al Qaeda is organized in small units with infantry, mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft teams, as well as suicide and IED cells and the accompanying logistical nodes. Al Qaeda has been conducting a terror campaign to remove tribal leaders and others who oppose them, while waging a campaign of intimidation designed to cow the local population. The Diyala Campaign has been a long time coming. The 10,000 U.S. troops and supporting Iraqi units won't sit pat in Baqubah, but will reach out to strike at other al Qaeda bases in the troubled province. These areas include Khalis, Muqdadiyah, and a host of small towns up and down the Diyala River Valley and along the Iranian border where al Qaeda has established bases, training camps, and logistical nodes. Bill Roggio writes on the war at billroggio.com. You can read daily updates on the war in Iraq from Bill Roggio at THE WORLDWIDE STANDARD. DJ Elliott and CJ Radin also contributed to this report. weeklystandard.com

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 4:31:14 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

WINNING ON OFFENSE REAL PLAN TO DEFEAT IRAQ FOES Ralph Peters NEW YORK POST Opinion June 21, 2007 -- HALLELUJAH! For the first time since Baghdad fell, our military in Iraq has a comprehensive, integrated plan to defeat our enemies. Until now, our efforts have always been piecemeal, stop-start affairs. Even our success in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 went unexploited. Things have changed. And terrorists, not just Iraqi civilians, are dying. The 10,000-man operation reported in the Baquba area is only one part of a broader effort. In the words of a well-placed officer in Baghdad, "Operations like that are going on around Fallujah, Salman Pak, in Eastern Anbar, the belts around Baghdad, in Arab Jabour, outside of Taji and throughout the Diyala River Valley." This widespread offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorists is part of a carefully developed, phased plan. The first step as the troop surge proceeded was to establish livable conditions in key neighborhoods of the capital. That step was vital, but insufficient in itself. Terrorists fled, but they didn't disappear. They just sought refuge elsewhere. And while neighborhood pacification involved aggressive tactical actions, it ultimately put our forces in a defensive posture. And you can't win solely by playing defense, either in the NFL or in war. Gen. David Petraeus understood that. He's done things methodically, operating from a coherent design - not just reacting as was our practice in the past, but imposing our will on the enemy. After regaining lost ground in Baghdad and exploiting Sunni Arab disillusionment with al Qaeda in Anbar Province, our military took the offensive. We pushed the enemy off "our" turf. Now we're going after "their" turf. This balance between defensive and offensive operations, integrated across central Iraq, is the first time we've seen a classic approach to military operations in post-Saddam Iraq. Amazing, but true. What hurdles lie ahead? First, it remains an open question whether we've got enough boots on the ground. While Petraeus and his team are using our forces with remarkable efficiency, there ain't no more to send. The second, enduring question is whether the Iraqis will finally knock off their squabbling and shoulder their share of the burden. Petraeus is giving us a lesson in skillful generalship, employing U.S. troops where he must, Iraqis where he can. But, in the end, we can't win this unless the Iraqis win it for themselves. Pious statements about "brave Iraqis" only get us so far: We're still only buying time - and no one can pretend that time isn't running out. Which brings us to the home front, where the war just might be lost, no matter what progress we make on the ground. Political hucksterism and poll-pandering on Capitol Hill amount to stabbing our troops in the back. Period. The insistence that success or failure will be determined beyond doubt by September is pure political quackery. The military operations and political maneuvering in Iraq are infernally complex. The earliest we might know anything will be around Thanksgiving - and all we'll know then is whether or not the Iraqis are getting on board in a serious way. After four lost years, we need to have realistic expectations - unless we intend to throw the game for domestic political reasons. Gen. Petraeus is playing a bad hand with greater skill than we had any right to expect. He's making meaningful tactical progress. We don't yet know if that will translate into a strategic turnaround - but, for God's sake, let's give him a chance. And let's not lose sight of our own national-security priority, which is defeating al Qaeda. Terror International is having a really bad time in Iraq these days: More and more Sunni Arabs are breaking with al Qaeda and its affiliates over their insufferable brutality. The Baquba-area operations involve former enemies now fighting on our side against the foreign terrorists. That's not just good news for Iraq. It's good news for America. Much could still go wrong. We don't know if those Sunni Arabs will keep faith with us over the longer term - and now the Shias who control the government are bewailing our new local alliances. Sunni Arabs have realized at last that they've got to "cooperate to graduate." Now the Shia are the ones who insist on playing a zero-sum game. And, of course, we never eliminated Muqtada al-Sadr. For which we're going to be even sorrier than we are now. Still, there's reason for sober optimism at the moment: We've finally got a coherent approach to defeating our enemies, not just parrying them. It looks like our military leaders have gotten serious at last. God help us, it almost looks like we want to win. Ralph Peters' new book, "Wars of Blood and Faith," hits stores on July 25. nypost.com _offense_opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 7:32:40 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

14% Posted by Mark Noonan Blogs for Bush June 21, 2007 That is how many people have confidence in Congress, according to a new Gallup poll: <<< Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress. This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994. Congress is now nestled at the bottom of the list of Gallup's annual Confidence in Institutions rankings, along with HMOs. Just 15% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in HMOs. (By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list... >>> You might recall what happened the last time the American people had such little confidence in Congress - the majority party was sent packing, and back then that was the Democrats...and what do you know?, they are the majority party again. As I've always said, take polls with a grain of salt - but there is certainly an opportunity here for Republicans to capitalise on. With a proper nominee for President and a clearly and courageously enunciated vision for American greatness, the GOP can sweep fully back into power next year. Lets see if we're up to the challenge. blogsforbush.com blogs.usatoday.com

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 9:02:20 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Facts are like terrorist attacks to libs. The intentionally slaughter all those innocent lies they make up. :-) Some Sunni tribes turn against al Qaeda in Baghdad Power Line Even the MSM has reported, however grudgingly, our military's success resulting from having enlisted Sunni tribes in the fight against al Qaeda in Anbar province. Attacks there have decreased by 60 percent and al Qaeda is on the run. Now we are having some success in persuading Sunni tribes to help us against al Qaeda in Baghdad. USA Today reports that more than ten such tribes have signed on. Some of them have members who previously have fought alongside al Qaeda. As Lt. Col. Rick Welch explains, this means "they know where they live. . .who they are. . .[and] how they operate." Sunni tribal leaders in Baghdad aren't as influential as those in Anbar province. Moreover, the Shia dominated government seems less than enthusiastic about working with Sunnis in mixed areas. Thus, as Lt. Col. Douglas Ollivant puts it, "In Anbar, tribal engagement appears to be the answer. In Baghdad it's not going to be the answer; it's going to be part of the answer." The problem is that in Washington right now, only full and immediate answers seem to count. To comment on this post, go here. plnewsforum.com powerlineblog.com usatoday.com

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (60165)	6/21/2007 9:05:51 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

Harry Reid might want to be careful about whom he's calling incompetent. Sinking Like A Stone Power Line This is not what the Democrats had in mind: after five months in control of Congress, they have driven the institution's approval rating down to the lowest point ever measured by Gallup: only 14% of respondents expressed "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress. In the current survey, Congress ranks last among the institutions measured, just below HMOs. At the top, as usual, is the military, at 69%. Harry Reid might want to be careful about whom he's calling incompetent. It's a mistake to put too much weight on a single poll of this sort, of course, but it's obvious that the Democrats have made a poor impression on the public so far. The conventional wisdom is that the Republicans have little chance of re-taking either the House or the Senate in 2008. That may well be right. But if the Democrats don't do something positive between now and then, the Republicans won't have to be any luckier in the close races than the Democrats were in '06 to recapture one or both houses. To comment on this post, go here. plnewsforum.com powerlineblog.com blogs.usatoday.com