thedrifter
12-04-07, 08:59 AM
Murtha Eats Crow On Iraq
By Jack Kelly
Dec. 4, 2007
While most of us were enjoying turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Johnstown), was eating a little crow.
"I think the surge is working," Rep. Murtha said last week after a quick holiday visit to Iraq.
The observation isn't remarkable. The signs of progress in Iraq are so obvious that even the New York Times has begun to report them. For, instance, U.S. deaths in Iraq in November (35, 26 in combat) were the lowest since March of 2006. Iraqi civilian deaths were about a third of what they had been in November of last year.
But it was remarkable coming from Rep. Murtha, who declared the troop surge a failure before it had begun. At a news conference on the eve of his trip, he'd accused the Pentagon of lying when it reported good news: "Because the Pentagon said it, you believe it?" he yelled at a reporter who'd cited statistics showing improvement.
Because the news media have been slow to report the changes in Iraq, the self-deluded can continue to deny that what's happening is really happening. A caller insisted to me that a suicide car bombing in Ramadi Nov. 21st in which six Iraqis died "proves" that al Qaida really isn't being defeated.
The attack was the first in Ramadi in four or five months, and hasn't been repeated since, said Col. John Charlton, commander of the Army-Marine brigade in Ramadi.
The bomb itself was an indicator of how much the capabilities of the terrorists have fallen, Col. Charlton said in a telephone conversation.
"It was very low yield, about 60 lbs," he said. "Back in February, March, we'd see VBIEDs with 1,000, 2,000 lbs of explosives."
"There's nothing bad happening here," Col. Charlton said. "There's a lot of good things happening. We had a parade here in Ramadi that involved all of the Iraqi security forces. They did it in October, because last October al Qaida had a parade, and the Iraqis wanted a bigger and better parade."
The parade and its significance drew no attention from the news media. "Coverage has really dropped off," Col. Charlton said.
But if progress continues, it will be difficult for the news media to play down.
"Baghdad, the most dangerous city in all of Iraq, is only half as violent as it was when I was there in the summer," wrote Michael Totten in the New York Daily News Sunday. "And the fact that the capital is now the deadliest city is itself evident of a tectonic shift.
"In the Spring of 2007, Ramadi was the most violent place in Iraq," Mr. Totten wrote. "But the insurgency there has been finished. The Taji area north of Baghdad, which was a catastrophe when I paid a visit in July, is now going the way of Ramadi."
Even without much positive coverage so far, public opinion is changing. A Pew poll concluded Nov. 26 indicated 48 percent of respondents think the military effort in Iraq is going well, up from 30 percent in February.
Rep. Murtha's epiphany comes at an awkward time for his pal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, because Democrats are refusing to pass a bill funding the war unless it is coupled with a timetable for prompt withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"This could be a real headache for us," the Politico quoted a House Democratic aide as saying. "Pelosi is going to be furious."
Ms. Pelosi was indeed furious, at least in public, and Rep. Murtha backtracked a little. Even though our troops are succeeding in Iraq, he still supports withdrawing them because the Iraqi government "is close to dysfunctional."
Rep. Norman Dicks, D-Wash, who accompanied Mr. Murtha on the Thanksgiving trip to Iraq, agreed both that the surge is working, and that U.S. troops should be withdrawn anyway. But he admitted there was hypocrisy in Democratic criticisms of the Iraqi government.
"I felt kind of embarrassed to tell the Iraqis they had to get their act together and pass legislation when we can't do it back here," Rep. Dicks told the Seattle Times.
Democrats returning from the Thanksgiving recess report few of their constituents asked them about Iraq. Efforts to force retreat are becoming a political loser.
That's why Boston Herald City Editor Jules Crittenden thinks Rep. Murtha may have been acting quietly on behalf of the Democratic leadership when he signaled willingness to back off on the war funding bill.
"I believe that what Murtha is saying is that he is ready to discuss surrender terms, but would like to be allowed to keep his sword," Mr. Crittenden wrote on his blog.
Ellie
By Jack Kelly
Dec. 4, 2007
While most of us were enjoying turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Johnstown), was eating a little crow.
"I think the surge is working," Rep. Murtha said last week after a quick holiday visit to Iraq.
The observation isn't remarkable. The signs of progress in Iraq are so obvious that even the New York Times has begun to report them. For, instance, U.S. deaths in Iraq in November (35, 26 in combat) were the lowest since March of 2006. Iraqi civilian deaths were about a third of what they had been in November of last year.
But it was remarkable coming from Rep. Murtha, who declared the troop surge a failure before it had begun. At a news conference on the eve of his trip, he'd accused the Pentagon of lying when it reported good news: "Because the Pentagon said it, you believe it?" he yelled at a reporter who'd cited statistics showing improvement.
Because the news media have been slow to report the changes in Iraq, the self-deluded can continue to deny that what's happening is really happening. A caller insisted to me that a suicide car bombing in Ramadi Nov. 21st in which six Iraqis died "proves" that al Qaida really isn't being defeated.
The attack was the first in Ramadi in four or five months, and hasn't been repeated since, said Col. John Charlton, commander of the Army-Marine brigade in Ramadi.
The bomb itself was an indicator of how much the capabilities of the terrorists have fallen, Col. Charlton said in a telephone conversation.
"It was very low yield, about 60 lbs," he said. "Back in February, March, we'd see VBIEDs with 1,000, 2,000 lbs of explosives."
"There's nothing bad happening here," Col. Charlton said. "There's a lot of good things happening. We had a parade here in Ramadi that involved all of the Iraqi security forces. They did it in October, because last October al Qaida had a parade, and the Iraqis wanted a bigger and better parade."
The parade and its significance drew no attention from the news media. "Coverage has really dropped off," Col. Charlton said.
But if progress continues, it will be difficult for the news media to play down.
"Baghdad, the most dangerous city in all of Iraq, is only half as violent as it was when I was there in the summer," wrote Michael Totten in the New York Daily News Sunday. "And the fact that the capital is now the deadliest city is itself evident of a tectonic shift.
"In the Spring of 2007, Ramadi was the most violent place in Iraq," Mr. Totten wrote. "But the insurgency there has been finished. The Taji area north of Baghdad, which was a catastrophe when I paid a visit in July, is now going the way of Ramadi."
Even without much positive coverage so far, public opinion is changing. A Pew poll concluded Nov. 26 indicated 48 percent of respondents think the military effort in Iraq is going well, up from 30 percent in February.
Rep. Murtha's epiphany comes at an awkward time for his pal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, because Democrats are refusing to pass a bill funding the war unless it is coupled with a timetable for prompt withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"This could be a real headache for us," the Politico quoted a House Democratic aide as saying. "Pelosi is going to be furious."
Ms. Pelosi was indeed furious, at least in public, and Rep. Murtha backtracked a little. Even though our troops are succeeding in Iraq, he still supports withdrawing them because the Iraqi government "is close to dysfunctional."
Rep. Norman Dicks, D-Wash, who accompanied Mr. Murtha on the Thanksgiving trip to Iraq, agreed both that the surge is working, and that U.S. troops should be withdrawn anyway. But he admitted there was hypocrisy in Democratic criticisms of the Iraqi government.
"I felt kind of embarrassed to tell the Iraqis they had to get their act together and pass legislation when we can't do it back here," Rep. Dicks told the Seattle Times.
Democrats returning from the Thanksgiving recess report few of their constituents asked them about Iraq. Efforts to force retreat are becoming a political loser.
That's why Boston Herald City Editor Jules Crittenden thinks Rep. Murtha may have been acting quietly on behalf of the Democratic leadership when he signaled willingness to back off on the war funding bill.
"I believe that what Murtha is saying is that he is ready to discuss surrender terms, but would like to be allowed to keep his sword," Mr. Crittenden wrote on his blog.
Ellie