Wednesday, August 15, 2007
General Petraeus Says Less Troops
The top American commander in Iraq said Wednesday he was preparing recommendations on troop cuts before he returns to Washington next month for a report to Congress, and believes the U.S. footprint in Iraq will have to be "a good bit smaller" by next summer.
Since this guy is the one running the show and he's also literally written the book on counterinsurgency, I'm trusting him completely at his word.
But he cautioned against a quick or significant U.S. withdrawal that could surrender "the gains we have fought so hard to achieve."
Makes perfect sense to me.
What he's saying is that progress is being made (regardless of what Pelosi and Reid tell you) and to pull out too much too quickly would be to make sacrifices and gains in vain. He's also telling you that the Iraqi public is starting to turn their backs on Al-Qaeda and other insurgents because they are getting a taste of what life with them would be like.
It's important to listen to what this guy has to say as he's probably the best expert on what's going on and what to do about it in Iraq. If Petraeus says less troops, I imagine he's got a pretty good reason for it.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Since this guy is the one running the show and he's also literally written the book on counterinsurgency, I'm trusting him completely at his word.
But he cautioned against a quick or significant U.S. withdrawal that could surrender "the gains we have fought so hard to achieve."
Makes perfect sense to me.
Petraeus said the shift in loyalty among many Sunni insurgents in Iraq's western Anbar province, Baghdad's Amariyah district and a similar hotspot in the city called Ghazaliyah was "a pretty big deal."
"You have to pinch yourself a little to make sure that is real because that is a very significant development in this kind of operation in counterinsurgency," he said. "It's all about the local people. When all the sudden the local people are on the side of the new Iraq instead of on the side of the insurgents or even al-Qaida, that's a very significant change."
What he's saying is that progress is being made (regardless of what Pelosi and Reid tell you) and to pull out too much too quickly would be to make sacrifices and gains in vain. He's also telling you that the Iraqi public is starting to turn their backs on Al-Qaeda and other insurgents because they are getting a taste of what life with them would be like.
It's important to listen to what this guy has to say as he's probably the best expert on what's going on and what to do about it in Iraq. If Petraeus says less troops, I imagine he's got a pretty good reason for it.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
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