Apr 04 2008
New NIE On Iraq Very Positive
A new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is out on Iraq and it shows a lot of progress in Iraq
A new classified intelligence assessment on Iraq says there has been significant progress in security since the last assessment was delivered in August, a senior military official said.
In most ways the new National Intelligence Estimate hews closely to the one delivered nine months ago. That document spoke of security gains since the increase in troop levels began in January 2007, the continued high rate of violence and uneven progress on the part of Iraqi security forces.
I would lay good odds that this great news will not make the headlines like the NIE which stated Iran had ‘suspended’ their secret nuclear weapons program in 2003. Good news in Iraq is the bane of the SurrenderMedia.
Update: Sorry folks, rushed the post and forgot the link! Here is the link:
Debka-Net-Weekly, the subscription service of Debka,
continues to insist that the confusion surrounding the latest
Basra battles is the result of a secret deal made between
Bush/Rice and Tehran, to wit, allow the USA to be seen to
pacify Iraq and we’ll go easily on you for the remainder of
our time in office.
I have no idea, whatsoever, if this is true. I have found Debka
to be about 80% reliable in the past, and sometimes it does seem
as if President Bush has lost his nerve. Dunno. But do note
how Maliki has “suddenly” called off all operations against
Sadr. It smells fishy.
If this is true, then this is a fool’s bargain. It has some validity
if the gamble is that in order to see off a Obama victory in the
election, we give a TEMPORARY advantage to Iran. That is such a
high stakes bet the farm at the craps table gamble, that I doubt
most would agree to it. If it fails? We end up with a nuclear
armed Iran, and that means a nuclear armed Al-qaeda and a muslim
as President of the USA. In that case we are seriously into
“save yourselves†territory, by which I mean if you or your
family lives in NYC or DC or SF or any other big water accessible
city, you need to get out, move out, and stay out.
I am hoping this is just wrong. Please pay attention.
Whatever you can find out about what is happening in Basra will be appreciated. We need accurate information and not wishful thinking here. I believe most of the recent progress in Iraq has been positive but this development in Basra doesn’t look good.
Dave, Be carefull with what you read on Debka. Salt to flavor. It is raw and often not cross checked. Basra should be looked at as more of police action to suppress criminal elements sponsored by Iran and affliated with Al Sadr. Nothing more. Debka more likely is publishing disinformation from the beaten elements.
“The report does not take into account the recent battle in Basra, the unruly Shiite port city in the south, according to another congressional official.”
I’ll give you this, Strata. Iraq had gone from horrific to merely terrible-until al Sadr stood off Maliki. Then again, as you know but choose not to comment on because of its “delicate” nature, the “Sunni Awakening” crowd has put America on notice-the truce/alliance ain’t permanent.
Dave and Tom
Fellas, Iran has won the Iraq War and nothing can be done about it
but concede ground. This has been obvious since 2004.
hard2take,
Thanks for confirming the left is a bunch of quitters. Iran has won nothing. But if you like to roll over when things get tough that is all this country needs to know about the left and why not to elect them to higher office.
Finally, the charade is over – the Surrendercrats are for real.
1000 “Surrendercrats” in Maliki’s Army, AJ. You depict them as the military wing of a successfully implanted “democracy” so, enjoy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/world/middleeast/04iraq.html?ex=1364961600&en=3412ef444ed63c5c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
But as Rummy said, you gotta go with the army (of the dysfunctional
government-ask Generals McCaffrey and Odom)) you have.
“the subscription service of Debka,”
Nothing DEBKA publishes EVER turns out to be true. They are the “Weekly World News” of the war porn industry. Some like to read it because it validates their own feelings, but my suggestion is to not waste your time and bandwidth with it.
Here is probably what happened in Basra:
1. The Iraqi Army goes in to Basra to secure the ports.
2. Some of the local thugs overreacted and start shooting at the Army.
3. The Army starts shooting back and sends a delegation to Iran to tell Mookie to knock it off, they just want to secure the ports and get rid of the most corrupt of the racketeers.
4. Mookie says OK and calls for a ceasefire.
5. Government operations continue.
6. The press starts making up whatever it can in order to validate their agenda.
from Juan Cole today:
“The New York Times confirms that “over a thousand” officers and troops of the Iraqi army declined to fight the Mahdi Army in Basra or deserted their posts. It also reports that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki replaced them by inducting 10,000 Shiite “tribal” fighters into the Iraqi army. But the Iraqi press didn’t call them “tribal,” it called them Badr Corps, the paramilitary of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and now al-Maliki’s main political ally. I’m not sure about the source of the discrepancy, but the NYT piece seems to be based on interviews with Iraqi and American government officials. It is possible that the need to strengthen the Iraqi army by turning to a Shiite militia trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (terrorists!) was just too embarrassing to admit. So the officials used the euphemism “tribal forces” with the foreign press.”
Guess you’ll have to thank the winner, Iran again.
Juan Cole the idiot who has never been right despite the fact he supposedly speaks the language?
Man hard2take – you are truly a brain-washed liberal. Keep up the denial. Apparently your ego needs the defenses.
AJ, one of the things I find so fulfilling this year is that liberals are being exposed big time. Truth is so refreshing. From their in-fighting and the tactics they use against their opponents, to their lack of courage, to their underfunctioning and intellectual dishonesty, but most importantly, their outright pathology as expressed toward George W. Bush. And they can’t even run their own party much less the country. And this is a global socialist movement, not just in the United States.
Bring it on, libs. We are lovin’ it that you have come out from behind that curtain. LOL!