A Surge of More Lies

[Tim]

This was an e-mail I got from Congressman Robert Wexler.

A Surge of More Lies
by Congressman Robert Wexler

A new troubling myth has taken hold in Washington and it is critical that the record is set straight. According to the mainstream media, Republicans, and unfortunately even some Democrats, the President's surge in Iraq has been a resounding success. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

This assertion is disingenuous, factually incorrect, and negatively impacts America's national security. The Surge had a clear and defined objective - to create stability and security - enabling the Iraqi government to enact lasting political solutions and foster genuine reconciliation and cooperation between Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds.

This has not happened. There has been negligible political progress in Iraq, and we are no closer to solving the complex problems - including a power sharing government, oil revenue agreement and new constitution - than we were before the Administration upped the ante and sent 30,000 more troops to Iraq.

Too many Democrats in Congress are again surrendering to General Petraeus and have failed to challenge the Bush Administration's claims that the surge has been successful. In fact -- it is just the opposite.

The reduction in violence in Iraq has exposed the continuing failure of Iraqi officials to solve their substantial political rifts. By President Bush's own stated goal of political progress, the Surge has failed.

Of course raising troop levels has increased security - a strategy the Bush administration ignored when presented by General Shinseki before the war in Iraq began - but the fundamental internal Iraqi problems remain and the factors that were accelerating the civil war in 2007 have simply been put on hold.

The military progress is a testament to the patience and dedication of our brave troops - even in the face of 15 month-long deployments followed by insufficient Veteran's health services when they return home. They have performed brilliantly - despite the insult of having President Bush recently veto a military spending bill that enhanced funding and benefits, and increased care.

Despite the efforts of American soldiers, the surge alone cannot bring about the political solutions needed to end centuries of sectarian divide.

As it stands, little on the ground supports the assertion that Iraqis are ready to stand up and govern themselves. Too few Iraqi troops are trained, equipped and combat ready, and they cannot yet provide adequate security. Loyalty is also an issue in the Iraqi army as Al Queda and Sunni insurgents infliltrate their defense forces. The consequences turned deadly just recently when an Iraqi soldier purposely killed two U.S. troops.

On the streets of Baghdad and Mosul, the Sunni and Shia factions have paused their fighting, awaiting guarantees and protections that have not yet been delivered. As Iraqi refugees return, there is no mechanism to help them rebuild their lives, nor recover their now-occupied homes. Neighborhoods once mixed are now segregated.

In Northern Iraq, Kurdish terrorists conducting nefarious operations across the border into Turkey have compelled our NATO ally to strike at bases, inflaming tensions between Baghdad and Ankara.

The surge is working? We suffered more U.S. casualties in 2007 than in any other year of the war. We can't afford any more of this type of success.

How can we create the situation that is most likely to deliver political progress in Iraq? Not by continuing the surge and occupation. Our best chance (there is no guarantee) is by putting real pressure on the Iraqi government to force action. Telling the national and local Iraqi leaders that we are withdrawing our troops can help accomplish this goal. Today, the majority Iraqi Shia government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has little incentive to act when American troops remain in the country to provide security and stability.

Based on the Administration's plan, John McCain's proposal of a 100-year US occupation could be a reality!

The Democratic Congress must act aggressively to first cut off funding for the surge and then the entire war. Many of my colleagues avoided a showdown with the administration because they mistakenly believed such a fight would endanger the safety of the troops.

In fact, we must accept that every soldier killed or injured in the coming months should have already been home. Every billion dollars of war-appropriations we spend from here on should have been spent on genuine priorities here at home such as children's heath care.

Enough is enough: While the Administration over-commits American forces in Iraq, we see Al Qaeda-regrouping and Osama Bin Laden still at large. We remain seriously bogged down in Afghanistan, and are witnessing a crisis in Pakistan that has left a nuclear country on the brink of a meltdown. America's resources and attention are desperately needed elsewhere and our soldiers must no longer be needlessly sacrificed as we wait for Iraqis to stand up.

The Surge has failed. If my colleagues gullibly accept the moving rationale for the Surge, just as so many have for the war itself, we will have failed as well.

 

[GraceAbounds]

Wexler should date Kucinich

It is a commentary.

It is well documented the surge worked in 2007. I'll choose to believe McCain.

 

[Pudding Time]

I highly doubt you will ever see a civilized Iraq. Even if you threw the whole 1,000,000 US soldiers at it.

 

[Tim]

Wexler should date Kucinich

It is a commentary.

It is well documented the surge worked in 2007. I'll choose to believe McCain.

The surge worked to curb violence, but that wasn't the intent on the surge. According to Bushy boy himself, it was to bring about political stability. And that has failed... ergo the surge has failed.

 

[Pudding Time]

As soon as the US leaves, the violence will return. They hate each other more than Al Qaeda hate us..

 

[All Else Failed]

All the surge has done is create more militants against us.

 

[Tim]

As soon as the US leaves, the violence will return. They hate each other more than Al Qaeda hate us..

You are right on that one...

Hell, they have hated and been at war with each other longer than we have been a nation.... and we think we know better? :dunno

Yup, the surge is working alright... McCain says so... McCain can also tell you how many colon polyps Bush has, he's been up there enough...

 

[All Else Failed]

You are right on that one...

Hell, they have hated and been at war with each other longer than we have been a nation.... and we think we know better? :dunno

Yup, the surge is working alright... McCain says so... McCain can also tell you how many colon polyps Bush has, he's been up there enough...

I always thought it was funny that a nation that is only a few hundred years old is telling a people that have been civilized for thousands of years what to do.

 

[Pudding Time]

I always thought it was funny that a nation that is only a few hundred years old is telling a people that have been civilized for thousands of years what to do.

Let's say "existed" rather than "civilized"...

 

[All Else Failed]

Let's say "existed" rather than "civilized"...

the various middle eastern peoples had very advanced civilizations way before any European civilization.

 

[HisHoliness]

the various middle eastern peoples had very advanced civilizations way before any European civilization.

I support you in your decision to move over there if you really think they are better.

 

[All Else Failed]

I support you in your decision to move over there if you really think they are better.

I didn't say they were better NOW, but if we're talking ancient civilizations, the middle east was THE ancient civilization, only after China. We can thank the Arabs for western philosophy as well, since they kept the classic Greek philosophies alive (which all western civilization bases itself off of) when everyone else was burning them.

 

[Tim]

I support you in your decision to move over there if you really think they are better.

How does stating a fact even remotely qualify him for a one-way ticket to the middle east? I didn't see anything in his post that said they were better...

The birth of civilization started in the middle east, Syria I believe. That is fact and your disdain for the middle east won't change that. :dunno

 

[All Else Failed]

How does stating a fact even remotely qualify him for a one-way ticket to the middle east? I didn't see anything in his post that said they were better...

The birth of civilization started in the middle east, Syria I believe. That is fact and your disdain for the middle east won't change that. :dunno

Don't you see? Any thought that puts our "enemy" in a good light is treasonous! :24:

 

[HisHoliness]

I always thought it was funny that a nation that is only a few hundred years old is telling a people that have been civilized for thousands of years what to do.

I didn't say they were better NOW, but if we're talking ancient civilizations, the middle east was THE ancient civilization, only after China. We can thank the Arabs for western philosophy as well, since they kept the classic Greek philosophies alive (which all western civilization bases itself off of) when everyone else was burning them.

These two above quotes seem contradictory to me.

How does stating a fact even remotely qualify him for a one-way ticket to the middle east? I didn't see anything in his post that said they were better...

The birth of civilization started in the middle east, Syria I believe. That is fact and your disdain for the middle east won't change that. :dunno

I was just poking fun, Timmy. No need for the sandy vagina.

 

[Pudding Time]

the various middle eastern peoples had very advanced civilizations way before any European civilization.

True. But Iraq at present day is hardly a civilized nation.

 

[All Else Failed]

True. But Iraq at present day is hardly a civilized nation.

No they are civilized, just in chaos.

 

[Pudding Time]

They blow up with they get mad... THAT is not civilized.

 

[All Else Failed]

They blow up with they get mad... THAT is not civilized.

America.

 

[debbie t]

pudding time ,could you please tell me what you consider a civilised nation to be like..what makes it civilised and what not?