airborneskins Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I don't usually read independent journalism, but seing as this was about my old unit, I thought that I would try. A pretty good read. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001497.html http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290619,00.html Iraq Journal: In the Wake of the Surge Tuesday, July 24, 2007 U.S. soldiers enter a house in Graya’at. BAGHDAD — Michael J. Totten is an independent journalist reporting on the war in Iraq. Here is a portion of his latest journal entry provided exclusively for FOXNews.com. 82nd Airborne Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya’at neighborhood of Baghdad’s predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah. “While we’re out here saying hi to the locals and everyone seems to be getting along great, remember to keep up your military bearing," he said. "Someone could try to kill you at any moment.” I donned my helmet and vest, hopped into the backseat of a Humvee, and headed into the city with two dozen of the first soldiers deployed to Iraq for the troop surge. The 82nd Airborne Division is famous for being ready to roll within 24 hours of call up, so they were sent first. The surge started with these guys. Its progress here is therefore more measurable than it is anywhere else. Darkness fell almost immediately after sunset. Microscopic dust particles hung in the air like a fog and trapped the day’s savage heat in the atmosphere. Our convoy of Humvees passed through a dense jungle-like grove of palm trees between Forward Operating Base War Eagle and the market district of Graya’at. The drivers switched off their headlights so insurgents and terrorists could not see us coming. They drove using night vision goggles as eyes. Just to the right of my knees were the feet of the gunner. He stood in the middle of the Humvee and manned a machine gun in a turret sticking out of the top. I could hear him swiveling his cannon from side to side and pointing it into the trees as we approached the urban sector in their area of operations. This was all purely defensive. The battalion I’m embedded with here in Baghdad hasn’t suffered a single casualty — not even one soldier wounded — since they arrived in the Red Zone in January. The surge in this part of the city could not be going better than it is. Most of Graya’at’s insurgents and terrorists who haven’t yet fled are either captured, dormant, or dead. A car approached our Humvee with its lights on. “I can’t see, I can’t see,” said the driver. Bright lights are blinding with night vision goggles. “Flash him with the laser,” he said to the gunner. “Flash him with the laser!” A green laser beam shot out from the gunner’s turret toward the windshield of the oncoming car. The headlights went out. “What was that about?” I said. “It’s part of our rules of engagement,” the driver said. “They all know that. The green laser is a warning, and it’s a little bit scary because it looks like a weapon is being pointed at them.” We slowly rolled into the market area. Smiling children ran up to and alongside the convoy and excitedly waved hello. It felt like I was riding with a liberating army. Graya’at’s streets are quiet and safe. The neighborhood doesn’t look or feel like war zone at all. American soldiers just a few miles away are engaged in almost daily firefights with insurgents and terrorists, but this part of the city has been cleared by the surge. Before the surge started the neighborhood was extremely dangerous. “We were on base at Camp Taji [north of the city] and commuting to work,” Major Jazdyk told me earlier. “The problem with that was that the only space we dominated was inside our Humvees. So we moved into the neighborhoods and live there now with the locals. We know them and they know us.” Lieutenant Lawrence Pitts from Fayetteville, North Carolina, elaborated. “We patrol the streets of this neighborhood 24/7,” he said. “We knock on doors, ask people what they need help with. We really do what we can to help them out. We let them know that we’re here to work with them to make their city safe in the hopes that they’ll give us the intel we need on the bad guys. And it worked.” There is much more at the other link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Maybe it's just me, but it does appear as though the tide is turning to our favor. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneskins Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 IMO (having been there a few times ) the tide was never against us. Stories like these are rarely reported by the mainstream media, but because of the job that I currently work, I see more reports than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Tide with us, for us... doesn't matter IMO. We never should have been there. Iraq was not and is not our responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 It'll be interesting to see what Petreus (sp?) has to say in Sept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I really hope it is getting better. Mom always told me that I had to clean up the mess I made. I think we have some duty to try to leave the place with some tiny semblance of order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Great article The Iraqi gov't now needs to take advantage of this time. The surge can only last so long. I just do not have faith in the Maliki gov't. I am real dissapointed we did not rig that election Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneskins Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 I am real dissapointed we did not rig that election :laugh: I think that this is the first time that I have seen this quote. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Despite the fact that the U.S occupation of Iraq is real, there are those who will never recognize any positive attributes of it due strictly to political belief. If they could get past that, they may see that the elimination of a genocidal ruler has freed many who would have never been free before. Whether or not that is/was/or should have been the purpose of the war is moot, but it is certainly one result. Makes me wonder how they can claim to "support the troops" when they refuse to even acknowledge the humanitarian aspects of the work our military is doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnick Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Despite the fact that the U.S occupation of Iraq is real, there are those who will never recognize any positive attributes of it due strictly to political belief. If they could get past that, they may see that the elimination of a genocidal ruler has freed many who would have never been free before. Whether or not that is/was/or should have been the purpose of the war is moot, but it is certainly one result. Makes me wonder how they can claim to "support the troops" when they refuse to even acknowledge the humanitarian aspects of the work our military is doing. and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Despite the fact that the U.S occupation of Iraq is real, there are those who will never recognize any positive attributes of it due strictly to political belief. If they could get past that, they may see that the elimination of a genocidal ruler has freed many who would have never been free before. Whether or not that is/was/or should have been the purpose of the war is moot, but it is certainly one result. Makes me wonder how they can claim to "support the troops" when they refuse to even acknowledge the humanitarian aspects of the work our military is doing. Excellent post. Indeed, some causes are just. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helptheSKINS Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 good post ABS. Like you said, positive stories are out there. The problem is the mainstream media wants nothing to do with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUSkinsFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 good post ABS. Like you said, positive stories are out there. The problem is the mainstream media wants nothing to do with them. I think the problem is that the bad stories outweigh the good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneskins Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 I think the problem is that the bad stories outweigh the good You could not be more wrong. The good more than outweighs the bad. However, you wont see as many good stories on the news, the sad fact is that Good news does not sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUSkinsFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 You could not be more wrong. The good more than outweighs the bad. However, you wont see as many good stories on the news, the sad fact is that Good news does not sell. I definitely agree that good news doesn't sell. But going back to the original story. I am glad that Baghdad has parts of it that are secure. However, I do not believe that we will ever be able to fully get Baghdad under control so all we get is years of the current situation with more and more American soldiers dying. Another problem I have is that the war was sold on the threat Iraq posed to America, and that wasn't the case. I am a strong advocate of using the American military for Humanitarian causes, I believe we need to send troops into Darfur and should have sent troops into Rwanda. However, the main point of the war was the weapons Saddam allegedly had, so as an American I was lied to by the people in power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Mom always told me that I had to clean up the mess I made. That YOU made. Not your friends who stood there and said you really shouldn't do this. If that's the case, then everyone who voted bush in the first or second election, male or female, young or old, should lace up their boots. That will never happen though because bushies are all talk for the most part. Some will put their asses on the line (and I'm not talking about a one weekend a month office job) but most are nothing more than rats dancing to the piper repeating what hannity, limbaugh, or o'reilly tells them to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I don't usually read independent journalism, but seing as this was about my old unit, I thought that I would try. A pretty good read. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001497.html http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290619,00.html There is much more at the other link. :doh: Who gives a rats ass about BAGDAD. The problem isn't that things aren't getting better in BAGDAD. The problem is that things are not getting better in IRAQ!!!! The ideas behind the surge were rational. The problem with the surge was the scale. Putting 20,000 additional troops into a county of 30 million can't be expected to make a huge difference. And it hasn't. You are correct. Things are better in Bagdad, nobody is arguing that. The problem is that we withdrew forces from other provinces in order to put more troops into Bagdad and over all bombings, murders, attacks on civilians, and attacks on American forces have continued to rise throughout the surge as they have since the first month of the invasion. Again, not in Bagdad; but in Iraq. John McCain said we are steeling from peter to pay paul. We are playing whack a mole rather than pursuing a winning strategy to take down the insurgency. Problem is that US Military Intelligence believes the insurgency will continue to grow stronger for the next several years. At 3 billion a weak, or 12 billion a month, status quo doesn't favor us, After six years of this and only a stronger insurgency to show for our effort; the issue is why continue with a loosing strategy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 2 1/2 weeks of the Surge and a change in the way they do things. + the people getting pissed at the Alqaeda and were seeing great things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneskins Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 :doh: Who gives a rats ass about BAGDAD. The problem isn't that things aren't getting better in BAGDAD. The problem is that things are not getting better in IRAQ!!!!The ideas behind the surge were rational. The problem with the surge was the scale. Putting 20,000 additional troops into a county of 30 million can't be expected to make a huge difference. And it hasn't. You are correct. Things are better in Bagdad, nobody is arguing that. The problem is that we withdrew forces from other provinces in order to put more troops into Bagdad and over all bombings, murders, attacks on civilians, and attacks on American forces have continued to rise throughout the surge as they have since the first month of the invasion. Again, not in Bagdad; but in Iraq. John McCain said we are steeling from peter to pay paul. We are playing whack a mole rather than pursuing a winning strategy to take down the insurgency. Lets look at Al Anbar (Fallujah / Ramadi anybody? The nastiest part of Iraq) How much is that province in the news any more? Thats right hardly any. Do you know why? Because US Marines, and Paratroopers went in and secured Anbar. IED's (the majority of what is killing our troops in that region) have steadily declined because of the work of the American troops (and that was even before the "Surge".) In and around Baghdad IS the worst part of Iraq right now. Do you know why? Because we kicked (or killed) the majority of the "terrorists" out of Anbar and they fled East (towards Baghdad.) Now the focus is on Baghdad, we will never control the entire city, but cleaning up an area such as the one in the article, is one Hell of a start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 The Iraqi gov't now needs to take advantage of this time. Oh they are taking full advantage of this time, in fact they are using it to take a month long vacation in August!:redpunch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Oh they are taking full advantage of this time, in fact they are using it to take a month long vacation in August!:redpunch: I blame those lazy Shia's and Maliki Seriously, why didn't we rig that election in favor of Allawi? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 That YOU made. Not your friends who stood there and said you really shouldn't do this. If that's the case, then everyone who voted bush in the first or second election, male or female, young or old, should lace up their boots. That will never happen though because bushies are all talk for the most part. Some will put their asses on the line (and I'm not talking about a one weekend a month office job) but most are nothing more than rats dancing to the piper repeating what hannity, limbaugh, or o'reilly tells them to say. If their room is dirty I don't care who messed it up: they are responsible for it. They clean it up. We as a country are responsible: We voted for and got what we deserve. Suck it up and clean up the mess and stop pointing the finger at someone else whining .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I think the problem is that the bad stories outweigh the good I think its also a matter of the fact that Baghdad is not the entirety of Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Despite the fact that the U.S occupation of Iraq is real, there are those who will never recognize any positive attributes of it due strictly to political belief. If they could get past that, they may see that the elimination of a genocidal ruler has freed many who would have never been free before. Whether or not that is/was/or should have been the purpose of the war is moot, but it is certainly one result. Makes me wonder how they can claim to "support the troops" when they refuse to even acknowledge the humanitarian aspects of the work our military is doing. :doh: Genocide ruler? Freed many who have never been free before? Humanitarian aspects of the work our military is doing? How many civilians have died in the last six years of this war of agression? Well more than 100,000 by one prominent American University's Study. 100,000 in five years I believe tops any like period in Saddam's rule. Many Freed? Dude just under 10% of the Iraqi public now live in Syria, Iran, and Jordan trying to escape the mayham we've created. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/16/MNG2MNJBIS1.DTL Iraq as a country produces less electricity, less fresh water, and far less security than under Saddam. (fresh water) http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70243 (electricity) http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/06/18/iraq_electricity_sector_keeps_taking_hits/3505/ And before you pass these items off as luxury items look again. These items are what is necessary to sustain the population. They are the basics of life. On average IRaqi's have about 11 hours of electricity a day ( six in Bagdad), now more than five years after our invasion. I disagree that we've made things better for the IRaqi people. It's very likely that once we leave things will get much worse, and then return to the way things were under Saddam; If we're lucky. I also disagree that things are better for the American people since our invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Force Cane Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 As well as Michael Totten, who I have been reading for more than two years now. Check out: Michael Yon blog Air Force Pundit Iraq the Model Mudville Gazette Jawa Report Fourth Rail blog National Review The Tank blog Lucianne.com you will start to see that the reason the soldiers IN IRAQ say we are winning is because we ARE winning. the Sunni tribes in Anbar have pledged loyalty to Baghdad and when there used to be 35 kinetic attacks a WEEK against us, there has been ZERO kinetic attacks in Ramadi for 23 days now. In Diyala they are establishing a Salvation Council like in Anbar Province. In Taji and Adhamiyah the tribes are pledging loyalty to each other and swearing allegiance to the Constitution and against Al Qaeda. This is happening everywhere in tiny villages througout Iraq. We only need more time to train up their logistical outlays for the Army, continue to train the National Police, continue to build up the economic engine. Every day there is progress and Al Qaeda is on the run. How many know or have heard from the media that we captured the SENIOR IRAQI in Al Qaeda back on 4 July in Mosul? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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