General David H. Petraeus Iraq Report

[Luke_Wilbur]

General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq on February 10th, 2007 (MNF-I), the four-star post that oversees all U.S. forces in the country. He is "widely regarded as one of the brightest soldiers of his generation" and has been described as "brilliant" by retired four-star Gen. Barry McCaffrey. On the other hand, Lawrence Korb has called him "the most political general since General MacArthur" and said that "[he] is very ambitious" (adding "and there’s nothing wrong with that").

 

General Petraeus has warned that he expects that the situation in Iraq will require the continued deployment of the elevated troop level of more than 150,000 beyond September 2007; he also has stated that U.S. involvement in Iraq could last another ten years.[18] In July 2007, Petraeus released his interim report on Iraq indicating that coalition forces had made satisfactory progress on 6 of 18 benchmarks set by Congress. Petraeus' final report in Iraq is due on September 15, 2007.

[Guest LAW]

This is for real.

 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 — The nation's top counterterrorism officials are warning today that the United States will face a persistent threat from Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups for years to come, but they plan to offer no specific evidence of any imminent plots against targets on American soil.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/washingt...amp;oref=slogin

[Guest LAW]

http://www.cspan.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.as...TV&Code=CS3

 

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SPEAK

 

Iraq is experiencing really deadly conflict. Alexander Tear responds to breaking Iraq into 3 segments. Each group has its own government. This is the same problem that occurred 60 years ago right after being a territory of the British Empire. Tear believes that Saddam Hussein's imprint is on the people. We just need to remove that imprint. The Kurds have had seperate recognition since 1991. When Saddam's government collapsed the whole infrastructure collapsed. There is so much violence that the seperate parties in Iraq do not want to give up their arms.

[Guest LAW]

THE PEOPLE SPEAK cont.

 

Akmed Chalabi has an upstanding conviction warrants in Jordan. He has been a proponent of the Debathification process. There needs to be a mechanization process where people from Saddam's government that support the current government should be allowed to gain employment.

[Guest LAW]

Minority Bill of Rights in Iraq

 

The Bill of Rights in the Iraqi constitution allows each region to be able to apply their own version Islamic Law to the Court System. This causes problems with minority religious Islams that have different biblical interpretations of what is right and wrong.

[Guest LAW]

CONGRESS OPINION ON GENERAL PETRAES

 

The different parties will have their own policy conclusions to be pushed in Capitol Hill. This is the time for people to speak.

 

 

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

[Luke_Wilbur]

This is going to be great political theatre.

 

Will the Republican Senate legislate a troop withdraw, a.k.a a "Drawdown."

 

Join House Committe Hearing

 

The Current Affairs

The Armed Service Committe

 

House Operating Status

Department of Homeland Security

Threat Level Elevated

 

http://www.house.gov/house/status.shtml

 

Proceedings of HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

All House office buildings are open and are operating on normal schedules.

 

Monday, September 10, 2007

HOUSE IN SESSION

10:30 AM - Morning Hour/12:00 PM -Legislative Business

 

Morning Hour

 

1. Stearns ®, FL (National Security)

 

2. Schakowsky (D), IL (Iraq)

 

3. Doggett (D), TX (Iraq)

 

Chair declared the House in recess at 10:47 AM until 12:00 PM.

 

Joint House & Senate Remembrance Ceremony; pre-set arrangements TBA.

 

Date: Mon 09/10

Time: 4:30 pm

Loc: West Front Step

[Luke_Wilbur]

Representative Lantos stated that srategically, the escalation has failed. The Congressman's opinion is that there needs to be a political settlement. Prime Minister Malaki has moved in the wrong direction. The Unity Plan is in a long list of promises. Malaki is really a front man to notorious death factions. In August, Malaki stated that if America leaves we can find new friends. Malaki made an alliance with the Sunnis against Al Qaeda. This may be an improvement, but why should Americans be in an age old conflict between religious groups. Our involvement in the Iraq war is going to cost America greatly. Our grandchildren will be paying the cost of it.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Representative Duncan Hunter stated General Petraeus was nominated unanimously by both parties. The old Iraqi army had over 11,000 Sunni Generals. Now the new professional Iraq army has Sunni, Shite, and Kurd generals. In the past America held tough in the past and we brought down the Berlin Wall.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehiten stated that Congress should repremand MoveOn.org on their ad on the New York Times about on calling David H. Petraeus "General Betray-Us." Rapid withdraw of Iraq will encourage radical islam and will encourage local power factions that will intensify terrorism in Iraq. Extend the Jihad with secular countries and eventually attacking Isreal.

[Luke_Wilbur]

A protester was thrown out of Congress and pissed off the Chairman. By stating what I believe was:

 

Leave the Iraq people alone

[Guest Center for American Progress]

Petraeus's Song And Dance

 

Today, Gen. David Petraeus begins his much-anticipated report to Congress on progress in Iraq. His appearance marks the most high-profile appearance of a war general on Capitol Hill since Gen. William Westmoreland testified on April 28th, 1967, that America was making progress in Vietnam. Petraeus is expected to make a similar argument about the Bush administration's efforts in Iraq, rebuffing calls for a redeployment of U.S. troops and arguing that the troop buildup should be kept in place until at least spring 2008. Yet already there is reason to be skeptical of the "facts" he will use to back-up his claims of success, with reports that the administration has watered down reports, taken undeserved credit for progress on the ground, and fudged statistics. Approximately 66 percent of the American public believe President Bush will stick with his policy no matter what Petraeus reports, and 53 percent say Petraeus will try to make things in Iraq look better than they are. Sixty-five to 70 percent of Iraqis say escalation has "worsened rather than improved security, political stability and the pace of redevelopment alike."

[Luke_Wilbur]

General Petraes stated that coalition has slowed secretarian violence. Iraq security forces are slowly taking the load and taking the lead in fighting the insurgants. He believes that a reduction in troop level to the point before the surge is possible by August. He believes that building infrastructure is moving forward over time. U.S. Intelligence has certified that the Army's report is accurate.

[Luke_Wilbur]

General Petraeus has stated that Ethno-Secretarian violence has diminished 80 percent.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq stated that many are willing to put the government first before secretarian gains. Former members of insurgant groups are now part of security forces. Debathification (process of removing former members of the ruling Bath party of Iraq) reforms and its place the seeds of reconciliation are now in place. The question is now how to share resources. The oil and revenue laws take the right steps towards a federal system. Iraqis are still fearful that the the Bath party will come back to power. We should look to whether the Iraqi leadership will put its general population before secretarian beliefs in front of them. The Iraqi government is grateful for the International Peacekeeping Forces and hopes that they will still be there to help in the future. Al Queda is losing support in the Anbar Province. Iraqis are sick of the suicide killings and are now evicting Al Queda from their communities. Shite extremist are also diminishing. Iraqis are sick of their mosques getting blown up. Iraq has made some gains in the economy and revitilizing markets. Roads and sewers are being built. The Iraq revenue reported a growth of 6 percent. The Provincial authorities are getting twice the amount they received last year. Hundreds of Iraqi businesses met with foreign corporations at Dubai to gain investment in their businesses. But the overall economy is still inadequate. Electrical power has improved but it will take 25 Billion dollars to get power throughout the country.

 

Malaki's statement, "If the US leaves Iraq can find other friends" was done in the heat of the moment. The Prime Minister understands what a relationship with Iran would lead to. It is important to understand that Iraq is an arab state. Iran is a different culture from Iraq.

 

There is still jihadist coming through Syria and Iran. The Georgian brigade has now entered the Iraq theatre and is guarding Southeast of Bagdad.

 

The U.S. is brokering debt forgiveness to Iraq's neighbors. Iraq has hosted two non coalition Finance Ministers of France and Sweeden. The G8 will further build foundations with Iraq's economic future.

 

This war is not a movie. Iraq will always be there. The actors in Iraq will carry forward with or without us. Going forward without the U.S. will encourage instability within the region.

[Guest MoveOn.org]

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehiten stated that Congress should repremand MoveOn.org on their ad on the New York Times about on calling David H. Petraeus "General Betray-Us."

 

 

Cooking the books for the White House

General Petraeus is a military man constantly at war with the facts. In 2004, just before the election, he said there was "tangible progress" in Iraq and that "Iraqi leaders are stepping forward."

Washington Post, "Battling for Iraq," by David H. Petraeus. 9/26/04 (see below)

 

And last week Petraeus, the architect of the escalation of troops in Iraq , said "We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress."

The Australian, "Surge Working: Top US General," by Dennis Shanahan. 8/31/07

 

Every independent report on the ground situation in Iraq shows that the surge strategy has failed.

GAO report, 9/4/07

NIE report, 8/23/07

Jones report, CSIS, 9/6/07

 

Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That's because, according to the New York Times, the Pentagon has adopted a bizarre formula for keeping tabs on violence. For example, deaths by car bombs don't count.

"Time to Take a Stand," by Paul Krugman. 9/7/07

 

The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you're shot in the back of the head -- not the front.

"Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq," by Karen DeYoung. 9/6/07 l

 

According to news reports, there have been more civilian deaths and more American soldier deaths in the past three months than in any other summer we've been there.

The Associated Press, "Violence Appears to Be Shifting from Baghdad." 8/25/07

National Public Radio, "Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate," by Guy Raz. 9/6/07

Associated Press, "Key Figures About Iraq Since the War Began in 2003." 9/5/07

 

We'll hear of neighborhoods where violence has decreased. But we won't hear that those neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed.

Newsweek, "Baghdad's New Owners," by Babak Dehghanpisheh and Larry Kaplow, 9/10/07

Ibid from the AP, "Violence Appears to be Shifting From Baghdad"

McClatchy, "Despite Violence Drop, Officers See Bleak Future for Iraq," by Leila Fadel. 8/15/07

The New York Times, "More Iraqis Said to Flee Since Troop Rise," by James Glanz and Stephen Farrell. 8/24/07

Most importantly, General Petraeus will not admit what everyone knows; Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war.

We may hear of a plan to withdraw a few thousand American troops.

The New York Times, "Petraeus, Seeing Gains in Iraq as Fragile, is Wary of Cuts," by David Sanger and David Cloud, 9/7/07

The Washington Post, "Petraeus Open to Pullout of One Brigade," by Robin Wright and Jonathan Weisman. 9/7/07.

 

But we won't hear what Americans are desperate to hear: a timetable for withdrawing all our troops. General Petraeus has actually said American troops will need to stay in Iraq for as long as ten years.

The Hill, "Rep. Schakowsky: Petraeus hints at decade-long Iraq presence," by Patrick FitzGerald. 8/10/07

Today before Congress and before the American people, General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us.

[Luke_Wilbur]

According to the GAO report:

 

The benchmarks were derived from commitments first articulated by the Iraqi government in June 2006. The Iraqi government met 3, partially met 4, and did not meet 11 of its 18 benchmarks. Overall, key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds. These results do not diminish the courageous efforts of coalition forces and progress that has been made in several areas, including Anbar Province. The Iraqi government met one of eight legislative benchmarks: the rights of minority political parties in Iraq’s legislature are protected. The government has not enacted legislation on de-Ba’athification, oil revenue sharing, provincial elections, amnesty, and militia disarmament. It is unclear whether sectarian violence in Iraq has decreased—a key security benchmark—since it is difficult to measure whether the perpetrators’ intents were sectarian in nature, and other measures of population security show differing trends. As the Congress considers the way forward in Iraq, it should balance the achievement of the 18 Iraqi benchmarks with military progress and with homeland security goals, foreign policy goals, and other goals of the United States.

[Luke_Wilbur]

MoveOn, your NIE Report link is bad.

 

Here is an excerpt of the report.

 

United States-led counterterrorism efforts have seriously damaged the leadership of

al-Qa’ida and disrupted its operations; however, we judge that al-Qa’ida will continue to

pose the greatest threat to the Homeland and US interests abroad by a single terrorist

organization.

 

Al-Qa’ida, now merged with Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s network, is exploiting the

situation in Iraq to attract new recruits and donors and to maintain its leadership role.

• The loss of key leaders, particularly Usama Bin Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and

al-Zarqawi, in rapid succession, probably would cause the group to fracture into

smaller groups. Although like-minded individuals would endeavor to carry on the

mission, the loss of these key leaders would exacerbate strains and disagreements.

We assess that the resulting splinter groups would, at least for a time, pose a less

serious threat to US interests than does al-Qaida.

• Should al-Zarqawi continue to evade capture and scale back attacks against

Muslims, we assess he could broaden his popular appeal and present a global

threat.

• The increased role of Iraqis in managing the operations of al-Qaida in Iraq might

lead veteran foreign jihadists to focus their efforts on external operations.

 

Other affiliated Sunni extremist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiya, Ansar al-

Sunnah, and several North African groups, unless countered, are likely to expand their

reach and become more capable of multiple and/or mass-casualty attacks outside their

traditional areas of operation.

060926_Declassified_NIE_Key_Judgments.pdf

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Jones Report states:

 

The Iraqi armed forces - Army, Special Foreces, Navy, and Air Force - are increasingly effective and are capable of assuming greater responsibility for the internal security of Iraq; and the Iraqi police are improving, but not at a rate to meet their essential security responsibilities. The Iraqi Security Forces will continue to rely on the Coalition to provide key enablers such as combat support (aviation support, intelligence, and communications), combat service support (logistics, supply chain management, and maintenance), and training. The Commission assesses that in the next 12 to 18 months there will be a continued improvement in their readiness and capability, but not the ability to operate independantly. Evidence indicates that the ISF will not be able to progress enough in the near term to secure Iraqi borders against conventional military and external threats.

 

The Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for policy development and implementation as well as resource allocation for the Iraqi military, is building the necessary institutions and processes to fulfill its mission. However, its capacity is hampered by bureaucratic inexperience, excessive layering, and overcentralization. These flaws reduce the operational readiness, capability, and effectiveness of the Iraqi military. As the MOD continues to mature, it should assume the ministerial-level functions that currently fall to the Coalition.

 

The Iraqi Army and Special Forces posses an adequate supply of willing and able manpower and a steadily improving basic training capability. The Army has a baseline supply of equipment for counterinsurgency, but much of this equipment is unavailable for operations owing to maintenance and supply chain mainagement problems. They are making efforts to reduce sectarian influence within their ranks and are achieving some progress. Their operational effectiveness, particularly that of the Special Forces, is increasing, yet they will continue to rely on Coalition forces for key enablers such as combat support (avaiation support, intelligence, and communications), combat service support (logistics, supply chain management

[Luke_Wilbur]

Representative John Spratt of South Carolina stated that it will take 958 Billion dollars to fix Iraq with a troop reduction.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Another protestor screams out at Congress. She wears the flag upside down. This is a sign of distress.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Congressman Eckerman stated that Iraq Al Queda started in 2005. General Petraeus stated Al Queda is the fuel for the ethno secretarian violence. The Army is currently building giant T Walls to seperate the groups.

[Guest LAW]

Representative John Spratt of South Carolina stated that it will take 958 Billion dollars to fix Iraq with a troop reduction.

 

The question is how much will it cost to our economy if we do not fix Iraq.

[Guest REB]

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehiten stated that Congress should repremand MoveOn.org on their ad on the New York Times about on calling David H. Petraeus "General Betray-Us." Rapid withdraw of Iraq will encourage radical islam and will encourage local power factions that will intensify terrorism in Iraq. Extend the Jihad with secular countries and eventually attacking Isreal.

 

How dare those wacky leftist at Moveon.org…The Bush administration would never use a military general to spin false information about the war in Iraq.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council:

 

POWELL: “While we were here in this council chamber debating Resolution 1441 last fall, we know, we know from sources that a missile brigade outside Baghdad was disbursing rocket launchers and warheads containing biological warfare agents to various locations…”

 

POWELL: “…Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons agents. That is enough agents to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets.”

 

POWELL: “Iraqi officials deny accusations of ties with Al Qaida. These denials are simply not credible. Last year an Al Qaida associate bragged that the situation in Iraq was, quote, “good,'’ that Baghdad could be transited quickly.”

 

Perhaps it’s time the American people begin to think more critically about our current situation.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Here are the charts that Gen. Petraeus' used for his testimony (PDF)

petraeus_slides.pdf