LA_MERC_Wetzny
July 17th, 2007, 02:51 PM
Remember Ramadi? Remember the constant refrain of car bombs, car bomb factories, death squads and general al qaeda mayhem there a few months ago? To continue with my theme of "There IS good news to be reported" check out the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs walking the streets of Ramadi today.... Amazing!! Hats off to the Troopers who ARE making progress in Iraq!
NOT AN IED EXPLODED SINCE FEBRUARY!
More Ramadi [Rich Lowry]
You don't even need to go to Commentary for that kind of report. It was also on CNN this morning:
CHETRY: And, I'm Kiran Chetry. America' top general is in Iraq right now, and he is actually taking a surprising step. He wants to show that things are safe enough that he could actually walk through the streets of one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq in the Sunni Triangle. The streets of Ramadi.
That is where General Peter Pace is right now. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is actually traveling with him as well...Are you guys actually walking through the streets as we speak, Barbara?
VOICE OF BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, it is an extraordinary thing. I hope everyone can hear me. We are absolutely walking through the marketplace as we speak. General Pace just stopped and brought some fruits and vegetables from a dealer here in the market. He is stopping to say hello to every little kid he can find and take pictures with them.
What's really extraordinary here is, of course, Ramadi was the real heartland of al Qaeda, if you will, just a few months ago. So many U.S. troops lost their lives on these streets and the battle for this city. Now, today, the streets are quiet. Rebuilding is underway. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary things is they have not have an IED attack on the streets of this city since February.
It's not to say that there aren't plenty of problems around. Lots of security challenges to overcome, but I don't think anyone really expected even six months ago that a chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff would spend the afternoon walking around the streets of the city. It's a pretty extraordinary event...
CHETRY: Barbara is that an accurate picture of what normal life is like there, or are they bringing out extraordinary security measures as well, as they did when Senator John McCain was walking through the streets of Iraq?
STARR: Well, let's be clear. There is very significant security here, of course. But, there are Iraqis walking right up to General Pace, shaking his hand, through the translator having conversations. It's a bit of an unusual day here in Ramadi because there is a sandstorm which is why we got grounded. We were supposed to be on a helicopter out of here.
So, the weather is pretty tough out here so there actually aren't a lot of people out on the streets. Make no mistake, there is security. The marketplace, as always, has security barriers because of concern about suicide car bombs. That sort of thing. But there are no helicopters overhead. There is the general's personal security and our drivers. But it's pretty standard stuff, I would say.
And a link to an article from Colonel John Charlton, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Ramadi.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/contentions/index.php/boot/657#more-657
Amazing article, if the politicans would just get out of the way of our troops and the qualified leaders who are guiding them, we might be able to bring them home sooner. The herd mentality is generally wrong, and in the case of Iraq it's very evident now as more and more arm chair generals scream retreat (from both sides of the aisle) that should be an indicator (albeit a contrarian one) that things are infact better than advertised in Iraq. Mind you still ugly, deadly and wildly dangerous. But I would suggest that the underlying current there FAVORS the coalition forces.
NOT AN IED EXPLODED SINCE FEBRUARY!
More Ramadi [Rich Lowry]
You don't even need to go to Commentary for that kind of report. It was also on CNN this morning:
CHETRY: And, I'm Kiran Chetry. America' top general is in Iraq right now, and he is actually taking a surprising step. He wants to show that things are safe enough that he could actually walk through the streets of one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq in the Sunni Triangle. The streets of Ramadi.
That is where General Peter Pace is right now. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is actually traveling with him as well...Are you guys actually walking through the streets as we speak, Barbara?
VOICE OF BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, it is an extraordinary thing. I hope everyone can hear me. We are absolutely walking through the marketplace as we speak. General Pace just stopped and brought some fruits and vegetables from a dealer here in the market. He is stopping to say hello to every little kid he can find and take pictures with them.
What's really extraordinary here is, of course, Ramadi was the real heartland of al Qaeda, if you will, just a few months ago. So many U.S. troops lost their lives on these streets and the battle for this city. Now, today, the streets are quiet. Rebuilding is underway. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary things is they have not have an IED attack on the streets of this city since February.
It's not to say that there aren't plenty of problems around. Lots of security challenges to overcome, but I don't think anyone really expected even six months ago that a chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff would spend the afternoon walking around the streets of the city. It's a pretty extraordinary event...
CHETRY: Barbara is that an accurate picture of what normal life is like there, or are they bringing out extraordinary security measures as well, as they did when Senator John McCain was walking through the streets of Iraq?
STARR: Well, let's be clear. There is very significant security here, of course. But, there are Iraqis walking right up to General Pace, shaking his hand, through the translator having conversations. It's a bit of an unusual day here in Ramadi because there is a sandstorm which is why we got grounded. We were supposed to be on a helicopter out of here.
So, the weather is pretty tough out here so there actually aren't a lot of people out on the streets. Make no mistake, there is security. The marketplace, as always, has security barriers because of concern about suicide car bombs. That sort of thing. But there are no helicopters overhead. There is the general's personal security and our drivers. But it's pretty standard stuff, I would say.
And a link to an article from Colonel John Charlton, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Ramadi.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/contentions/index.php/boot/657#more-657
Amazing article, if the politicans would just get out of the way of our troops and the qualified leaders who are guiding them, we might be able to bring them home sooner. The herd mentality is generally wrong, and in the case of Iraq it's very evident now as more and more arm chair generals scream retreat (from both sides of the aisle) that should be an indicator (albeit a contrarian one) that things are infact better than advertised in Iraq. Mind you still ugly, deadly and wildly dangerous. But I would suggest that the underlying current there FAVORS the coalition forces.