Sat, Apr. 14, 2007

IRAQ
Carnage and rioting hit Karbala
By Hussam Ali and Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers

KARBALA, Iraq - Two months into the U.S.-led Baghdad Security Plan, at least 289 people were killed and injured across Iraq on Saturday, including 36 dead in a car bomb attack in the holy Shiite city of Karbala. The carnage of a crowd teeming with women and children set off an angry mob of hundreds against the governor and police...

Bodies littered the street and body parts were found as far as 160 yards from the site of the explosion. Three buses of passengers were charred and storefronts lay in shambles...

Aqeel al-Khazaali, the governor of Karbala, blamed the Baghdad Security Plan for the attack inside the relatively safe southern city. Karbala is about 50 miles south of Baghdad...

In Baghdad, the city was alive with mortar rounds, assassinations, gunfights and roadside bombs. At least 20 corpses, telling of sectarian violence, were reported. In the central city a car bomb detonated near Jadriyah bridge, a main thoroughfare, killing 8 and wounding 11...

www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/world/17079153.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_world

Nice of you to celebrate the carnage, Aarontime. We know you own defeat, and you gloat over the negative news. Well done, moron...

Its not celebrating violence - its acknowledging reality...

The post is almost surreal - almost 300 people were killed in bombings yesterday - and at least 35 in Baghdad today. Not to mention the bombing in the "secure zone" the most heavily fortified place in all of Iraq. Yet Mark just states - "while the left and its lapdog MSM concentrate on the daily bomb in Iraq".. Um - come back to reality - there are daily bombings with thousands being killed each month.
Yet you insist that the problem is that MSM is too negative in its reporting. How would you have written the story of 300 people being killed in a single day due to car bombings? Perhaps something like this..

"Proving that the state the course mentality and the surge are working, *just* 300 people were murdered today over Iraq. Thats down from last year when we reported that 320 people were killed in a single day. So in just 10 more years and 500,000 more US soldiers deployed we expect the Iraqi people to hold hands, share flowers, and give a second statue of liberty to President Bush.."

???

The power of denial on the part of those who still "support" Bush and the war is staggering.

I am curious as to what psychological dysfunctions exist which easily blinds one to the truth, in this case the total and abject failure of Bush and the Republicans.

But denial of this failure is not as disturbing as the ignorance of the true, deeper motives of the Bush criminal cabal and their enablers.

To sell this war to as some sort of noble cause to "liberate" the Iraqi people is an insult to humanity. Fortunately, the product has lost its allure and now can't even be sold in the bargain bin.

When historians sift through the wreckage of the last six years, they will find a complacent, lazy population that allowed extremists with Messianic delusions of granduer take the reigns of the most powerful nation on Earth.

They will find a money trail leading right throught the boardrooms of international corporations who doled out employees' pensions and the profits made on the backs of employees to finance this madness in hopes of quick, easy money.

Historians will look at the irony in "electing" people with an avowed hatred of government to run the government. They will search the archives to make sense of why a population would allow a few to rob the many in broad daylight.

And presently I ask as these extremists loot the commons, drain the treasury and shatter the American dream:

Why do some still cheer them on?

Wade

stay the course ...

sorry

Ummm.... penetration of the green zone and civil war and more sectarian violence is "progress"???? Oh, you Republicans and your "logic".
Come on. Support the troops by having them come home and live long lives, rather than dying early in a pointless and bloody conflict.

Oh, I weep for the lives lost by Bush's lies of WMD and ties to al Qaeda, and long for the days when our biggest problem was a dress stain.

ThELefTYFoOL

"While the left and it's lapdog MSM concentrates on the Daily Bomb in Iraq, real progress is being made on the ground"

So the MSM concentrates on 'bad news stories' which makes it biased?

Why, then, is this being treated as a news story - it's being released by the official occupation website, hardly an unbiased source itself.

The governor had a good time at a photo opportunity. While he's relaxing in his governmental accommodation, does he even KNOW what it's like out there for the citizenry? "Health, water, sewerage and other departments" - does this include electricity? Are there any doctors and nurses left? Where was the second source for this article, because normally journalism tries to quote from AT LEAST two sources to prove there is no bias.

A press release gets made by the "Multt-national force" site - which, incidentally, in its "other sites" links ONLY links to other US Government departments; no sites that aren't either US or set up by US departments - and it's touted here as evidence that things are getting better???

Ivory towers, people, ivory towers! If it's getting better, lets see ordinary Iraqis saying it's getting better, not some politician making a name for himself at a photo opportunity.

ah, right you are keefer! To post a report on this thing called "r-e-a-l-i-t-y" is the same as "celebrating the carnage", "gloating over negative news"... not to mention rooting for the terrorists.

Damn that reality and its really realistic realism! Can't we get back to celebrating the drinking water most Baghdad residents don't have, or the 4 hours of electricity per day they sometimes get? After all, it only took 4 years and $500 billion to get... er, 4 hours of electricity. And here I am focusing on the multiple bombings, kidnappings, sectarian revenge, millions of displaced Iraqis, etc. Meanwhile, I am completely ignoring... that dozens of schools have been painted. There I go again, ensuring our Defeat.

But, dang it! - just when I was about to cash in on the defeat I engineered, I get hit with an intellectual property lawsuit. Seems that "Defeat" is a wholly owned and patented subsidiary of BPP - BushCo Post-war Planning, Inc.

The reality I see here, is the libs celebrate the carnage with glee to point out the folly of our ways. Yet, they would not fight to help the victims of the carnage and those who would do them harm?? How dishonest and disgraceful is that...would hate to be your neighbor! And, if for one second, you use the old saw that WE cause it and everything would be just fine if we leave...think of how asinine that statement would be. So, instead of complaining...just focus your attention to the Hildebeasts calves of iron, and wonder how her thighness can improve her image for national security ...its the same as yours and an unwinnable agenda for the rabit anti-America crowd. See ya at the ballgame, an afternoon ride, and a picnic....while you sit home and bitch about America and drown in the liquid of your own hate.

Meanwhile... what is getting hardly any attention at all in the MSM is the plight of Iraqi refugees. Some 2 million have fled to neighboring countries, while another 2 million are internally displaced within Iraq.

Since Mark here on B4B seems to prefer official US government mouthpieces, maybe he would like to comment on this report from the Voice of America broadcast today (he rejects reports on refugees from 3 weeks ago as being "hopelessly out of date"...LOL!),

UNHCR Conference to Raise Awareness of Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq By Lisa Schlein 15 April 2007

...Spokesman Ron Redmond calls the agency's $60 million appeal for humanitarian operations a drop in the ocean. He says it will take billions and billions of dollars to make Iraq whole again.

"You are talking four million people who are uprooted. Iraq's infrastructure in many places is in a shambles. The capacity of these host governments outside Iraq to care for these people in terms of schools, social services, the economy, skyrocketing rent-all of these things..."

...Redmond says the aim of the conference is to alert the international community to the dimension of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the region. It wants to get nations to do more to alleviate suffering and to share the burden with those countries that are bearing the brunt of the crisis.

He notes the world is aware of the military and political situation in Iraq. But, the immense and growing humanitarian needs are not as well known....

"Spiraling levels of sectarian, political and criminal violence, dwindling basic services, loss of livelihood, inflation and uncertainty about the future have all contributed to an exodus that is now estimated at 40 to 50,000 per month fleeing their homes inside Iraq," he said ...

voanews.com/english/2007-04-15-voa10.cfm

Aaron,

Check the source - the reporter, Liela Fadel, has had nothing but negative to report since the surge began...her headlines include:

"Baghdad security plan fails to thwart sectarian violence"

"Smuggling business thrives as Iraqis flee violence, death"

"Violence increases despite the new Baghdad security plan"

"4 years after invasion, many Iraqis look back with longing" (This is an article which claims that Iraqis are looking back with longing to Saddam's rule)

She's just another MSMer who just concentrates on the latest bombing and takes her cue from pro-terrorist Iraqi stringers (most of her article are co-authored by another person...and thus we can assume she's just transcribing what other people tell her and calling it news).

You'll never lack for moonshine if you pay attention to the MSM...get your truth from the Multi-National Force and the milbloggers.

Aaron,

Hey, two weeks ago you were reporting that two million Iraqis were uprooted...now its four million. Will you defeatists please make up your minds, for once, about just what it is you're claiming?

Support the troops by having them come home and live long lives, rather than dying early in a pointless and bloody conflict.

Lefty fool, the purpose of a military is to kill people and break things, not to just stay stateside and collect paychecks and free educations.

Collecting paychecks for doing nothing and getting free educations? That's for libs to do, and you libs do it well.

C'mon, Aarontime--Voice of America? Good golly, son, they're as objective as ANSWER, Amnesty International, Paul Krugman, and Ted Kennedrunk. Give us a break, laddie...

Aaron,

And I can play your game, too:

ANAH — Back home in Brainerd, Minn., this Minnesota Army National Guardsman Pfc. Adam Starry tends to lawns as a landscaper. Here in this 5,000-year-old city of about 20,000 people, Starry is helping to train several Iraqi police officers.

Starry, of Company B, 194th Combined Arms Battalion, and 15 of his fellow soldiers are experiencing what it is like being an Iraqi police officer in a city that is still a hotbed of insurgent activity. They form a police transition team whose task is to train the Iraqi police on how to take control of their own communities and maintain order. Training includes learning basic organizational skills, leadership mentoring and patrolling techniques.

Starry, who said he gets an adrenaline rush every time he goes on a patrol, admitted that working with the Iraqi police can be frustrating at times because of the language barrier. However, the young law-enforcement officers seem eager to learn.

"It is definitely inspiring and exciting," he said. "They amaze me more and more each day."

And...

BASRA- Two roadside bomb teams were hit by British forces after they were seen in the process of laying their devices yesterday.

This took place on the outskirts of the Hyall Shuala District to the west of Basra City.

It is assessed that at least eight of those laying the devices were killed.

The location of the strike was close to where two roadside bomb attacks took place last week.

And...

KALSU, Iraq — An operation south of Baghdad by Iraqi Army troops uncovered a weapons cache and detained eight insurgent suspects April 12.

Members of the 5th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and paratroopers from 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, conducted clearing operations in Adwaniyah, limiting the ability of anti-Iraqi forces to operate in the area.

Eight insurgent suspects were detained in the operation, dubbed Operation Yukon River. The cache uncovered included five AK-47s, more than 30 loose AK-47 rounds, 13 AK-47 ammunition magazines, one machine gun, one rifle with night site and flash suppressor, one hand grenade, two bandoliers and one ski mask.

No casualties resulted in the operation. Operation Yukon River was a joint effort that established security in the southeastern portion of Baghdad.

And...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi National Police responded to double car-bomb detonations in the Aeros Market of southwestern Baghdad that killed and wounded Iraqi civilians in a morning attack April 15. National police and Coalition Forces arrived on scene shortly following the attacks, established checkpoints and began to evacuate the wounded to local hospitals. Iraqi emergency service personnel also responded to the scene, extinguishing fires and assisting with the medical treatment of bystanders injured in the blasts. The incident is under investigation.

And...

KALSU, Iraq — Ten suspected insurgents were seized by Coalition Forces southeast of Forward Operating Base Kalsu and two weapons caches were uncovered April 13 here, following an insurgent mortar attack.

Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment,
4th Bbrigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division were pursuing
insurgents identified as a mortar team when they uncovered the caches and
seized the suspected insurgents.

The caches contained one .22-caliber rifle, four AK-47s, .22-caliber rifle ammunition, AK-47 ammunition, one mortar tube, one mortar base plate and one mortar tripod.

And...

TIKRIT, Iraq – A group of insurgents destroyed a newly constructed local clinic near Jalula in Diyala province, Iraq, using explosives April 12. Eight individuals in two vehicles approached the facility and told the hospital staff to leave the building before they destroyed it, a local Iraqi reported to the Coalition force. There were no patients in the building and no injuries resulted from the attack. According to members of the 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division who conducted an assessment following the attack, the bombing was meant to sway opinions of the local citizens, increase their fears and show the people they need to rely on Allah rather than the clinic.

And...

BAQUBAH, Iraq – Local citizens in Buhriz, a neighborhood within Baqubah, Iraq, informed Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces of six terrorists in the area, leading to their detention Friday. The terrorists admitted being responsible for placing and detonating improvised explosive devices and have been transferred to a detention facility. “The people are getting tired of the terrorists’ continued violence, realizing the terrorists wish to bring nothing but destruction and harm to their families and their villages,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander and senior U.S. Army officer in Diyala province. “They will not be swayed by the terrorists’ actions and are beginning to turn to the security forces for help as they recognize the ISF are the true protectors of their country.”

And...

RAMADI, Iraq – Provincial Security Force 1 discovered a weapons cache in the Hay Al Dhobot Thanaya district while conducting clearing operations here April 13.

The cache consisted of 22 speed bump improvised explosive devices, 11 fire
extinguishers, four propane cylinders, two suicide vests, 60 projectiles and mortars
ranging in size from 60mm to 130mm, and 10 gallons of chlorine.

Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment assisted in the recovery of the cache by securing the area until demolition experts arrived to assess and reduce the cache.

The weapons and materials discovered are commonly used by insurgents to
make improvised explosive devices.

Coalition demolition experts destroyed the cache with a controlled detonation.

And...

MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers engaged and destroyed two Vehicle Borne IEDs as insurgents attacked their combat outpost in Mosul Sunday.

Iraqi soldiers immediately treated the injured, reinforced security and returned fire
as nearby insurgents attacked the combat outpost.

Two Multi-National Division-North helicopters were in the area and immediately
responded to support the Iraqi outpost under attack. Insurgent ground fire struck one of
the aircraft, causing it to make a precautionary landing due to mechanical problems.

The helicopter, an OH-58D “Kiowa Warrior”, landed safely away from the engagement area. The pilots of the downed aircraft, both uninjured, were safely recovered by a second helicopter and returned to base.

And...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained 17 suspected terrorists including a reported al-Qaeda in Iraq military emir during operations early Saturday morning.

Northwest of Taji, eight suspected terrorists were detained during a Coalition Forces raid.

Among the suspects detained was the accused al-Qaeda emir of Rusafa and former vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cell leader.

“This is another significant step in our efforts to disrupt the VBIED network and their devastating attacks against the Iraqi people,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

In Mosul, Coalition Forces captured two suspects with ties to recent al-Qaeda attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces.

And...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces captured 14 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists during operations early Friday morning.

During an operation in Karmah, Coalition Forces captured six men with suspected involvement in recent vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks and anti-Iraqi and Coalition Forces operations.
In Mosul, five suspected terrorists were captured with suspected links to recent VBIED attacks against Coalition Forces.

A raid east of Amiriyah resulted in the capture of one suspected terrorist with known involvement in al-Qaeda senior leader transportation operations.

In Baghdad, Coalition Forces captured two suspected foreign fighter facilitators.

“Coalition Forces continue to target terrorists regardless of where they may hide or operate,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “They will be identified, captured and prosecuted for their crimes.”

And...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Operation Forces conducted an early-morning air-assault operation on April 11 outside of Fallujah, capturing two suspects believed to be involved in insurgent activities.

With Coalition advisers present for support, ISOF conducted the air-assault raid northeast of Fallujah and captured their primary targets without incident.

Iraqi forces also detained five other suspicious individuals who were present during the operation.

One of the targeted suspects detained is believed to be a member of a terrorist organization named the Islamic Army and part of an improvised explosive device cell operating out of Fallujah. The other suspect is believed to be with the cell and responsible for emplacing IED’s specifically targeting Coalition Forces vehicles.

No Iraqi or Coalition Forces were injured during this operation.

And...

RAMADI, Iraq – Sheiks and Ramadi city officials met for the first time in years for a town council meeting at the Joint Command Center here April 11. The meeting, which brought together Ramadi district council members from the Shamiya, Jazeera, Western Ramadi, Sofia and Julayba districts, was conducted to begin the process of cleaning and rebuilding the city after years of terrorist violence. “This meeting is vital to get all the councils together in the city to establish security and reconstruction projects for the people of Ramadi,” said Ramadi Mayor Latif Iyada. He said that now with all the council members seeing one another at the meeting, the big projects can begin. “Now we can start laying the groundwork for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure in Ramadi, getting cooperation between all the security elements in the city and all the councils,” Iyada said. During the meeting, the council discussed sewage and road repair, security measures, and reestablishing public services, such as schools, courts and water. “I’m very optimistic,” Iyada said. “The councils are made up of members who fought terrorists, and we’re all enthusiastic to get everything going."

That is just this weekend Aaron...and it isn't even all the reports, and the source for all of these are MNF-Iraq, I didn't even check the other sources for news about Iraq.

Your problem, Aaron, is that you've been a willing sucker of the terrorists...they set off a bomb, and you think it is the only thing that happened in Iraq that day and that there was not only no chance for us to stop such things, but that we don't stop them at all...that we're just in a shooting gallery, entirely helpless before the enemy.

Get a grip on reality.

No Mark - its you who needs to get a grip

300 people died yesterday in car bombings - and the thing is - something on the order of 30 people die in a car bomb every day. Think about that for a second. Thats twice as many as who died in the Oklahoma bombing in 95. Think about how big of a deal that was here - and its happening day in and out in Iraq.

Secondly all of your posts just prove our point even more. Look at how chaotic and violent things are - and this is your proof that things are going well?

Its a complete and unmitigated disaster. And our own intelligence community believes that our presence there is *INCREASING* the violence not decreasing it. What more can we say?

If this is evidence of steady progress, why then does the article describe it as a "return to normal"?

Lefties,

Are you really that obtuse? Please tell me that you aren't stupid enough to be thinking that a post saying "progress" means "we've won"? It is about PROGRESS...you know; we were at one point, and now we've been working and we've got to another point and we hope by keeping on that we'll get to the final point...Please don't tell me that the leftwing BS in your brains has so calcified your mental processes that you can't even read a simple sentence.

Things are IMPROVING...step by step.

And, Kblack - 1,526 died of cancer in the United States yesterday...does that mean we're making no progress on cancer treatment and that we should give up?

About 55 people were murdered in the United States yesterday...does this mean we give up fighting murder in the United States?

115 or so people were killed in automobile accidents yesterday....does this mean we ban the use of cars?

The story says that 289 people were killed or injured ACROSS IRAQ yesterday...just in car wrecks and murders 170 people were killed ACROSS AMERICA yesterday...and given that in Iraq you have 10 to 20,000 people actively trying to commit as much murder and mayhem as they can, a case can be made that things are worse here than there. Its a war over there, ya know? Things will happen that are bad...but if you will please just get a grip on reality, you'll understand what is going on.

Mark

You can't keep justifying the terrible loss of life in Iraq by saying there is 'progress'. I don't care how much bubble gum you put in the dike hole to stop the leak. You will never be able to repair the damage, nor bring back the dead to their loved ones, no matter how many contractors you hire.

You, Mark, may dismiss the exploding bombs, the destruction and daily chaos of daily life in Iraq as being of little consequence, but to those who are maimed or killed and their families living through this hell, the consequences are deadly.

CO,

The consequences of life are deadly - I give you my absolute assurance that you will, in fact, die one of these days...tomorrow or fifty years from now doesn't really matter...what matters is how you live, and whether or not you had the courage to do the right thing, or whether you ran and hid from death, so afraid of it that you countenanced terror and oppression just so you wouldn't feel you had do take a stand.

Rise up, brother! Your brothers and sisters in Iraq are beset by evil men who murder and destroy...will you abandon them? Will you seek to cast the blame on others? It is you, yourself, who is responsible, right now, for what will happen in Iraq. Make your choice.

If the man had abided by the U.N. resolutions, he could've still been in power, killing and raping his own people. He didn't, and after 9/11, a president with some gonads decided that enough was enough.

But don't worry, kooks, it looks as if you may get your precious Hillary into the WH, then we can go back to status quo. You know, appeasement and ignorance?

Oh, btw, Slick had gonads too--they were waving in front of Monica's face often...

With all this good news and McCain and Ghram able to buy rugs in downtown Baghdad I think the Democrats should shorten the time needed to redploy our troops out of this civil war.

Mark,

Just wondering, but don't you think your source may just be a slight bit biased and therefore have the agenda to, well...you know...make s**t not stink?

Mark Mark Mark ...

Of course your analogy makes no sense what so ever.
First - you equate the situation in Iraq with cancer. Unfortunately its not that simple there isn't just one set of cells which are causing all the problems - no tumor to remove. The problem is that there is sectarian violence, terrorism, separatists, and the like.
Secondly, if you know your treatment is crap - you don't keep doing it. You search for other methods. Your solution for Iraq is like trying to take a gun shoot out the cancer. A very simplistic answer to a very complex problem? Sure you could shoot the tumor - but you will kill the patient as well..

Even Patrias tells us that there is no military solution to the problem in Iraq. But you would just have us ship more and more troops there and do what? Put a unit on every street corner and keep the Iraqi population in a police state?

Its not working - it never will - stop trying to justify a failed policy and start working for one that has a chance..

Your brothers and sisters in Iraq are beset by evil men who murder and destroy.

Posted by: Mark Noonan at April 15, 2007 04:24 PM

Yes they are, Mark. The evil Saddam is gone, now, as you say, they are beset by more evil men who murder and destroy. How do you think that happened?

Mark, you say the operation in Diwaniyah is evidence that "Things are IMPROVING...step by step." My point was that that statement should be taken in context. The fact is, this latest operation is not the first in Diwaniyah in recent months. Previous operations occurred in August and October of last year. As it was before, the violence was not provoked by AQ, nor was it Sunni on Shiite. It was internecine warfare among Shiite factions. Most of the rest of Qadasiyah Province is dominated by the Baadr Brigade allied with the SCIRI. Diwaniyah, on the other hand, is dominated by Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.

After past operations the MNF went back to their bases after quelling the violence. This time they are promising to stay. If so, hopefully that will prevent future problems. Anyway, what is described in the article you cited is steady progress in the resumption of of supplies and services that were disrupted during the operation, not improvements over the situation that existed prior to it.

Mark

From the Iraqi perspective You are absolutely right!!!!

Unfortunately 80% of Iraqis see Americans as the evil men. Now I don't agree with the Iraqis but most of them think its OK to kill Americans?

Are you seeing this Brother thing is a Cain/Able relationship

Mark -

"Hey, two weeks ago you were reporting that two million Iraqis were uprooted...now its four million."

Uh, if you read carefully, there are 2 milion Iraqis that have fled to neighboring countries, and another 2 million that have been displaced internally. Uh, lets see now... 2 + 2 = 4. Do you dispute these numbers? If you do, then you are going against the UN High Commission on Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross, both respected organizations with over two centuries combined experience assisting civilians in conflict worldwide. So how many Iraqis do you say are displaced from Iraq, Mark? And what is your source?

"While the left and it's lapdog MSM concentrates on the Daily Bomb in Iraq, real progress is being made on the ground:"

Uh, the one daily bomb? Mark, just today there were 6 bombings in Baghdad alone:

BAGHDAD 4/15/2007 - Six bombs exploded in predominantly Shiite sections of the capital Sunday, killing at least 45 people in a renewal of sectarian carnage that set back the U.S. push to pacify Baghdad.

"Check the source - the reporter, Liela Fadel, has had nothing but negative to report since the surge began..."

Uh, she is not the only one who has reported on the (very real) violence yesterday in Karbala. Do you think she just manufactured that story? See, it is not the reporting of reality by the evil MSM that is negative... rather, it is the actual reality itself that is bleak. Moreover, I also quoted the Voice of America.

As Jon Stewart once quipped, Reality is biased against Republicans.

Lets say that on a particular day there were 10 bombings in Iraq that kill 300 people, several thousands more people flee, and it is discovered that yet a few billion more of our tax dollars in cash went unaccounted for there. Lets also say that on that same day, a school got painted. Now, if the reporting gave the same airtime and number of stories devoted to the school getting painted as to all the other events, that would not be "fair and balanced". That would be a horribly biased skewing of the true situation on the ground. This is something you wingers apparently don't grasp.

If anything, the MSM is coming no where near to conveying just how horrifying things really are in Iraq.

"Things are IMPROVING...step by step."

Again, what do you base this on - except for wishful thinking? We have heard this mantra of "things are improving", "we are turning the corner", yadda yadda, for more than 4 years, but it never turns out to be true. Yes, there are some neighborhoods in Baghdad that have seen a disminution of violence in recent weeks - you will in fact get some order restored in some areas if there are enough soldiers. Is that even surprising? But at this point in the game, such surges are like playing "whack a mole" - decreases in violence in one area are more than offset by increases in another area. And the relative calm experienced in some neighborhoods in Baghdad will only last so long as US troops removed hunkered there. For anyone interested in some good reporting (as opposed to the government propaganda preferred by Mark), The Christian Science Monitor today had a pretty even-handed assessment today of the surge:
www.csmonitor.com/2007/0413/p01s04-woiq.html?s=t5

The time when a surge in troops might have made a difference in Iraq is long past. 4 years ago, lots more troops might have had a chance of success - too bad Bush didn't listen to his generals back then instead of listening to Dumsfeld.

Overall in Iraq, there is no indication of improvement, as much as we would hope to see (but hope alone doesn't substitute for reality!). In fact, things seem to be getting worse in the most crucial areas. More US soldiers have been killed the first 4 months of this year than in the first 4 months of any of the previous 4 years. Similarly, over the same period, the number of civilian and Iraqi police casualties is higher than in any of the previous 4 years. The number of civilians fleeing sems to be accelerating. Can you point to national stats from Iraq that show significant improvement?

Mark:

Stop the "lefties" nonsense. Being opposed to the war in Iraq at this point has nothing to do with one's other political affiliation. Labels and name calling is just immature. We can disagree, fine, but come on, do it with respect. People are allowed to disagree and debate serious issues. What is the point of your blog if you don't seek other's ideas?

Karl

kblack,

Perhaps you should stop merely regurgitating DNC talking points?

CO,

They've been beset by evil men who kill and destroy for quite a long time...centuries, actually. Come join the battle for justice and liberty...

Karl,

The people I addressed are lefties...so, "lefties" is how I addressed them...had there been a conservative critic of the war on this thread, then I wouldn't have used "lefties" as that would have been inaccurate.

And I write this blog because I enjoy writing...and the lefties give my great opportuntines to practice that "love your enemies" command of Our Lord.

Aaron,

Still refuse to have anything to do with news you don't like, huh?

Anillo,

It is a matter of either trusting the troops or trusting the MSM..."fake but accurate" answers the question.

Yes they are, Mark. The evil Saddam is gone, now, as you say, they are beset by more evil men who murder and destroy. How do you think that happened?

Uh, the DBM started reporting on it more, just as they have in Darfur, now that they have a President in office whom they hate.

Funny, though, how they ignore the violence in other parts of the world where AQ or other terrorist groups are doing the killing...

"Perhaps you should stop regurgitating DNC talking points"

A) No - Sorry I could careless about if its a talking point for the DNC or not - its the argument that matters. And thats not an argument against the points I brought up - whats the matter can't handle the heat?

B) Perhaps you should stop supporting Bush regardless if what he does - I am 100% convinced if he decided the world were flat you would be afraid to walk outside in fear of falling off

Getting a little background on this city helps understanding what we are involved in. From an April 7 article on Diwaniyah.

Al-Ghanemi said the tipping point in Diwaniyah was March 20, when militiamen attacked and set fire to police roadblocks in 15 southeast neighborhoods and turned them into no-go zones for the authorities.
Much of the Diwaniyah police force is said to be controlled by the Badr Brigade, a rival militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the country's most powerful Shiite political party. SCIRI, as it is known, controls the Qadisiyah provincial council.
Police were ordered off the streets Saturday and some residents said the Iraqi military did not trust them. But Brig. Sadiq Jaafar, the city police chief, said his men were sent indoors because they were too poorly equipped to be of use in the fighting.
An Iraqi army official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to release the figures, said three civilians and three Mahdi Army fighters died in the Saturday battle. At least 29 people were wounded - 21 civilians, six Iraqi soldiers and two American soldiers.
The official said U.S. and Iraqi forces captured 36 militiamen.
In its account of the second day of fighting, the U.S. military reported only one Iraqi death, that of the militiaman hit in the airstrike. It said three U.S. soldiers received minor cuts in a roadside bombing that destroyed their Humvee.
``Fighting was less steady than yesterday's actions. Our assessment is that our operations are being effective,'' said Maj. Eric Verzola, spokesman for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
Iraqi police and hospital officials said at least one of the civilian dead and five of the wounded were victims of American tank fire on their home. They had to be pulled from the rubble of their home, and evacuated to Diwaniyah hospital, police said.
The U.S.-Iraqi drive into Diwaniyah - named ``Operation Black Eagle'' - began before dawn Friday.
The Mahdi Army, the focus of the offensive, is run by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who had ordered Baghdad militiamen to lay down their weapons during the security crackdown in the capital.
Many of the Diwaniyah fighters were thought to have left Baghdad and were using the American preoccupation with the capital to cement their hold on parts of the southern city.
Al-Sadr's office in Diwaniyah said militia fighters had destroyed three American vehicles and seized a robot used to explode roadside bombs.
Diwaniyah sits on a Euphrates River tributary and in some of Iraq's most fertile farmland. The predominantly Shiite city, 80 miles south of Baghdad, has two major factories, one that makes automobile batteries and a second producing tires. The population is between 400,000 and a half-million.

The people we are fighting/policing in Iraq are the Iraqis. There is a civil war going on between rival religious groups and warlords for control of parts and or all of Iraq. The military are against the police who are against rival militias all vying for control. We created a power vacuum when we invaded and deposed the government. This is being filled by the aforementioned groups all jostling for control and power. This war has little or nothing to do with fighting terrorism or Al qaeda. There will be successes to be qouted where we have a large military presence but will they persist when we leave whether in a month or 10 years. There are areas in Iraq where there is little violence. This is because in these areas, one warlord or religious group prevails, there is no conflict. The conflicts come in the areas populated by all groups like Baghdad and on the borders between the controlled areas. When you look at what is happening in Iraq, to say we have to win this or we will never be safe at home, has no relevance. We created a mess and are obligated to fix it. The question becomes, are we part of the solution or part of the problem. We certainly did create the problem.

"Lefty fool, the purpose of a military is to kill people and break things, not to just stay stateside and collect paychecks and free educations."

Wait a minute. You actually SUPPORT having troops go and die in an unwinnable conflict Keefer?

You Republicans sure do love the troops.

ThELefTYFoOL

I see the left are doing the usual of providing slective information that suports their points of view.

How about after 8 weeks into implementing the new strategy...

Deaths in Bagdad are down nearly 50%
Total deaths in Iraq are down over 25%
That the number of secterian violent deaths (you know civil war) are down nearly 50%

Would things outside of Bagdad improve with the additional troops Bush wants to send... of course they will.