Gwynne Dyer from the Salt Lake Tribune doesn’t deny that Nidal Hasan’s faith played a role in his going postal jihadi:

Let’s see, now. A devout Muslim officer, born in the United States but of Palestinian ancestry, is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in the near future. He opens fire on his fellow soldiers, shouting “Allahu akbar.” (”God is great” in Arabic.) What can his motive have been? Hard to guess, isn’t it? Was he unhappy about his promotion prospects? Hmm.

But what else does Dyer do? Blame America and the West for its campaign of warfare and persecution of Muslims:

America’s wars in Muslim lands overseas are radicalizing Muslims at home. Never mind that the home-grown Muslim terrorists who attacked the London transport system in 2005, and the various Muslim plotters who have been caught in other Western countries before their plans came to fruition, have almost all blamed the Western invasions of Muslim countries for radicalizing them.

Never mind, above all, that what really radicalized them was the fact that those invasions made no sense in terms of Western security. No Afghan has ever attacked the United States, although Arabs living in Afghanistan were involved in the planning of 9/11. There were no terrorists in Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction, and no contacts between Saddam and al-Qaida. So why did the U.S. invade those countries?

The real reasons are panic and ignorance, reinforced by militaristic reflexes and laced with liberal amounts of racism. But people find it hard to believe that big, powerful governments like those of the United States, Britain and the other Western powers involved in these foolish adventures could really be so stupid, so the conspiracy theories proliferate.

It is a testimony to the moderation and loyalty of Muslim communities in the West that so few of their members have succumbed to these conspiracy theories.

Lessee……

America is to blame for the dysfunction going on in the modern era of the Middle East? Racist America is “holding the Muslim man down”? American imperialism is responsible?

FA has found unclassified evidence from the U.S. Department of Defense (and hat tip to CJ, whose excellent milblog A Soldier’s Perspective is now on inactive duty) showing shocking and graphic day to day activities of the U.S. military’s campaign of aggression against Muslims:

U.S. soldier teases and mocks Afghan children:

U.S. Army Capt. Michael Wikstrom, a chaplain with Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, shows Afghan children how to blow bubbles during a humanitarian aid delivery mission in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24, 2009. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Marc I. Lane, U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John Moyle, the platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon, 554th Military Police Company out of Stuttgart, Germany, gives a child a high-five while providing security during polling site assessments in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan July 1, 2009. The unit is currently attached to Task Force Mountain Warrior, which is assessing polling sites in the province to ensure they are safe for residents. (DoD photo by Pfc. Elizabeth K. Raney, U.S. Army)

Afghan National Army commando Mohammed Jan, a Kandak commander with the 201st Corps, hands humanitarian assistance supplies to residents of a village in the Laghman province of Afghanistan May 23, 2009. The 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard is working with the Afghan National Army to conduct a key leader engagement and to deliver humanitarian assistance to residents to build stronger relationships and fight insurgency. (DoD photo Spc. Jason Dorsey, U.S. Army)

U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Reyes high-fives an Iraqi boy while providing security in Sequor, Iraq, Sept. 9, 2009. Reyes is from the security detachment of 25th Special Troops Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Luke P. Thelen, U.S. Air Force)

Here we have a well-known U.S. Navy Admiral personally indoctrinating unsuspecting Afghan school girls with pro-U.S. propaganda:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen hands out notebooks during the opening of the Pushghar Village Girls School in the Panjshir Valley of Afghanistan July 15, 2009. The school was built by Greg Mortenson, a humanitarian and author of “Three Cups of Tea”, to promote and support community-based education for girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy)

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Brandon Sills hands out candy to children in the Helmand province of Afghanistan Aug. 25, 2009. Sills is attached to the battalion aid station of 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment. (DoD photo by Sgt. Christopher R. Rye, U.S. Marine Corps)

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Carabello distributes school supplies to Afghan children during a humanitarian assistance mission at the Shigal district center in the Konar province of Afghanistan Aug. 19, 2009. Carabello is deployed with the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith, U.S. Army)

U.S. Army Maj. Arnel David, from the 1st Infantry Division’s Federal Police Training Team, hands out clothing and toys to residents of a poor neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 1, 2009. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Michael Wykes, U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Army Capt. Scott Warnke, with 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, shows a photograph to an Afghan child in the Anzala Khil village of Afghanistan Nov. 5, 2009. Warnke is deployed to Forward Operating Base Wolverine in the Zabul province of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Christine Jones, U.S. Air Force)

Kerry: And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not–

Schieffer: Yeah.

Kerry: –Iraqis should be doing that.

Here are photos of U.S. soldiers breaking “into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children”….

U.S. Army Capt. Charles Ford plays a video game with seven-year-old Wa’ad, who lost an arm and a leg to an improvised bomb, during a visit to the child’s home near Muqdadiyah, Iraq. U.S. soldiers from Hammer Company are arranging for the child to be fitted with prosthetic limbs.

An Iraqi man shows off his muscles after a house search by U.S. Army soldiers patrolling Baghdad’s Azamiyah neighborhood.
Anja Niedringhaus – AP

U.S. Soldiers with 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division hand out toys to children during a human terrain team site survey mission in Kilabeen, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2009. (DoD photo by Spc. Benjamin Boren, U.S. Army)

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Cannaballo, from the 6th Iraqi Army Division’s Military Transition Team, interacts with Iraqi children while visiting the Al Wallah Elementary School with Iraqi soldiers in Al Hurriyah, Iraq, Oct. 25, 2009. (DoD photo by Spc. Jennifer Reed, U.S. Army)

A U.S. Soldier interacts with Iraqi children during a meeting to discuss potential medical micro-grants at the Qais Medical Clinic in the Radwaniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 3, 2009. The Soldier is from 1st Battalion, 150th Armor Reconnaissance Squadron, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Edwin L. Wriston, U.S. Navy)

U.S. Army Capt. Jayne Strathe, attached to the 1314th Civil Affairs Company, 17th Fires Brigade, talks with an Iraqi child at the Hojarat School for Boys and Girls in Basra, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2009. The Hojarat School is one of the schools selected for improvements by Soldiers with the company. (DoD photo by Spc. Samantha R. Ciaramitaro, U.S. Army)

Here we see an Iraqi child, terrified, as she attempts to ward off the U.S. aggressor:

Jan. 13: A U.S. soldier plays with a young girl during a patrol in Baghdad.
Jewel Samad – AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Hoff gives kids high-fives, during a visit to a village, in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 14, 2009. Soldiers are visiting the village to distribute school supplies to children. Hoff is attached to Charlie Troop, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gustavo Olgiati, U.S. Army)

U.S. Army Sgt. Craig Wayman puts eye drops into an Iraqi girl’s eye during a combined medical evaluation in a village in Kirkuk, Iraq, on May 7, 2009. Wayman is a combat medic attached to Charlie Troop, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. (DoD photo by Sgt. Gustavo Olgiati, U.S. Army)

In the following photo, we see a U.S. soldier do the despicable:

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Delano Wilson, assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, gives an Iraqi child a soccer ball May 26, 2009, during a mission to check the progress of a water compact unit project near Babil, Iraq. The completed project will provide potable water to more than 4,000 Iraqi citizens. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kim Smith, U.S. Navy)

Photo source

Secret photo source

Secret photo source

How do U.S. soldiers get a hold of so many soccer balls to begin with? Quite simply, they steal them from the Iraqis before rigging them with explosives through a mission directive known as Operation Soccer Ball.

Here are a couple of photo leaks of the soccer thieves in action:

A U.S. soldier plays soccer with a boy at the Al zawra club in Baghdad November 26, 2007.
REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud

A U.S. Army soldier plays soccer with an Iraqi boy while on patrol in Baghdad’s Azamiyah neighborhood.
Anja Niedringhaus – AP

An U.S. soldier from 1st Platoon, Bravo Company (Bulldogs), 1-502 Infantry Battalion, kicks a soccer ball to an Iraqi boy while he patrols the Shi’ite-dominated Chercook neighbourhood in Baghdad’s Khadamiya district, May 10, 2008.
REUTERS/Oleg Popov

Not content with beating Iraqis on the field of battle, this U.S. soldier has to humiliate Muslims in a game of foosball:

A U.S. soldier plays foosball with residents by the side of a road in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district July 10, 2008.
REUTERS/Omar Obeidi

Afghan boys react as they play a game of marbles with a U.S. officer with Alpha Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment (not pictured) in the village of Damman, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan February 16, 2009.
REUTERS/Oleg Popov

A boy shakes hands with a U.S. soldier at the end of the opening ceremony of a playground which was renovated by U.S. forces in Baghdad’s al-Harthiya district, November 6, 2008.
REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz

Beanie Babies are another popular weapon in the arsenal of the U.S. military.

Happy recipient of beanie baby

Nothing quite like seeing a U.S. soldier armed to the teeth, with three beanie babies to unload upon unsuspecting Iraqi children:

Source

Source

(Photo source and story)

Iraqi children proudly show the stuffed toys they received through Beanies for Baghdad. The program, started in 2003 by a soldier deployed to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, has sent more than 1 million toys to children in Iraq and Afghanistan. Courtesy photo
Photo source

This U.S. soldier is infecting this innocent Iraqi child with U.S. cooties:

Iraqi children are currently suffering from a cooties epidemic at levels unheard of since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

U.S. Army Sgt. Mark Davenport holds a child while on patrol in the Taji Qada, northwest of Baghdad, May 16, 2008. Davenport is the senior medic assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” Multinational Division Baghdad.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brad Willeford

Apparently, there have been some reports of U.S. soldiers forcing Iraqi children into the role of indentured servant. FA has found the physical proof:

A young boy feeds a U.S. Army soldier during a New Year’s Eve party for orphans and poor children in a suburb of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad December 31, 2003.
REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Maj. Tracy Fong, officer for the 13th Corps Support Command Civil Affairs, plays with an Iraqi boy. (US Army photo by Spc. Blanka Stratford)

The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about “GoArmy.com.”-Michael Yon

We’ve all heard about how al Qaeda recruits children. Did you know our U.S. forces are doing the same? Here we see an Afghan boy testing out a new chemical weapon provided to him by the U.S. military:

A U.S. Soldier with the Nangahar Provincial Reconstruction Team plays with an Afghan child June 4, 2009, during a mission to deliver medical and school supplies to women and children in the Behsood District Women’s Prison in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Silly string can be so much fun! (DoD photo by Spc. Nathaniel Allen, U.S. Army)

8/25/2008

The following two photos made frontpage headlines around the world a few years ago, as clear evidence of how U.S. soldiers utilize Iraqi children as human shields:

A boy seeks shelter behind a U.S. soldier as gunshots ring out following a car bomb explosion in Baghdad. At least 21 were killed in the bombing and 66 wounded, police and hospital officials said.
Khalid Mohammed- AP

This photo, which appeared on the front page of this morning’s edition of The New York Times, shows an Iraqi boy taking cover behind a U.S. soldier as civilians fled the sound of gunshots following a suicide bombing yesterday in central Baghdad that killed at least 21 people and wounded 66 others.Photo taken by Khalid Mohammed, AP

And more photos here and here and here.

These must be the photos of Muslim abuse that drove Nidal Hasan to massacre his fellow U.S. soldiers (or I suppose the non-graphic “retelling” of such abuse and violence, driving him into anti/pre-traumatic stress/violence disorder). Allah be praised! Hasan has done right, defending his fellow Muslims from such Crusader aggression. As Amy Proctor points out:

The discussion is about Muslim soldeirs troubled by fighting in Middle Eastern countries. Well, that should raise red flags to the military. WE’RE FIGHTING TERRORISTS AND IMPOSTER MUSLIMS, not good devout law abiding Muslims. Why would a Muslim soldier have a consciencious objection to fighting Muslim heretics who kill women and children, who behead and rape? They shouldn’t unless they are sympathetic to their cause. THAT IS CAUSE FOR ALARM.

Who uses the mentally handicapped to carry out suicide bombings?

Who uses human shields?

Who fights from behind mosques?

Who organized the rape of 80 women to recruit them as suicide bombers?

Who recruited 24 children to act as homicide bombers?

Who is accused of baking children and then serving them up to the parents?

Who is committing Muslim on Muslim violence? Muslims in the U.S. military or al Qaeda and the Taliban?

Because of current difficulties in trying to help a fledgling democracy take root in Afghanistan, people blame the U.S. for the corruption of Karzai’s government and the suffering of the Afghan people. Because Iraq isn’t transformed over night into a stable, functioning democracy, people blame the U.S., forgetting the decades of suffering Iraqis suffered under the brutality of Saddam and his muderous sons.

It’s funny to hear lefties call Karzai a “U.S. puppet” when he’s acting in ways we don’t approve of. Do we have influence? Sure. But Afghanistan has sovereignty over its own self-determination. Let’s not forget that Afghanistan in the previous 20 years suffered under the Soviets and the Taliban governance. Today, there is a promise and potential for a brighter future. That’s thanks to the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. Today, Iraq is on the path to a brighter and more prosperous future. That’s thanks to the overthrow of Saddam.

Nothing is guaranteed and it is up to Iraqis and Afghans themselves to take the opportunity they have been given today, to make that bright future into a present-day reality.

What is needed in the Muslim world is not blame, conspiracies, misperceptive propaganda, and the mentality of victimhood.

Jean-Francois Revel, in his 2002 book Anti-Americanism, writes:

But the truth is that the United States’ actions historically have been far less damaging to Muslim interests than the actions of Britain, France, or Russia. These European powers have conquered Muslim countries, occupied and indeed oppressed them over decades and even centuries. American, on the other hand, have never colonized a Muslim nation. Americans evince no hostility towards Islam as such today; on the contrary, their interventions in Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo, as well as the pressure exerted on the Macedonian government, were designed to defend Muslim minorities. And the coalition of twenty-eight countries, led by the United States, that removed the Iraqi army from Kuwait was formed at the request of the Saudis, who feared what the Butcher of Baghdad might do next; so here again the Americans and their allies were defending a small Muslim country against a secular dictator who had used chemical weapons against the Muslim Shi’ites in the south and the Muslim Kurds in the north. It is strange that America-hating Muslims see nothing disturbing in the fact that Iraq, with a largely Muslim population, has attacked Muslim countries- first Iran in 1981, then Kuwait in 1990- in primitively imperialistic and bellicose fashion. Likewise in Algeria, Muslims have been massacring their coreligionists since 1990.

The greatest killer of Muslims are other Muslims.

America was not the historical cause of the emergence of Israel, which arose as a result of endemic European anti-Semitism. And Muslims may perhaps remember that in 1956 it was the United States’ unilateral intervention that stopped the Anglo-French-Israeli military operations in Egypt during the Suez Crisis.

Another myth that has been strenuously maintained since September 11 is that of a moderate and tolerant Islam.

George W. Bush stressed it.

Barack Obama perpetuates the belief.

The burden of proof that “Islam is a religion of peace” is upon its practitioners- both “moderates” and “extremists”. Not on the rest of the world.

You, too, can personally help U.S. soldiers terrorize innocent children all over the world. Just go here.

The anti-war zombies paraded themselves Monday in front of the White House. If these so-called “peace” activists want to “stop war against the people of Afghanistan”, then why do they so strongly advocate troop withdrawal? How does that help bring peace and end war in Afghanistan?

Medea Benjamin:

This is marking yet another anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan; and we’re here to say that we voted for this president because we want an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They’re actually talking about sending in another 40,000 troops and we’re saying that’s insane. So we’re here to say healthcare not warfare. We need this money at home for education, healthcare, infrastructure, fixing our country; and, we should put money into Afghanistan for the needs of the people and not more warfare.

Yes, because all we and our NATO allies are engaged in over there, is “going into the homes of Afghans in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs.”. For example:

Belgian army soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) distribute greeting cards for the Eid-al-Fitr festival as they patrol during a joint mission with German Bundeswehr army soldiers in Taloqan, west of Kunduz, September 30, 2008.
REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

U.S. Navy Seabees and Army soldiers work on a construction project in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Sept. 25, 2009. The Seabees are assigned to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22, and the soldiers are assigned to 4th Engineer Battalion.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth W. Robinson

A grateful refugee camp resident in Kabul, Afghanistan, kisses U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Yevsey Goldberg, who helped bring more than 550-kilograms of rice and other supplies, Dec. 6, 2008. Goldberg is deployed to International Security Assistance Force Headquarters.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Aramis Ramirez

U.S. Navy Lt. Obi Ugochukwu checks sick baby Fatima, 8 months, on March 23, 2009 outside the U.S. Marine base in Bakwa in southwest Afghanistan. The child’s parents brought her to the base for emergency treatment for a 104 degree fever and seizures. Ugochukwu, the base medical officer, gave the child medicine to reduce the fever and asked the parents to bring her again the following day. Such remote areas as Bakwa, in Afghanistan’s Farah province, have no hospitals, and the medical personnel at the Marine base provide the only emergency care in the region. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A Canadian soldier shakes hands with an Afghan boy during a joint patrol with Afghan National Army troops near Panjwaii village, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, July 13, 2007.
REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly

A U.S. soldier passes out candy to children in Pir Zadeh, a village in Afghanistan. Military commanders and architects of the Human Terrain project say that it helps make soldiers more knowledgeable about the society surrounding them, thus minimizing casualties and civilian deaths.
Vanessa M. Gezari

[This post to be updated with more photos of U.S. and NATO troops "terrorizing" the Afghan people]

The Afghan people are not the Taliban. After their war with the Soviets, we made the mistake of leaving a power vacuum in the country. The Taliban brought stability to the region; but along with that, they brought their madrasas and a strict adherence and indoctrination into Islamic fundamentalism; and with that came cruelty and oppression.

War-weary Afghans welcomed the stability, but not the governance under Sharia. By October 7, 2001, the people of Afghanistan welcomed liberation.

There are many complex issues in dealing with Afghanistan; there are no painless downhill solutions, but only steep mountains to climb.

But in regards to Code Pink and the anti-war movement, where does their compassion lay? Do they really care about the lives of innocent Afghans? Then why would they advocate a course of action that would subjugate the people of Afghanistan to once again live under the brutality of Taliban rule?

Certainly, not all Afghans have appreciated our presence there; and hold us accountable for some of the violence. But others recognize that we are the ones trying to protect them and to help them rebuild a stable government.

The failures of the Karzai government and the allegations of election fraud- both real and perceived- have been a huge setback, doing more damage than any Taliban attack.

The perception of wavering commitment back in Washington does nothing to further confidence among the Afghan people that the U.S. and NATO are the answer to their prayers of a better life and brighter future:

Governor Massoud said he personally admired the Marines here, from the Second Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, but he said many people “just don’t want them here.”

He estimated that two of every three local residents supported the Taliban, mostly because they make a living growing poppy for the drug trade, which the Taliban control. Others support them for religious reasons or because they object to foreign forces.

Not least, people understand that the Taliban have not disappeared, but simply fallen back to Garmsir, 40 miles north, and will almost surely try to return.

Lt. Col. Tim Grattan, the battalion commander, said the local residents’ ambivalence reflected fears of what could happen to anyone who sided with the Marines, an apprehension stoked by past operations that sent troops in only for short periods.

“They are on the fence,” Colonel Grattan said. “They want to go with a winner. They want to see if we stay around and will be able to protect them from the Taliban and any repercussions.”

From Oliver North’s American Heroes, pg 263-4:

10 December 2007- MADERIYA, Iraq, We walked through this agricultural community east of Baghdad, not far from the Iranian border, with COL. Terry Ferrell, commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd ID. He introduced me to CPT Fawaz Nazzir, of the Iraqi Army. I asked why he joined the new Iraqi Army eleven months ago. His reply was a testament to American resolve in prosecuting this campaign: “I waited,” replied CPT Nazzir, “to see which side was going to win.”

To some Americans that may sound like a cynical response but not to those who have spent years campaigning in Mesopotamia. “What would you expect given how uncertain our commitment was at home?” commented one U.S. officer on his third tour of duty here. He continued: “Until ‘the surge’, nobody in Iraq knew whether we were going to finish this fight. AQI [Al Qaeda in Iraq] and the Shiite militias were all telling their followers that we were going to cut and run. ‘The surge’ proved that we weren’t going to abandon them.”

Not only did we not abandon them, we upped the ante, increasing the number of U.S. combat units in the country and significantly expanding training and support for Iraq’s fledgling security forces.

As with the Iraqis, Afghans want to know that they are siding with the winners; because they know, should they side with the U.S., and we pull out and abandon them, they will suffer barbaric retribution at the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

We have a home to retreat back to. For them, Afghanistan is their home. And should the Taliban return, they will have nowhere to run.

American allies throughout the world will also have doubts as to whether or not America is a reliable partner when the going gets tough:

In an interview at the Journal’s offices this week in New York, Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi minced no words about the impact of a U.S. withdrawal before the Taliban is defeated. “This will be disastrous,” he said. “You will lose credibility. . . . Who is going to trust you again?” As for Washington’s latest public bout of ambivalence about the war, he added that “the fact that this is being debated—whether to stay or not stay—what sort of signal is that sending?”

Mr. Qureshi also sounded incredulous that the U.S. might walk away from a struggle in which it has already invested so much: “If you go in, why are you going out without getting the job done? Why did you send so many billion of dollars and lose so many lives? And why did we ally with you?” All fair questions, and all so far unanswered by the Obama Administration.

As for the consequences to Pakistan of an American withdrawal, the foreign minister noted that “we will be the immediate effectees of your policy.” Among the effects he predicts are “more misery,” “more suicide bombings,” and a dramatic loss of confidence in the economy, presumably as investors fear that an emboldened Taliban, no longer pressed by coalition forces in Afghanistan, would soon turn its sights again on Islamabad.

Mr. Qureshi’s arguments carry all the more weight now that Pakistan’s army is waging an often bloody struggle to clear areas previously held by the Taliban and their allies. Pakistan has also furnished much of the crucial intelligence needed to kill top Taliban and al Qaeda leaders in U.S. drone strikes. But that kind of cooperation will be harder to come by if the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and Islamabad feels obliged to protect itself in the near term by striking deals with various jihadist groups, as it has in the past.

Pakistanis have long viewed the U.S. through the lens of a relationship that has oscillated between periods of close cooperation—as during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s—and periods of tension and even sanctions—as after Pakistan’s test of a nuclear device in 1998. Pakistan’s democratic government has taken major risks to increase its assistance to the U.S. against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Mr. Qureshi is warning, in so many words, that a U.S. retreat from Afghanistan would make it far more difficult for Pakistan to help against al Qaeda.

Media reports, such as the recent news coverage of “Wanat II” that left 8 U.S. soldiers dead, can affect public opinion and Taliban morale, creating an Afghan Tet. Much of the war is about the propaganda of perspective and perception:

A battle that killed eight Americans at a pair of remote military bases in Afghanistan last weekend also left more than 100 insurgents dead, NATO said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Are we winning or losing?

Sending reinforcements will send a clear message to the Taliban and the world that the reputation of Afghanistan as being the “graveyard of empires” is nothing more than a myth; and that the U.S. did what Alexander the Great, the British, and the Soviets could not do.

No, it won’t be easy. The problems faced are complex, and may take generations to solve. But the process needs to start here. 8 years is a drop in the bucket in the context of history. It is nothing.

And in the process of showing resolve and intestinal fortitude to outlast the will of the enemy, we will have helped accomplish what Code Pink and the anti-war movement have never done: bring about peace and a push toward the promotion of human rights.

A U.S. Marine from Charlie 1/1 of the 15th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) carries empty sand bags to a mortar position in southern Afghanistan, December 1, 2001.
REUTERS/File

Not everyone appreciates being offered handouts. It can be quite insulting.

Apparently, all those instances of American soldiers passing out toys and candy and school supplies to Afghan children might be doing some harm in counterinsurgency operations. Instead of goodwill, such handouts may be breeding resentment by shaming and embarrassing Afghan parents who aren’t able to provide such items for their children, themselves.

Thomas Ricks has an interesting post, pointing out a piece by David Wood:

I remembered accompanying a Marine officer through villages in Iraq’s Anbar Province. He’d pull out a handful of candy as kids crowded and jumped. Then he’d ask, “Who’d like a soccer ball?” and he’d summon an aide and hand out a few balls. In the distance, I noticed men who’d just brought their kids to school standing in the shadows, glowering at this scene. Their resentment seemed palpable, that their kids were crowding around an American handing out presents that they couldn’t afford for their own children.

Here in Afghanistan, a different war but the same American impulse of generosity. And to what end? I put this question to an American officer, a man who works closely and professionally with Afghans and whose opinion I respect. “The feedback we get from Afghans,” he said, “is that this kind of give-away makes them feel like dogs.”

Ricks offers a commonsense solution:

Empower local authorities-police, teachers, tribal leaders, and parents by giving them the soccer balls, books, pencils and pens, and letting them distribute them equitably. And by their own lights. It might not make the troops feel as good in the short term, but it sure makes a difference in the long run.

Introduction excerpt from Michael Totten’s The Future of Iraq Pt. IV:

Getting an accurate reading of Iraqi public opinion is hard. It might be impossible. I’ve seen Iraqis cheer American soldiers, and I’ve seen some Iraqis hug American soldiers in Fallujah, Ramadi, and Baghdad. A few weeks ago, though, hundreds of thousands celebrated when Americans evacuated Iraqi cities as stipulated by the Status of Forces Agreement.

It’s theoretically possible that what we’ve seen is not contradictory. Some Iraqis are pro-American. Others are not. Those who celebrated when Americans left may very well be, at least for the most part, different Iraqis than those I’ve seen who greeted Americans warmly.

Iraqi public opinion, though, is famously contradictory. And Iraqi public opinion as stated by Iraqis themselves is notoriously unreliable.

Most Iraqis, like most Arabs everywhere, are extremely polite and hospitable. It’s a guidebook cliché, but it’s a guidebook cliché for a reason. Their culture requires them to welcome foreigners, and they take that requirement seriously. Most will conceal any negative opinions they may have against a visitor personally or even the visitor’s country – and this is true even for visitors from enemy countries. They don’t mean to be deceptive. They’re just being nice.

There’s another problem with picking up the mood of the street – politics. For decades Iraqis have lived either in fear of the state or in fear of militias. They had to learn to keep their opinions to themselves if they wanted to live.

~~~

I asked Sergeant Nick Franklin if he could help me arrange an interview with one of the Iraqis the Army trusts to provide real information. I was tired of trying to learn about Iraq through the lens of the United States military, and tired of asking Iraqis what they thought while they were in the presence of American soldiers.

What were Iraqis saying when Americans weren’t in the room? That’s what I wanted to know. Even if I had disembedded myself from the Army and wandered around Iraq by myself, I still wouldn’t be able to figure that out because I’m an American, too.

Read Michael Totten’s entire interview with “Sayid”, an Iraqi “straight shooter” that the Army’s been using as an information source for years, who more or less tells it like it is, as he understands it.

And don’t forget on your way out the door, there:

You tip waiters in restaurants, right? I can’t go all the way to Iraq and write these dispatches for free. Travel in the Middle East is expensive, and I have to pay my own way. If you haven’t donated in the past, please consider contributing now.

Also, although I disagree with him politically on perspective and “false pretenses” charge, check out Thomas Ricks’ blog for his series of entries, Iraq the Unraveling (his latest, XVIII).

“I do feel I’m not guilty,” Abdulhakim Muhammad told The Associated Press in a collect call from the Pulaski County jail. “I don’t think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason.”

~~~

Muhammad told the AP he admitted to his actions to police and said he was retaliating against the U.S. military.

“Yes, I did tell the police upon my arrest that this was an act of retaliation, and not a reaction on the soldiers personally,” Muhammad said. He called it “a act, for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military.”

In the interview, Muhammad also disputed his lawyer’s claim that he had been “radicalized” in a Yemeni prison and said fellow prisoners that some call terrorists were actually “very good Muslim brothers.”

He also said he didn’t specifically plan the shootings that morning.

“It’s been on my mind for awhile. It wasn’t nothing planned really. It was just the heat of the moment, you know,” said Muhammad, who was arrested on a highway shortly after the attack.

~~~

Muhammad, 23, said he wanted revenge for claims that American military personnel had desecrated copies of the Quran and killed or raped Muslims. “For this reason, no Muslim, male or female, sane or insane, little, big, small, old can accept or tolerate,” he said.

He said the U.S. military would never treat Christians and their Scriptures in the same manner.

No! Certainly not! The U.S. military would never seize and destroy Bibles!

“U.S. soldiers are killing innocent Muslim men and women. We believe that we have to strike back. We believe in eye for an eye. We don’t believe in turning the other cheek,” he said.

Asked whether he considered the shootings at the recruiting center an act of war, Muhammad said “I didn’t know the soldiers personally, but yes, it was an attack of retaliation. And I feel that other attacks, not by me or people I know, but definitely Muslims in this country and others elsewhere, are going to attack for doing those things they did,” especially desecrating the Quran.

Muhammad isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, is he? But then, what crayon in the jihad movement coloring book is?

But he’s got a point.

Here are photos to support Muhammad’s assertions, showing proof positive that “U.S. soldiers are killing innocent Muslim men and women.”:

Michael Totten:

The Iraqis of Anbar Province turned against Al Qaeda and sided with the Americans in large part because Al Qaeda proved to be far more vicious than advertised. But it’s also because sustained contact with the American military – even in an explosively violent combat zone –convinced these Iraqis that Americans are very different people from what they had been led to believe. They finally figured out that the Americans truly want to help and are not there to oppress them or steal from them. And the Americans slowly learned how Iraqi culture works and how to blend in rather than barge in.

“We hand out care packages from the U.S. to Iraqis now that the area has been cleared of terrorists,” one Marine told me. “When we tell them that some of these packages aren’t from the military or the government, that they were donated by average American citizens in places like Kansas, people choke up and sometimes even cry. They just can’t comprehend it. It is so different from the lies they were told about us and how we’re supposed to be evil.”

OMG! Check out the U.S. soldier shooting Iraqi police graduates….with a *gasp* camera:

Michael Yon:

I took that photo on May 2nd of 2005 up in Mosul. A suicide car bomber had lined up to do an attack on some of our soldiers, and they were in Stryker fighting vehicles. And Farah, and about twenty other kids, had run out to…when they would hear the Strykers, they would run out and waive, and the soldiers throw them candy and that sort of thing. And Farah’s mother later said that she ran out barefooted, you know, to waive and get candy or whatever, the suicide car bomber, who could have waited two or three blocks to attack our guys, or at least do it away from the kids, just ran right, drove right through the kids and exploded, detonated right there, killed one boy outright, burned him up. And then, you know, Farah…a woman, I don’t know if it was her mother, but a woman ran out with Farah, and came to the first American soldier she could fine. Walt Gaya, this is a pattern I’ve seen over and over, when Iraqis get hurt, they immediately go to American soldiers. And Walt was pushing out to a sniper position, but…and that’s really where he needed to go. But when he saw Farah injured, he grabbed her and took her back to the medics. The medics started working on her, and then Mark Bieger, he’s the major who’s in the photo that’s on the cover of the book, he picked up Farah, wrapped her in that blanket, and started to rush off to the hospital, grabbed up a few of the family members, and rushed to the hospital with Farah. But she, unfortunately, Farah died, so that’s how that photo was taken.

Here are stories of al Qaeda in Mesopotamia- Bledsoe’s fellow ideologues in the “jihad” movement- building mosques, hospitals, schools, infrastructure, protecting innocent Iraqis, and handing out candies, school supplies and soccer balls to Iraqi kids:

Link:

An Iraqi officer near Sinjar told me that recently a group of perhaps twenty “jihadists,” many of them foreign, descended on a Nineveh village. The Iraqi officer said the terrorists killed some adults and two babies. One baby they murdered was 15 days old.

Michael Yon:

I still find people in America, Nepal, Thailand, UAE and other countries who believe al Qaeda propaganda that they attack us because we support Israel or occupy Muslim holy land. This would not explain the decapitated Iraqi children I photographed when locals told me al Qaeda did it. This would not explain the Iraqi children al Qaeda has blown up, or the Afghans and Pakistanis killed by al Qaeda, or the Africans who are murdered by the same cult of serial killers. Did those decapitated children in the Iraqi village even know where America or Israel are? What about the Shia mosques they destroyed in Iraq? Were they occupying Saudi Arabia or supporting Israel?

A bleeding ground for takfiri terrorists:

Killers of children:

At first, he said, they would only target Shia, but over time the new al Qaeda directed attacks against Sunni, and then anyone who thought differently. The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

Iraqis love their children.

Over here, the fact of al Qaeda murdering children is just that: it’s a fact. How they chose to commit the murders is a variable that changes from incident to incident. I’ve written often about how Iraqis, as a rule, love and greatly value their children . This makes the children especially vulnerable as targets for terrorists. That is a brutal fact.Al Qaeda drinks and uses drugs here. This is not propaganda. This is not even news, it’s a fact that I wrote about back in 2005.

Yes, it’s the American military strapping bombs to Iraqi women and children the disabled, and sending them off to blow up more innocent Muslims:

Baghdad, 1 Oct. (AKI) – Al-Qaeda has over the past two years used 24 children to carry out suicide bombings in Iraq, the director of military operations for the Interior Ministry, Abdelaziz Mohammed Jasim, told pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.

“Of the 24 children, five had a mental disability. From analysing the others’ remains, we established that they were homeless,” said Jasim.

American soldiers stationed in Iraq have reported that the insurgency has armed children as young as 11 to fight against them.

Al-Qaeda is targeting orphans, street children and mentally disabled children as suicide bomber recruits as well as women, according to the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

There have been at least 16 suicide attacks carried out by women in recent months in the volatile Al-Qaeda stronghold of Diyala province, north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Iraqi children (photo) in general make up 20 percent of the civilian victims of bomb attacks in the country.

How many Muslims has the global “jihad” movement killed?

Carlos Bledsoe/Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad/Abdulhakim Bledsoe/Human Pondscum is perfectly justified in a “nothing personal against Pvt. Long” murder because he believes the Quran has been desecrated by the American military and that U.S. soldiers are murdering innocent Muslims.

Previous FA posts:
June 3: Obama Silent On Killing Of Army Solder By Terrorist But Shocked Over Tiller Murder

June 3: Pvt. Long’s assassin roamed free because of “insufficient evidence” for wiretaps/investigation

June 2: Murdering US soldiers on the streets – the drawbacks of using law enforcement as terrorist policy

Most of the photos come from DoD, and are focused on the current conflicts. The editing is a bit uneven, as I haphazardly imported pictures without a lot of discrimination; but ultimately, what I decided I wanted to convey is the sense of sacrifice of not just the soldiers, but of the military families they leave behind who dare to support them and their mission. I wanted to juxtaposition those photos of them reunited/leaving their families with photos of what their service and sacrifice away from home have gained back in return: Purple fingers….admiration and friendships with Iraqis and Iraqi children….. There’s a poignancy there, because these mothers and fathers should be back home with their own families, who need them in their lives; their children deserve to have their parent holding them- not be half a world away, holding someone else’s child in place of them. And yet, what the soldier does by leaving his family behind, he does on behalf of them…and us.

It is the American soldier who is the best ambassador to other nations; who exemplifies nobility and compassion and who exports our values and traditions. It is the American soldier who represents the best and brightest our country has to offer.

When those Iraqi children in the photos grow up, I hope they remember the kindness and friendship of U.S. soldiers.

A reminder of why America’s military is the most hated around the world.

Take also into consideration, the following:

Just Europe .

1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne , France . A total of 2289 of our m ilitary dead.
We Apologize.

2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes , Belgium . A total of 5329 of our dead.
We are arrogant .

3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France . A total of 4410 of our military dead.
Excuse us.

4. Brookwood , England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.

5. Cambridge , England . 3812 of our military dead.

6. Epinal , France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.

7. Flanders Field , Belgium . A total of 368 of our military.

8. Florence , Italy . A total of 4402 of our military dead.

9. Henri-Chapelle , Belgium . A total of 7992 of our military dead.

10. Lorraine , France . A total of 10,489 of our military dead.

11. Luxembourg , Luxembourg . A total of 5076 of our military dead.

12. Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.

13. Netherlands , Netherlands . A total of 8301 of our military dead.

14. Normandy , France . A total of 9387 of our military dead.

15. Oise-Aisne , France . A total of 6012 of our military dead.

16. Rhone , France . A total of 861 of our military dead.

17. Sicily , Italy . A total of 7861 of our military dead.

18. Somme , France . A total of 1844 of our military dead.

19. St. Mihiel , France . A total of 4153 of our military dead.

20. Suresnes , France . a total of 1541 of our military dead.

IF I ADDED CORRECTLY
THE COUNT IS 104,366

Apologize to no one. Remind those of our sacrifice and don’t confuse
arrogance with leadership.

From 2008:

From 2007:

Hat tip Cox and Forum for the following:

The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth.

General Logan had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead with a special day and decided the Union needed a similar day. Reportedly, Logan said that it was most fitting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead, particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of every soldier in the land, and if he could he would have made it a holiday.

Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization, Logan issued a proclamation that “Decoration Day” be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of this day. …

The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved four holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.

Other FA Memorial Day posts:
“Earn this. Earn it.”

The History of Memorial Day

A Memorial Day Message for the Ages

Today I Remember Sgt. Eddie Jeffers

Remember Memorial Day

“God must have a special place for soldiers.”

Interactive search of the Vietnam Wall Memorial

Memorial Day 2009

Remember… and honor

BAGHDAD — The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said Al Qaida worked closely with former operatives in Saddam Hussein regime.

Officials said leading members of the Al Qaida network have coordinated operations with Saddam aides since 2003. They said Al Qaida and Saddam forces attacked Shi’ites in an effort to spark a civil war in Iraq.

“They agreed that Al Qaida would carry out the suicide attacks, while the Baathists [Saddam's ruling party] would do the remote-control bombs,” Al Maliki said.

The Al Qaida-Saddam link, asserted by then-U.S. President George Bush in 2002, came in wake of the reported capture of a leading Al Qaida commander in Iraq.

At the very least, it’s 100% clear (hindsight is 20-20) that yes, Saddam’s regime and the Al Queda network did have operational ties in 2003, and that means the invasion of Iraq
HAS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF THE WAR ON TERROR.
ht regimeofterror
Mark Eichenlaub

BAGHDAD (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assured Iraqis on Saturday that the Obama administration would not abandon their country even as it presses ahead with plans to withdraw American troops amid a recent surge in violence.
…
“Let me assure you and repeat what President Obama said, we are committed to Iraq, we want to see a stable, sovereign, self-reliant Iraq,” she told a nervous but receptive crowd at a town hall meeting at the U.S. Embassy in the capital.

“We are very committed, but the nature of our commitment may look somewhat different because we are going to be withdrawing our combat troops over the next couple of years,” Clinton said.

THE OBAMA ADMINSTRATION AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!!!!!

“There is nothing more important than to have a united Iraq,” Clinton replied. “The more united Iraq is, the more you will trust your security services. The security services have to earn your trust but the people have to demand it.”

“We will be working closely with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi security forces as we withdraw our combat troops, but we need to be sure that all of you are supporting a strong, nonsectarian security force and we will work to try and help make that happen,” she said.

They opposed this war in
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
and in 2009 took power, and now they pledge to never abandon Iraqis

um, I’m missing the consistency

Really, this would be like Dick Cheney going on Meet the Press and demanding an immediate, unconditional “redeployment” out of Iraq.

Outrage from the left that followed the Democrats for years in opposition to the war in Iraq?
ZERO

I attempted to contact Jonathan Landay to nicely and politely inform him that the issue of regime ties had never been closed. He responded nicely, pointed me in the direction of a few reports, then categorically declared that no ties existed and that the intelligence community had known this all along, but the Bush Administration “cherry-picked” intelligence to make its case for war.

After that initial email, Jonathon refused to respond to further attempts at educating him. SO, here we go…

• Khalid Sheik Mohammed (mastermind of the 911 attacks) was captured in 2003 on the eve of the invasion of Iraq (literally 19 days before the invasion, and half a year since the military, diplomatic, and rhetorical run-up to invasion began). We now know from the “torture” documents released by President Obama that “coercive interrogation”/”torture” was NOT the first method or the of choice. It’s not like someone captured Khalid Sheik Mohammed and then cried out, “WOO HOO! Get out the pliers so we can start pullin’ fingernails!!! Yeeee hawwwww!!” We also know that it was only used after traditional interrogation means had failed, AND after multiple leaders had agreed to it from higher in the chain of command. However, it’s impossible and incorrect to say that KSM was tortured to force him to create a false story that could be used to justify the invasion of Iraq….when he was captured just days before the invasion. Still, propagandists made that false and misleading claim (’cause they can’t look at a calender?).
• The claim that raw intelligence was cherry-picked and then used to make the case for war/to mislead elected officials is completely false and debunked by a simple calender. The cherry-picking claim stems from the idea that Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans picked out raw intel reports, arranged them in a condemning manner, then used that to trick elected officials into thinking there was a certain relationship between the regime and Al Queda, BUT (here’s the problem) Feith’s group gave it’s last presentation to the Bush Admin on Monday, Sept 16, 2002 (4 days after Pres. Bush began his rhetoric-run-up to war with his address to the UN). 48hours later-one Wednesday, Sept 18, 2002, the CIA met with the Administration and with elected officials (including the Democrat-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee). Any ambiguities, concerns, misleading, etc done by Feith’s group would have been cleared up and resolved and made irrelevant 48hrs after the Feith presentation. Jonathon would know this because the dates are presented in the report that he directed me to read.
• The issue of ties between Saddam’s regime and the Al Queda network of terrorist groups was never fully investigated, resolved, or closed as is often deliberately and falsely claimed. Entire bookstore shelves are filled with volumes of books that have been written on the subject of regime ties to Al Queda (including some by me), and there’s some great websites out there listing individuals in the regime and in Al Queda groups who were actually caught working together, but let’s step aside from those for the moment and see what the US government has “concluded” about regime ties…

I have read the various reports from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Sen Intel Com) regarding the issue of regime ties to Al Queda. From what I could gather, there were several pre-invasion reports from the CIA regarding the issue of regime ties:

• The Sept 21, 2001 PDB (I’ve never seen a Sept 12, 2001 PDB regarding regime ties)President’s Daily Brief (PDB)
  -Sept, 21, 2001
  -Just 10 days after the 911 attacks this summary assessment clearly suffered from lack of intelligence gathering and analysis since at the time it still wasn’t 100% clear that Al Queda was behind the 911 attacks.
• NESA Report on Iraq’s Ties to Terrorism (terrorism in general/not specific to Al Queda). This was basically a preliminary draft of the CIA’s “Iraqi Support for Terrorism 2002” and “Iraqi Support for Terrorism 2003” reports
  -October 2001
  -Formed no conclusions (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
  -cited a lack of evidence and a lack of investigations into the matter as no formal investigation and analysis had ever been conducted (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
• “Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship”
  -6/12/02
  -Formed no conclusions (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
  -specifically cited a lack of evidence gathered (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
• “Iraqi Support for Terrorism 2002”
  -9/18/02
  -Formed no conclusions (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
  -specifically cited a lack of evidence gathered (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
• Letter from DCI Tenet, head of the CIA, to Sen. Bob Graham, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee
  -10/7/02
  -Formed no conclusions, simply reiterated closed door testimony from CIA officials to the Senate Intelligence Committee that the more time passes, the more likely it is that Saddam would make WMD and use Al Queda to covertly and deniably attack the United States
  -Lists several examples of Saddam’s support for terrorism, Al Queda, and its proxy terror affiliates.
• “Report of the Joint Inquiry Into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001-By the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence”
  -December 2002
  -Reiterated the comments from the 9/21/01 PDB and the 10/7/02 Tenet Letter
  -Added more reports of possible Iraqi involvement in the 911 attacks, but added caveats that the reports hadn’t been fully investigated by Dec 2002
  -cited a lack of evidence gathered as a problem that prevented forming any conclusions (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
• “Iraqi Support for Terrorism 2003”
  -January 2003
  -This was basically a rehash of the 2002 version with a little new info since the CIA finally got a spy back into Iraq just a few weeks prior to its release (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
  -Formed no conclusions (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
  -specifically cited a lack of evidence gathered (per Sen Intel Com rpt on pre-war intel regarding Iraq)
• “Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Investigation Into Pre-War Intelligence on Iraq (Phase I report)”
  -July 7, 2004
  -confirmed the various reports of ties between Saddam’s regime and Al Queda as presented in other reports (including confirmation of most of the comments made by Feith and his office), and repeatedly stated that the Bush Administration’s claims were “reasonable” as well as often accurate reflections of the intelligence reporting at the time.
  -“Due to the limited amount and questionable quality of reporting on the leadership intentions of Saddam Hussein and Usama bin Ladin, the CIA was unable to make conclusive assessments in Iraqi Support for Terrorism regarding Iraq’s relationship with al-Qaida. The CIA stated in the Scope Note: ‘Our knowledge of Iraq’s ties to terrorism is evolving DELETED. . . . ‘”
  -at the rollout of the report, several of the senators-including Sen. Rockefeller (D), addressed the press and made it clear that the issue of regime ties to Al Queda was not looked at:
  “…the committee concluded there was a failure by intelligence community managers to adequately encourage analysts to challenge their assumptions, to fully consider alternative arguments, to accurately characterize intelligence reporting and to counsel analysts who had lost their objectivity.”
• Senator Pat Roberts 070904 SIC Release of WMD investigation report Press Conference transcript
  -”Most alarmingly, after 1998 and the exit of the U.N. inspectors, the CIA had no human intelligence sources inside Iraq who were collecting against the WMD target.”
  -”But with respect to Saddam Hussein’s regime and his link to terrorists, the committee did find that the CIA judgments were reasonable, based on the available intelligence. The agency was also more careful to inform policy-makers about uncertainties with their analysis.”
  -”Finally, the committee found no evidence that the intelligence community’s mischaracterization or exaggeration of intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction capabilities was the result of politics or pressure.”
  -”Our human intelligence collection, as Pat Roberts has pointed out, was inadequate. Not only did we not have people on the ground after 1998 when the inspectors left, but we relied when they had left too much on the fragmentary reporting from years before, from the early ’90s, from the post-Iran/Iraq War situation and were never able to pin anything down.”
• “911 Commission Final Report”
  -July 22, 2004
  -Formed no conclusions regarding regime ties to Al Queda
  -members later specifically cited a lack of evidence gathered and asked that the question of regime ties to Al Queda be examined further-not dismissed or otherwise closed.
  -John Lehman (a 911 Commissioner) said, “There may well be–and probably will be–additional intelligence coming in from interrogations and from analysis of captured records and so forth which will fill out the intelligence picture. This is not phrased as–nor meant to be–the definitive word on Iraqi Intelligence activities.”
  -“This is a very significant set of facts,” former 9/11 commissioner, Mr. Kerry said yesterday. “I personally and strongly believe you don’t have to prove that Iraq was collaborating against Osama bin Laden on the September 11 attacks to prove he was an enemy and that he would collaborate with people who would do our country harm. This presents facts should not be used to tie Saddam to attacks on September 11. It does tie him into a circle that meant to damage the United States.” (I believe he even went on Jon Stewart’s, The Daily Show, and reiterated that the issue of regime ties was never fully investigated, analyzed, or concluded, and he said that he thought it needed to be re-opened.
  -Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton also said: there was a lack of intelligence gathered which led to problems, that the matter was never concluded (or even started), and that it should be re-examined.
• “Iraqi Perspective Project Report” (DoD)
  -March 2006
  -Confirmed many of the previously reported ties between the regime and Al Queda
  -Found many more examples of ties and further demonstrated that there was in fact a relationship between the two, that it was dangerous, and that it was growing faster than expected
  -Cited a lack of intelligence gathered before the war, and an even larger, more deliberate, and more unexplained refusal to investigate the relationship after the invasion given the wealth of captured intelligence and detained regime members.
• “REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE ON POSTWAR FINDINGS ABOUT IRAQ’S WMD PROGRAMS AND LINKS TO TERRORISM AND HOW THEY COMPARE WITH PREWAR ASSESSMENTS (Phase II report)”
  -September 9, 2006
  -Cited the post-war refusal of any and all intelligence agencies to investigate the depth and threat of the relationship between Saddam’s regime and Al Queda
  -Used the refusal of intelligence agencies to investigate pre-war intelligence and the causes for the lack thereof, the Senate Intelligence Committee openly, freely, and admittedly took it upon itself to act as an intelligence agency and form an intelligence assessment on its own.
  -(U) The CIA has not published a “fully researched, coordinated and approved position” on the postwar reporting on the former regime’s links to al-Qa’ida, but has published such a paper on the postwar reporting on Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi and the former Iraqi regime. The CIA told the Committee that regarding Iraq’s links to terrorism, “the research the Counterterrorist Center has done on this issue has called into question some of the reports of contacts and training . . . revealed other contacts of which we were unaware, and shed new light on some contacts that appeared in prewar reporting. On balance, this research suggests that the prewar judgment remains valid.“l54 (Recall that previous investigations had determined that pre-war judgments as presented by the Bush Administration were “accurate” and “reasonable.”)

There are some consistencies in all these investigations and their reports:

They all refuse to form a conclusion
They all say there was a relationship, but the depth of it is debated inside the intelligence community
They all say the matter should be looked into rather than dismissed, closed, or perpetuated as a resolved point of discussion.

People can also point to 1990’s, pre-Bush Administration, open-source, mass media reports from: Newsweek, TIME, US News, NYT, LAT, ABC, and CBS; all of which claimed in 1998 and 1999 that there was a relationship between the two. Still, I bow to the reports and the bi-partisan claims from at least (4) 911 Commission members and both the chair and vice-chair of the Senate Intel Committee all of whom I’ve cited above as saying there was a lack of evidence gathering, a lack of analysis, and that the matter was never closed.

There are also MILLIONS of captured and authenticated documents, videos, tapes etc. brought back from Afghanistan and Iraq, and in these documents-many made public, some even listed by the FBI-individual terror groups that are in the Al Queda network of terrorist groups and were taking orders and working with Iraqi Intelligence (lest we forget “Al Queda” translates as “the Base” or the start of jihad, and is really a network of groups rather than a single club type entity).

Oh….there were definitely ties between Saddam Hussein’s regime and the Al Queda terrorist network, but the question was about closeness. Were they just entities with a common mission, were they occasional allies, were they close allies like Roosevelt and Stalin, were there operational ties, cooperational ties, did Saddam want Osama to have his baby, did they share wives, were they snuggle-buggle-huggy lovers, or did they use each other. That ties existed was claimed and proven from 1996 onward, but the depth and detail of those ties was never fully investigated or concluded despite high-ranking calls from Democrats and Republicans to look into it.

Still some people-even after being informed-prefer to maintain the idea that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with Al Queda. It’s an ironic claim for if it were true, then their ire would be equally directed towards the Obama Administration’s war there: one aimed at-Barack Obama’s words-fighting Al Queda.

I invite anyone and everyone to send Jonathan ( jlanday@mcclatchydc.com… ) and McClatchy newspapers a link to this post which categorically proves they were wrong in their assertions that there were never any ties between Saddam’s regime and the Al Queda terrorist network.

Let’s support President Obama’s war in Iraq-and his fight against Al Queda there-by halting the lie that the war has nothing to do with Al Queda.

Listen, I am so honored.

AUDIENCE MEMBER [State Dept Official/appointee who is new in-country]: We love you.

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) I am honored — I’m honored and grateful to be with all of you [and grateful that you all have cameras, or I wouldn't have even flown over this place]. And I’m not going to talk long because I want to [get as many photos for the web] shake as many hands as I can. (Applause.) And I’ve been talking all week. (Laughter.) [It's time words mean something-like when I told North Korea to STOP or I'll have to say STOP again!]

But there’s a couple of things I want to say. Number one, thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER [member of traveling press corps]: You’re welcome.

THE PRESIDENT: You know, when I was at Camp Lejeune [to push back the timeline for withdrawal again] I spoke about what it means for America to see our best and brightest, our finest young men and women serve us. And what I said then is something that I want to repeat to you, which is: You have performed brilliantly [and ACCOMPLISHED] every mission that has been given to you.

AUDIENCE: [barely audible] Ooh-ah.

THE PRESIDENT: Under enormous strain and under enormous sacrifice, through controversy and difficulty and politics [Gosh I hope no one remembers "I opposed this war in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 06, 07, and again in 2008."], you’ve kept your eyes focused on just doing your job [despite opposition to your doing your job from Democrats and me]. And because of that, every mission that’s been assigned — from getting rid of Saddam [which I opposed], to reducing violence [which I opposed], to stabilizing the country [which I opposed], to facilitating elections [which I opposed]– you have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that [now that I've successfully used your as tools to get elected] you have the thanks of the American people [including Democrats now-woohoo!!]. (Applause.) That’s point number one.

Point number two is, this is going to be a critical period, these next 18 [err, 19] months. [...and it's going to be even tougher for the 50,000 of you who will stay here indefinitely beyond those 19 months] I was just discussing this with your commander, but I think it’s something that all of you know. It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis ['cause, ya know, no one's been trying to do that for the past six years, right?]. (Applause.) They need to take responsibility for their country and for their sovereignty [oh gawd, I hope no one notices that my speechwriter took that verbatim from a Bush speech in 2003]. (Applause.)

And in order for them to do that, they have got to make political accommodations [and do things that we American politicians would never do: work together rather than ramrod through legislation over minority parties]. They’re going to have to decide that they want to resolve their differences through constitutional means and legal means [or they can do it like today's Democratic Party does ala Chicago-style politics]. They are going to have to focus on providing government services that encourage confidence among their citizens [...and I'm not sure how to do that 'cause confidence among American citizens is waning at best].

All those things they have to do. We can’t do it for them [oops, more Bush speech taken verbatim-hope no one notices]. But what we can do is make sure that we are a stalwart partner, that we are working alongside them, that we are committed to their success, that in terms of training their security forces, training their civilian forces in order to achieve a more effective government, they know that they have a steady partner with us. [WTF?! How much did we plagiarize from Bushitler?]

And so just as we thank you for what [MISSIONS] you’ve already accomplished, I want to say thank you because you will be critical in terms of us being able to make sure that Iraq is stable, that it is not a safe haven for terrorists, that it is a good neighbor and a good ally, and we can start bringing our folks home [OMG, I think Rahm hired a Bush speech writer]. (Applause.)

So now is not the time to lose focus. We have to be even more focused than we’ve been in order to achieve success [which I opposed, but now that I'm President...I damn well support!].

The last point I want to make is I know how hard it’s been on a lot of you. You’ve been away from your families, many of you for multiple rotations. You’ve seen buddies of yours injured and you remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

AUDIENCE [traveling White House press corps photographer looking for pics of caskets to sell/make money off of]: Ooh-ah.

THE PRESIDENT: There are probably some people here who have seen children born and have been missing watching them grow up. There are many of you who have listened to your spouse and the extraordinary sacrifices that they have to make when you’re gone.

And so I want you to know that Michelle and myself are doing everything — (applause) — are doing everything we can to provide additional support for military families. The federal budget that I have introduced increases support for military families. We are going to do everything required to make sure that the commitment we make to our veterans is met, and that people don’t have to fight for what they have earned as a consequence of their service.

The main point I want to make is we have not forgotten what you have already done [In fact, we Democrats are only now noticing/supporting it], we are grateful for what you will do [...and I no longer oppose it], and as long as I am in the White House [the most important thing], you are going to get the support that you need and the thanks that you deserve from a grateful nation [Including Democrats now!]. (Applause.)

So thank you very much everybody [for being the tools you were to get me elected]. (Applause.) God bless you [Oops, Markos Moulitas might take that as a call for Holy War]. (Applause.) God bless the United States of America [Oh man, Keith Olberman's gonna say I'm trying to create a theocracy now]. (Applause.)

link

In addition to debating just who was “reconcilable” and who was a “Taliban”, I stated my opinion that without substantial changes in Pakistan policy towards their own militants, Afghanistan could very well be a waste of military resources. Add more troops and the US/NATO forces can push back enemy lines into Pakistan…. temporarily. But it will be nothing more than a revolving door of never-ending battles until Pakistan starts pulling it’s weight on their side of the border.

Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan is a less educated country with limited urban centers, and composed mostly of poorer tribal areas with no nationalized identity. They throw their allegiance to whomever is winning the back yard battle, and look to see who can offer them the most in return for their loyalty. And sometimes that loyalty is given in exchange for the privilege of staying alive.

I also said I believe that had the US instead deposited the troops in Afghanistan instead of Iraq, the situation would be no different… and likely worse because of the larger US footprint… giving the perception of the US as occupiers instead of defenders. Afghanistan is simply not as ripe for an “awakening” for sundry reasons.

Mata: But what you fail you understand is you could take all 150K plus Iraq troops, put them into Afghanistan then… or now…. and the “success” will be no different. In fact, with that high a US footprint in the country, you would have NO “reconcilables” on which to speculate. Afghanistan-Pakistan is a completely different battle and problem.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates himself confirms this, saying just recently:

I’ve been very concerned about an open-ended commitment of increasing numbers of troops for a variety of reasons, including the size of our footprint in Afghanistan, and my worry that the Afghans come to see us as not their partners and allies, but as part of their problem.”

Finally, I brought up the “awakening/poster child” reconcilable, Mullah Abdul Salaam … a former Taliban tribal leader up until 2001 and the US intervention, and finally lending his support to the Afghanistan government in the past year, assuming the district governorship of Musa Qala.

But I also pointed out that it was premature to call this fragile alliance a success.

Mata: In short, these tribal leaders (at least the one’s who are alive) are opportunists… not Taliban. So they pick up a Taliban badge to wear when they are the big shots in the ‘hood. However they only choose the winning side. If the Taliban start winning in their back yard, they will not be “reconcilable”. If the NATO coalition starts getting the upper hand, they will be more flexible.

Even now, I wonder how long Salaam will hold with his alliance with the centralized government. He’s quite disgruntled with reconstruction efforts promised by the government, calling them liars. It is still premature to call Salaam and Musa Qala a success since the denizens are caught between the two warring powers. The Taliban think they are traitors, the Afghan government thinks they are Taliban. If he goes down under the most ideal conditions to date, there goes the rest of the so-called “moderate Taliban”.

One of the main reasons an “awakening”, or swaying “reconcilables” is less ripe in Afghanistan is that the government is not as organized and competent as the much younger Iraq government. Poor tribal villages with no urban features and modernization have little to gain when aligning themselves with Kabul… incapable of providing the improvements.

As a result, the tribal areas are not seeing any benefits to cooperating with a centralized government. This is all about lack of infrastructure, and money. Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, is not a mineral rich nation.

Afghanistan requires a completely different strategy, and equipment… as our Iraq transplantees are quickly learning. The body armor worn by our warriors, and their heavy armored transports are bogging them down in the Afghanistan terrain. Also not helpful, they are now subject to the NATO rules of engagement.

But there is another difference – the “hearts and minds” battle must also be altered because of the different third world infrastructure and education level of the Afghans. Just as Bush had put the troops and civilian contractors to work in Iraq – building roads, schools, hospitals, power plants, water systems, plumbing, etc – the same is even more vital in Afghanistan. But at least Iraq had *some* to start with.

In Iraq, American forces could win over remote farmlands by swaying urban centers. In Afghanistan, there’s little connection between the farmlands and the mudhut villages that pass for towns.

In Iraq, armored vehicles could travel on both the roads and the desert. Here [in Afghanistan], the paved roads are mostly for outsiders – travelers, truckers and foreign troops; to reach the populace, American forces must find unmapped caravan routes that run through treacherous terrain, routes not designed for their modern military vehicles.

This part of the battle requires not adding more soldiers than ground commanders deem necessary, but focusing on building roads that were never there, and training a population that has lost the basic farming knowledge for generations to war.

Mata: I think the picture of Afghanistan has yet to be painted. Were it possible for both Pakistan and Afghanistan to hold the jihad movements at bay and thrive as more liberated Islamic nations (think UAE), it’s a nation that could become an agricultural supplier to the region. Was watching a special with the Nebraska guard teaching them farming, explaining that they’ve lost two generations of such knowledge to wars. Let’s face it… growing poppies is much easier than food. And more lucrative for the Taliban, who love having slave farmers, reaping crops that fund their jihad.

Apparently, my assessment is not far off the mark. Because the Obama advisory team on Afghanistan is putting finishing touches on a Bush initiated strategy last year that places emphasis on just that – a “civilian surge” of educators and builders, dedicated to stepping up local farming skills, infrastructure, and modernizing simple amenities in order not to lose the population to jihad elements.

Top aides to President Barack Obama are recommending that the United States combine a boost in military deployments with a steep increase in civilian experts to combat a growing insurgency in Afghanistan, senior U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Several hundred civilians from various U.S. government agencies — from agronomists to economists and legal experts — will be deployed to Afghanistan to reinforce the nonmilitary component in Kabul and the existing provincial reconstruction teams in the countryside, officials said.

A soon-to-be-concluded review of Afghanistan policy that Obama is expected to act on and announce next week builds on steps first endorsed by the Bush administration last year, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the review has not yet been completed.

~~~

The move to add hundreds of civilian aides under Eikenberry and his top staffers is similar to President George W. Bush’s “surge” in Iraq but will be on a smaller scale, the officials said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday before meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband that the administration was working on “an integrated strategy” to train the Afghan military and police as well as to support “governance, rule of law, judicial systems (and) economic opportunities.”

Similarly, defense officials said Wednesday they expect Obama to stress the importance of the Afghanistan review’s non-military components.

This is not to say the US troops have not already been involved in this work until now. Take, for example, the mission of the Nebraska National Guard that I had mentioned to Dave Noble in those thread conversations.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (3/12/09) – As the noon sun crept toward the mountains west of Janquadam, children ran from all corners of the village, greeting the group of Soldiers from the 28th Forward Agri-business Development Team, Feb. 28.

On this warm February day, the team was on a mission to help a blind farmer develop his fields and build a new vineyard to eventually grow grapes in.

The ADT, a National Guard unit deployed from Nebraska, has come to Afghanistan to assist, teach, train and educate the farmers on better farming techniques and introduce the farmers to grasses and alfalfa for better animal health.

After exchanging hellos with locals, the guardsman set to work measuring and marking the field for the new vineyard as well as taking soil samples.

While the Soldiers worked, children swarmed all around them offering home-made sling shots for a dollar each. Some troops paid the children for their wares, while others offered up whatever they could – candy, gum, pens, gloves. Soon, smiling children played in the field and some even assisted them in their tasks.

~~~

The 28th has more plans for Janquadam including installing grain storage bins, planting fruit and nut trees, working with animal health, water management, training and education in tractor maintenance, setting up green houses and underground storage for vegetables.

The future of ADT operations is simple explained Sattelberg – grow this nation into a thriving country of different fruits and vegetables. “The goal is a continuation of the projects from one ADT rotation to the next,” said Sattelberg. “Several teams are either on the ground or being identified for a potential rotation. We are here doing one field at a time through demonstration farms as well as with other projects.”

The demonstration crops afford the farmers an opportunity to learn a variety of methods for growing crops and then allow the local farmers to try different techniques for growing crops in their own fields.
About half the unit has been deployed before and all of the 52-member team volunteered for the deployment. The 28th works in four provinces – Bamyan, Panjshir, Parwan and Kapisa. Four other ADTs operate across Afghanistan with more on the way.

Similar work as been going on, also unheralded by the media for years, in Afghanistan on roads. One example is The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team of US/Afghanistan engineers.

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2007 — The roads of Afghanistan can be treacherous paths to travel but the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team and local construction workers, who travel them daily, are doing their best to improve them.

The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team assessed the ongoing construction of a road running from Titin to Kordar, Aug. 22. The road will eventually run through the rest of the Nuristan Province

The construction of the road, an Afghanistan Engineer District managed project, began in June 2006. It will make it easier and more safe for Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces to conduct their security patrols and expand the number of troops present in the area.

During this trip, the Nuristan PRT and Company C, 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment soldiers found themselves with the tires of one Humvee within an inch of the edge of the road, looking down the side of a cliff, as it disintegrated beneath them.

As the sun started to go down, it was time to get the truck moved before it got dark. Army 2nd Lt. Jonathan Reabe, from Whiteland, Ind., of Company C, 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry, decided to put the Humvee on jacks. The soldiers then manipulated the front wheels so they could turn away from the eroding mountain and drive the vehicle out of danger.

This episode further emphasized the importance of improving the roads in the province.

“A road through the area will allow the villages along the road easier access to government services and commerce, and it will facilitate economic growth in the area,” said Navy Lt. Stanley Lam, of Seattle, Wash., with the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team.

By keeping the US footprint dedicated to reconstructive aid instead of NATO military posturing, the natives’ view of the US is apt to encourage cooperation both both the coalition. Let NATO assume the “bad guy occupier” for a change, and allow American to take the lead as the builder of urban amenties. Then each tribal area has the opportunity to travel to other areas of the country, and provide a network that would encourage a more nationalized identity.

Simultaneously, the centralized government must be whipped into shape more quickly, with concrete avenues to provide road networks, security, and monetary standards for the nation.

All would go a long way towards winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, giving them pride in a developing nation, and less apt to be tolerant of the destructive Taliban and jihad movements in their midst.

Until Pakistan starts to rein in the troublemakers, our hopes for security remain unstable. But if we can keep each area secure enough to make improvements, one by one the Afghan tribes may actually fight together as a unified nation.

Over the weekend, Curt posted a litany of successes going on over in Iraq within just the past week alone.

If not for alternative media and non-mainstream sources, you’d be hard-pressed to hear anything about the continued positive trend in Iraq. It’s not that the information isn’t there and isn’t being covered and reported on by MSM (note the polls cited below are by ABC, BBC, and NHK); it’s just that they aren’t telegraphed as front-page newsworthy items, worth repeating over and over again until it gets hammered into people’s subconscious…..like “Iraq is a failure” and “Iraq is in a civil war” mantras were repeated over and over…

The good news on Iraq IS a big deal. It IS important that it gets talked about and that the positive stories are repeated over and over and over again.

Investor’s Business Daily:

A poll of average Iraqis conducted by ABC News, the BBC and Japan’s NHK shows significant progress on virtually all fronts. Yet, we’ve heard nary a peep about it from anyone.

Some 85% of respondents said their neighborhood security was “good,” vs. 62% a year ago and just 43% in August of 2007. And 52% said security had gotten better in the last year — during the Bush-Petraeus “surge,” which was widely ridiculed at the time as an unnecessary escalation of the Iraq War.

Support for democracy jumped to 64%, a 21-percentage-point gain since 2007, according to a report on CNSNews.com…. As for how Iraqis felt about the general state of affairs in Iraq, 58% called it “very good” or “quite good,” up significantly from 43% last year and 22% in 2007.

When asked what their concerns are today, Iraqis sound a lot like Americans: Jobs and prices are at the top of their list — not war, not security, not terrorism.

In short, it sounds like we not only won the war, but the peace as well. And for those who cast a skeptical eye on the idea that any Islamic country could ever be democratized, it turns out the former President Bush is winning that debate too.

With President Obama in the middle of withdrawing troops from Iraq on a schedule that looks suspiciously identical to the one that Bush had in place, it’s safe to say that Obama increasingly sees the wisdom of what his predecessor tried to do in Iraq.

I seriously doubt President Obama actually sees the wisdom of former President Bush’s decisions on Iraq. He doesn’t even admit that he was wrong to oppose the surge, in hindsight. And during his Camp Lejuene speech, he gave the obligatory “thanks to the troops” line; but couldn’t take a moment to give George W. Bush his due; Barack Obama has mesmerized the masses into the belief that he is gracious and capable of rising above partisan politics. But his actions time and time again are proving him to be anything but a man of class and a president of unity who will govern from the center.

And he continues to deceive and continues to play shell-games and set up strawmen arguments with the American public. Yet somehow it’s Bush who lied? Bush who deceived us?

Whatever happens to Iraq from this moment on is in God’s Hands. President Bush did his part; and in the twilight of his presidency, accomplished his final mission: Success and victory in Iraq.

Brothers at War, by Jake Rademacher, opened in selected theaters last Friday. Click here to find out how to bring the movie to a local theater near you.

Here’s a scene from the film:

Synopsis:

BROTHERS AT WAR is an intimate portrait of an American family during a turbulent time. Jake Rademacher sets out to understand the experience, sacrifice, and motivation of his two brothers serving in Iraq. The film follows Jake’s exploits as he risks everything—including his life—to tell his brothers’ story. Often humorous, but sometimes downright lethal, BROTHERS AT WAR is a remarkable journey where Jake embeds with four combat units in Iraq. Unprecedented access to U.S. and Iraqi combat units take him behind the camouflage curtain with secret reconnaissance troops on the Syrian border, into sniper “Hide Sites” in the Sunni Triangle, through raging machine gun battles with the Iraqi Army. Ultimately, the film follows his brothers home where separations and life-threatening work ripple through their parents, siblings, wives and children. BROTHERS AT WAR provides a rare look at the bonds and service of our soldiers on the frontlines and the profound effects their service has on the loved ones they leave behind.

While driving home Thursday night, I heard part of the Rademachers’ interview on The Dennis Miller Show, with guest-host Andrew Breitbart. I believe much of the footage takes place in pre-surge 2005-6, and heard Isaac Rademacher say that Jake captured some of what became a turning point in the war, through the Anbar Awakening and our military’s part in cultivating that.

Actually, here’s the beauty of the internet: Listen to the radio program here (About an hour into the program).

From NewsBusters:

U.S. soldiers would go to great lengths to avoid collateral damage so innocents were not caught in the middle of any engagements.

“When the enemy is preparing an attack you see the civilians disperse and there is quietness that is unusual and we can just tell something is wrong,” he said. “We found that Iraqis want peace just like the Americans, they care about their children and they are trying to stand up a government and this is a difficult project. Because we made every effort to avoid collateral damage it was easier for us to neutralize the enemy.”

The transformation of the Anbar Province that became evident in 2007 was in many respects the result of the partnership U.S. forces had fostered with local citizens and tribal leaders while the insurgency was still raging in the preceding years, Isaac explained.

“The Iraqis don’t blame us for the violence they blame the terrorists and insurgents,” he said. “Anbar now belongs to the Iraqis. There has been an awakening and they are standing up for their own country.”

From Roger Ebert’s review:

It’s not pro or anti-war, although obviously the two brothers fighting there support it. It is simply about men and women. The film is about the men in the Rademacher family from Downstate Decatur. Jake, the oldest, always planned to go into the military, but didn’t make it into West Point and found himself as an actor. Isaac, the next, graduated top of his class at West Point and married his classmate Jenny. Joe, next in line, enlisted and was top of his class at Army Ranger school. The brothers were very close growing up, but Jake sensed a distance growing as they came home on leave. He felt he could never know their experience.

What Jake decided to do was visit them in Iraq and film a documentary of them at work — easier, because Sgt. Joe was assigned to Capt. Isaac’s unit. This sounds simple enough, but it involved investment, logistical problems and danger under fire. The result is a film that benefits from an inside view, as Jake is attached to Isaac’s group and follows them for extended periods under fire in the Sunni Triangle and on patrol on the Syrian border. It is clear that the brothers are expert soldiers.

But this is not a war film. It is a life film, and its scenes filmed at home are no less powerful than those filmed in Iraq.

~~~

I’ve reviewed many documentaries about Iraq. All of them have been anti-war. “Why don’t you ever review a pro-war documentary?” readers have asked me. The answer is simple: There haven’t been any. There still aren’t, because no one in this film argues in favor of the war — or against it, either. What you hear is guarded optimism, pride in the work, loyalty to the service. This is deep patriotism. It involves risking your life for your country out of a sense of duty.

NewsBusters:

“It is important for all Americans, not just military families, to watch this film so they can come to understand what is being done on their behalf on a day to day basis, Ratzenberger said in a brief interview.

So on to some news from Iraq. First some infrastructure stuff:

Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq focuses on future: operations, maintenance, sustainment

With more than 4,400 projects completed, and many major reconstruction programs of the Gulf Region Division (GRD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, concluding, GRD’s Operations, Maintenance and Sustainment (OMS) program is gaining ground and increased significance.

The OMS program is aimed at supporting the U.S. Embassy’s goals to ensure the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people are properly prepared to operate and maintain the country’s new infrastructure, and assume responsibility for the nation’s continued reconstruction.

The focus began to morph in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, according to Steve Rivera, deputy of GRD’s reconstruction division. “We began to see indications that focus was moving away from brick and mortar construction and towards training initiatives. We saw this reinforced when Ambassador Crocker and Gen. Petraeus, testified in front of Congress,” he said.

~~~

“For every facility that GRD completes there is a letter of acceptability signed by the government of Iraq,” Rivera explained. “Included in that agreement is a letter of sustainability, where the government of Iraq agrees to take responsibility of operations and maintenance (O&M) for the facility. That willingness to take responsibility for O&M is part of the cost-sharing agreement between Iraq and the United States.”

Iraqi Army’s General Transportation Regiment Conducts First Port to Depot Mission

The Iraq Army General Transportation Regiment achieved a major milestone by completing its first port to depot mission. The GTR transported Serbian equipment, consisting of body armor and plates, from the Port of Umm Quasar to Taji National Depot March 09. This is the first time the GTR has utilized elements from three or more companies. The mission entailed 42 vehicles to including a security element. This convoy signals the completion of one of the two main missions required of the GTR.

Iraqi Col. Mohammed, Commander, General Transportation Regiment said, “This is a great day for the Iraqi Army and a great day for the GTR!”

US Army, Lt. Col Paul Scheidler, RSG Senior Advisor added, “This move is important since it demonstrates one capability of the two main GTR missions.”

The GTR stood up in September 2008. The establishment of the GTR is critical to the foundation of a viable distribution system throughout Iraq. The GTR will enable the flow of supplies from ports to depots, 4th line support, and from depots to location commands, 3rd line support, for further distribution to the Divisions and below.

Kirkuk silo upgrades to boost region’s agriculture, economy:

Kirkuk has started a new construction project that will help the province more efficiently manage its agricultural production. The project was commemorated by a ground-breaking ceremony March 10 to expand the capability of the grain silo in Kirkuk city.

The renovations will drastically improve the capacity of the Kirkuk grain silo, which is expected to assist farmers in future droughts.

“Kirkuk is one of the major centers of the growth and production of grain,” said Jim Vancura, senior agricultural advisor for Forward Operating Base Warrior’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. “This silo really is a key node in agricultural production in Kirkuk province.”

The present production level at the silo is 35 metric tons of grain per hour.

“We are trying to bring (the production level) up to a 100 metric ton-per-hour capacity, which will enable them to process more grain over a shorter period of time,” Vancura said.

Kalamat Village now has fresh drinking water:

A local boy fills water jugs for his family at the water filtration facility ribbon-cutting ceremony in Kalamat Village, Iraq, March 9.

Thanks to an Iraqi Commanders Emergency Response Program water filtration project, residents of Kalamat Village now have clean drinking water at the flick of a switch right in the heart of their village.

Previously, village residents had to travel eight kilometers on dusty dirt roads to fill plastic containers with drinking water in nearby Badra.

“We want to thank Coalition forces and the Iraqi company that provided the filtration system,” said Jameel Bashar, a Kalamat resident. “Now we can drink really good, clean drinking water.”

The project began when a civil affairs team visited the village and asked the sheikh how they could help. That team was replaced by Civil Affairs Team 641, who continued the effort.

“This village needed a lot of help, and the sheikh explained the difficulties of getting drinking water to the village, especially when it rains in the winter, which sometimes washes out the road,” said Capt. Eric Currence, CAT 641 commander.

To commemorate the completion of the $59,000 project, Currence and Bashar, the sheikh’s brother and representative for the village, cut the ribbon on the facility March 9.

Fourteen new tractors given to Lutifiyah farmers:

Baghdad Soldiers presented 14 new tractors to local Sheiks from the Lutifiyah Nahia during a ceremony held at Combat Outpost Meade March 5.

Each Arma Trac 602 tractor should help to cultivate an area over 25,000,000 square feet.

Troops from Task Force 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division used funds from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program to purchase 14 new tractors.

“When we were first asked [by the Lutifiyah council], we immediately wanted to help,” said Lt. Col. Michael Mammay, commander, TF 4-27 FA. “Agriculture is very important in helping this area.”

Since November, the battalion leadership has worked on transporting these tractors from Turkey to the farmers who need them. Throughout the effort, the council has continued to help the Coalition forces daily in their efforts to secure a safe Iraq.

The improving security situation and decreased attacks against Coalition forces, Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi people, and it has allowed the local government of the Lutifiyah Nahia to continue improving the economy for a better quality of life. The tractors will allow local farmers to grow crops and contribute to the stability of the Nahia.

Some warfighting stuff:

Hundreds Graduate From Iraqi Warfighter Training Course :

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Hughe McNeely, the deputy commanding officer with the 2nd Cavalry Division, 1st Brigade Combat Team, takes time to talk to local children while on patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq, March 11.

More than 600 Iraqi Army soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 15th Brigade, 12th Division graduated from an intense month long Battalion Collective Training, or Warfighter training at the K1 Regional Training Center here March 12, 2009.

According to Iraqi Army Staff Lt. Gen. Husayn Jasim Dohi, deputy chief of staff for training, the soldiers received small and intermediate weapons training, IED awareness and prevention training and check point procedures training. The battalion also practiced patrolling in a MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain), that simulated a village with homes and a hospital. The soldiers also had ethics training. “Good training without values is not good. You become an army of criminals and the people don’t respect you,” Husayn told his officers.

The Warfighter training course will be taught to Iraq’s soldiers in a process that will bring a single standard of professionalism to the army, according to U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq Joint Headquarters Army Advisory Training Team. Speaking during a briefing with senior Iraqi and Coalition officers, Salazar reminded the group that, “The training is hard. It’s supposed to be hard; you are supposed to get dirty. We’re not here to make it easy. We’re here to train soldiers.” Husayn agreed and quoted an old Iraqi saying, “Follow the man who makes you cry, not the man who makes you laugh and you will be stronger for it.”

Some law enforcement stuff:

National police train to protect Iraq’s people, resources:

U.S. Army Capt. Michael Langan of national police Transition Team “Team Tomahawk,” instructs police from the 2nd National Police Battalion, Basrah Brigade in proper detainee searches at the National Police headquarters’ in Rumaylah, March 11.

Spc. Paul Cuellar, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, has been working at a local movie and supply shop. As part of the Iraqi Business Initiative, he provides escort and force protection in order to encourage Iraqi self-reliance. During his time at the shop, Cuellar has made new friends with the shop workers, giving a great impression of U.S. Soldiers to the local population.

The 2nd National Police Battalion, Basra Brigade patrols the roads and pipelines that move Iraq’s oil resources daily, and on March 11 at their Rumaylah headquarters, they trained to improve their police officer skills.

Their day started with running as part of their physical conditioning program prior to getting into the day’s training, which included effective search of detainees and evidence collection.

Searching detainees and collecting evidence at the scene can be essential for safety and for establishing culpability of those who would steal or disrupt the peace in the NP’s area of responsibility.

The mission of the 2nd NP Battalion is to protect the Iraqi oil infrastructure and secure the highways in their sector, which spreads to as far north as the Euphrates river and southwest of the city of Al Zubayr. This includes protecting oil for in-country use and oil for export that converges at Ramaylah and goes on to Al Faw for international exportation.

Mahmudiyah judges, Iraqi Police meet to discuss rule of law:

Mahmudiyah Iraqi police take notes while listening to Iraqi judges from their district during a training meeting held to teach the IP investigative techniques and the criminal justice process in Mahmudiyah, March 12. The meeting was the first between the two groups.

Iraqi judges from Mahmudiyah met with local Iraqi Police to learn proper investigative techniques in order to protect human rights and adhere to the rule of law at the Mahmudiyah public library in Mahmudiyah March 12.

Brig. Gen. Abed, Mahmudiyah IP district commander, and Brig. Gen. Talib, IP battalion deputy commander, brought 40-50 IP to the conference with judges from the Mahmudiyah court house. The meeting was the first between the two groups.

“This was a historic event for Mahmudiyah, and a true sign of progress that the IP and [Iraqi judges] were talking to each other. Investigative training for the IPs has been conducted successfully in other provinces, but this is the first time that it has happened in Mahmudiyah and it shows what can happen when there are good security conditions in the Qada,” said Capt. Jamie Rodriguez, Judge Advocate General attorney, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division- Baghdad.

Another goal of the conference was to start a dialogue between the local Judges and the IPs in the Mahmudiyah area, with the desired effect of having more arrests and convictions based on good forensics and police investigation. The IP currently have many new recruits who may not understand proper evidence collection techniques, and don’t communicate with the judges.

Some healthcare stuff:

Diwaniyah welcomes new Primary Healthcare Center

Iraqi soldiers from the 8th Division, Iraqi army, unload a simulated casualty from a UH-60 Blackhawk during air assault and medical evacuation training on Camp Echo, Iraq, March 12. The soldiers train constantly to maintain their combat readiness.

Local townspeople, Iraqi and American officials joined together March 8 to mark the opening of the new Al Jumhoury Primary Healthcare Clinic in Diwaniyah.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Abdulameer al-Obaidy, Diwaniyah’s director general of health, thanked the local Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division (GRD), and the Iraqi contractor for their efforts in building such a quality facility.

Ahmed A. Razak, a senior Iraqi deputy resident engineer with GRD, pointed out that the state-of-the-art clinic includes four doctors’ offices with adjoining exam rooms, two dental exam rooms, an x-ray room, a laboratory, a pharmacy, two treatment rooms, and a classroom. “It is designed to provide basic medical care for this neighborhood’s 15,000 residents, and offers advanced diagnostic and monitoring capabilities for acute and chronic illnesses,” Razak added.

And education:

Rusafa officials celebrate school renovation

Iraqi national police carry supplies into a school in Shawra Wa Um Jidir, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 8. Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, are visiting local schools to distribute supplies.

Iraqi schoolboys line up to receive book bags from Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, in Shawra Wa Um Jidir, eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 8. Iraqi national police and U.S. Soldiers are visiting local schools to distribute supplies.

District leaders, school administrators, Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad paratroopers celebrated the completion of a school renovation March 3 in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad.

Faysal Jasim Mohammad, Rusafa Deputy District Council Chairman, along with Al-Moutasam Kindergarten officials, commemorated the reopening of its school with a party. Mohammad cut a ceremonial ribbon to officially reopen the school.

Following cheers and applause, attendees walked through the school to see the improvements made. ISF, along with paratroopers assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attended the event as a sign of partnership with the district of Rusafa and its citizens.

The construction of a new art facility was the main project in the school’s revitalization efforts. Other refurbishments included fixing plumbing and electrical systems, replacing classroom doors, installing new windows and painting the facility.

And finally the various successful operations performed by our troops and the Iraqi army:

Iraqi Army uncovers weapons cache in Diyala

Soldiers from the 18th Iraqi Army Brigade, 5th Division, working alongside U.S. Soldiers with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, uncovered a weapons cache in Diyala province, Iraq, March 5.

The cache included 47 blasting caps, 36 pressure plates,10 pounds of homemade explosives, nine rockets, two bags of propellant, and two hand grenades.

The cache was discovered while Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces investigated a site where a cache was previously found.

“This discovery marks a significant step forward for the Iraqi Army,” said 1/25th SBCT spokesman Maj. Chris Hyde. “With every cache they find, Iraqi Security Forces become better and better at maintaining a consistent and comprehensive appraisal of their area of operations, particularly when monitoring historic sites for weapons caches.”

ISF discover explosive in Kadhamiyah

After receiving a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen, Iraqi Security Forces discovered an improvised explosive device March 10 in the Kadhamiyah district of northwest Baghdad.

Officers from the 2nd Unity Battalion discovered the IED beneath the driver’s seat of the Iraqi citizen’s vehicle at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Another Kirkuk weapons cache discovered

A team of Iraqi and U.S. Army Soldiers discovered a weapons cache near the village of Thalaw, March 6. This was the second cache discovered in Kirkuk in less than a week.

The weapons cache included grenades, rockets, 82mm and 60mm mortars, a machine gun, a rocket propelled grenade launcher and various types of small arms ammunition.

The cache was safely disposed of by a joint Iraqi and U.S. Army explosive ordinance detachment team.

“What was really impressive was how prepared the Iraqi Army Soldiers were,” said Cpt. Cory Clayton, company commander, E Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “Their analysis was detailed and accurate; they conducted very professional rehearsals and found two of the three holes using their own equipment.”

IA mission finds caches, known bomb maker

Iraqi and Coalition forces detained a known bomb maker and discovered hidden weapons in the village of Murbat-Garha March 7.

~~~

According to Lt. Col. Andy Shoffner, commander, 4th Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt , the IA and CF had warrants for suspected insurgents wanted by the Government of Iraq. The force was also searching for hidden weapons caches that might be used for insurgent activities in the region.

“The IA went into the village, cordoned off the town, and detained10 individuals as they were attempting to flee the town,” said 2nd Lt. Gen Mui, assistant operations officer, 4th Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt

“One of the individuals captured was on the wanted list,” said Shoffner. “He was a known bomb maker and was wanted by the government in Baghdad as well.”

The Soldiers also uncovered a weapons cache from an irrigation ditch in a farmer’s field which contained a 120 mm artillery round, an automatic weapon and a video.

The IA planned and executed the operation, which showed their progress at conducting military operations with minimal support from CF.

Saqlawiya Provisional Security Forces find multiple caches

Saqlawiya Provisional Security Forces discovered multiple weapon caches during a two-day, partnered cache sweep northwest of Fallujah with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, March 8 and 9.

The eight total cache sites yielded 165 grenades and rockets, nearly 40 mortar rounds, 14 artillery rounds, several hundred rounds of small arms and anti-aircraft ammunition, more than 225 pounds of rocket propellant and explosives, various weapons accessories, and a large stockpile of components normally used to create roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices.

All this news from the last seven days. None of it you would know about unless you purposely went and dug for it.