THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, ELEVENTH THREAD

We don't know what will happen if we stay let along if we leave. One thing that will not happen is Al Qaeda will not take over the country as Bush has suggested. They are a minority among a minority. If the Sunnis and Shiites make peace Al Qaeda will be expelled from the country.

As long as we are in that country we will be a catalyst for terrorist. Our presence will not make anything better, only worse. The Iraqis will have to work out this problem themselves. When they get sick and tired of killing each other they will sit down, negotiate, compromise and settle their differences. I don't see that happening as long as we are there. We are a virus, outsiders, the infidels in a place we have no right to be in.

If we are going to destroy Al Qaeda we are not going to do it in Iraq. It has to be done in Afghanistan. We had that chance and Bush blew it.

Today Bush is the greatest ally Al Qaeda has. Without his rigid ideological obsession to invade Iraq we could have wiped Al Qaeda off the map. But his invasion of Iraq has made Al Qaeda stronger by making Muslims hate us more.

Today Al Qaeda and the Teliban are making a comeback and our military commanders want more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush's adventure into Iraq has made America look like an ass. Here we are, the worlds greatest power, bogged down in a third world country unable to defeat a minority faction and facing an endless occupation that is killing and maiming thousands of our soldiers.

So what did tens of thousands of dead and maimed Americans and $400 billion get us? A stronger Al Qaeda, a stronger Teliban and a union of Iraqi and Iranian Shiites to threaten the Sunnis in the Middle East, not to mention a resurgence of Kurd terrorism against Turkey and Iran, both of whom have threaten to invade Kurdish Iraq to stop their terrorist activities.

And no end in sight. It just gets worse every day we are there.

xingu, your entire post is composed of the standard Soros Gang, malarkey filled diatribe.

Last week, I provided here a preponderance of evidence that al-Qaeda in Iraq, an affiliate of the worldwide al-Qaeda confederation, is the major, and not the minor, fomenter and perpetrator of the mass murders of Iraqi non-murderers, and has been based in Iraq since more than a year prior to our invasion of Iraq.

When I have time I'll post the specific able2know link to that evidence.

Posted: Fri 02 Mar, 2007 11:24 am Post: 2546547 -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION
Is al-Qaeda an international confederation of terrorist organizations?

ANSWER
Yes!

emphasis added
Quote:

http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.htm
2

THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM


2.1 A DECLARATION OF WAR
In February 1998, the 40-year-old Saudi exile Usama Bin Ladin and a fugitive Egyptian physician, Ayman al Zawahiri, arranged from their Afghan headquarters for an Arabic newspaper in London to publish what they termed a fatwa issued in the name of a "World Islamic Front." A fatwa is normally an interpretation of Islamic law by a respected Islamic authority, but neither Bin Ladin, Zawahiri, nor the three others who signed this statement were scholars of Islamic law. Claiming that America had declared war against God and his messenger, they called for the murder of any American, anywhere on earth, as the "individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it."1

Three months later, when interviewed in Afghanistan by ABC-TV, Bin Ladin enlarged on these themes.2 He claimed it was more important for Muslims to kill Americans than to kill other infidels. "It is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to squander his efforts on other activities," he said. Asked whether he approved of terrorism and of attacks on civilians, he replied: "We believe that the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists are the Americans. Nothing could stop you except perhaps retaliation in kind. We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets."

...
Plans to attack the United States were developed with unwavering single-mindedness throughout the 1990s. Bin Ladin saw himself as called "to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger and to communicate his message to all nations,"5 and to serve as the rallying point and organizer of a new kind of war to destroy America and bring the world to Islam.

...

2.3 THE RISE OF BIN LADIN AND AL QAEDA (1988-1992)
...

Bin Ladin understood better than most of the volunteers the extent to which the continuation and eventual success of the jihad in Afghanistan depended on an increasingly complex, almost worldwide organization. This organization included a financial support network that came to be known as the "Golden Chain," put together mainly by financiers in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states. Donations flowed through charities or other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Bin Ladin and the "Afghan Arabs" drew largely on funds raised by this network, whose agents roamed world markets to buy arms and supplies for the mujahideen, or "holy warriors."21

...

Bin Ladin now had a vision of himself as head of an international jihad confederation. In Sudan, he established an "Islamic Army Shura" that was to serve as the coordinating body for the consortium of terrorist groups with which he was forging alliances. It was composed of his own al Qaeda Shura together with leaders or representatives of terrorist organizations that were still independent. In building this Islamic army, he enlisted groups from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Somalia, and Eritrea. Al Qaeda also established cooperative but less formal relationships with other extremist groups from these same countries; from the African states of Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda; and from the Southeast Asian states of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Bin Ladin maintained connections in the Bosnian conflict as well.37 The groundwork for a true global terrorist network was being laid.

...

Bin Ladin seemed willing to include in the confederation terrorists from almost every corner of the Muslim world. His vision mirrored that of Sudan's Islamist leader, Turabi, who convened a series of meetings under the label Popular Arab and Islamic Conference around the time of Bin Ladin's arrival in that country. Delegations of violent Islamist extremists came from all the groups represented in Bin Ladin's Islamic Army Shura. Representatives also came from organizations such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, and Hezbollah.51

...

2.5 AL QAEDA'S RENEWAL IN AFGHANISTAN (1996-1998)

...

The Taliban seemed to open the doors to all who wanted to come to Afghanistan to train in the camps. The alliance with the Taliban provided al Qaeda a sanctuary in which to train and indoctrinate fighters and terrorists, import weapons, forge ties with other jihad groups and leaders, and plot and staff terrorist schemes. While Bin Ladin maintained his own al Qaeda guesthouses and camps for vetting and training recruits, he also provided support to and benefited from the broad infrastructure of such facilities in Afghanistan made available to the global network of Islamist movements. U.S. intelligence estimates put the total number of fighters who underwent instruction in Bin Ladin-supported camps in Afghanistan from 1996 through 9/11 at 10,000 to 20,000.78

...

Now effectively merged with Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad,82 al Qaeda promised to become the general headquarters for international terrorism, without the need for the Islamic Army Shura. Bin Ladin was prepared to pick up where he had left off in Sudan. He was ready to strike at "the head of the snake."

...

On February 23, 1998, Bin Ladin issued his public fatwa. The language had been in negotiation for some time, as part of the merger under way between Bin Ladin's organization and Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Less than a month after the publication of the fatwa, the teams that were to carry out the embassy attacks were being pulled together in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The timing and content of their instructions indicate that the decision to launch the attacks had been made by the time the fatwa was issued.88

...

The attack on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi destroyed the embassy and killed 12 Americans and 201 others, almost all Kenyans. About 5,000 people were injured. The attack on the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam killed 11 more people, none of them Americans. Interviewed later about the deaths of the Africans, Bin Ladin answered that "when it becomes apparent that it would be impossible to repel these Americans without assaulting them, even if this involved the killing of Muslims, this is permissible under Islam." Asked if he had indeed masterminded these bombings, Bin Ladin said that the World Islamic Front for jihad against "Jews and Crusaders" had issued a "crystal clear" fatwa. If the instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans to liberate the holy places "is considered a crime," he said, "let history be a witness that I am a criminal."93

...

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
The Commission closed on August 21, 2004. This site is archived.


QUESTION
Is al-Qaeda an international confederation of terrorist organizations?

ANSWER
Yes!

_________________
At birth all people are endowed by God with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People who deny others any of these rights also deny them to themselves.
Theist individualists seek freedom; Atheist collectivists seek power.



ican711nm
Veteran Member



Joined: 30 Jul 2003
Posts: 6567
Location: Texas
Posted: Fri 02 Mar, 2007 11:28 am Post: 2546554 -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ican711nm wrote:
THE MASS MURDERERS OF IRAQI NON-MURDERERS ARE THE ONES WHO CAUSED THE 23,482 DEATHS OF IRAQI NON-MURDERERS IN 2006.

Quote:
Al-Badri was "a known terrorist," a member of Ansar al-Sunna before he joined terror group al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Rubaie said.

However, Iraqi authorities "were not aware of his being the mastermind behind the golden mosque explosion" until Abu Qudama's arrest, al-Rubaie said.

"The sole reason behind his action was to drive a wedge between the Shiites and Sunnis and to ignite and trigger a sectarian war in this country," al-Rubaie said, referring to al-Badri.



Quote:
In Baghdad, National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie blamed religious zealots such as the al-Qaida terror network, telling Al-Arabiya television that the attack was an attempt "to pull Iraq toward civil war."

President Jalal Talabani condemned the attack and called for restraint, saying the attack was designed to sabotage talks on a government of national unity following the Dec. 15 parliamentary election.


Quote:
*The war in Iraq is central to al Qa'ida's global jihad.
*The war will not end with an American departure.
*The strategic vision is one of inevitable conflict with a call by al-Zawahiri for political action equal to military action.
*More than half the struggle is taking place "in the battlefield of the media."



_________________
At birth all people are endowed by God with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People who deny others any of these rights also deny them to themselves.
Theist individualists seek freedom; Atheist collectivists seek power.



ican711nm
Veteran Member



Joined: 30 Jul 2003
Posts: 6567
Location: Texas
Posted: Fri 02 Mar, 2007 11:46 am Post: 2546598 -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:

http://intelligence.senate.gov/phaseiiaccuracy.pdf
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 together with ADDITIONAL VIEWS; 09/08/2006.
...
Computer page 112 of 151 pages (report page 109):
Conclusion 6. Postwar information indicates that the Intelligence Community accurately assessed that al-Qa'ida affiliate group Ansar al-Islam operated in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Iraq, an area that Baghadha had not controlled since 1991.

Quote:
American Soldier," by General Tommy Franks, 7/1/2004
"10" Regan Books, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

page 483:
"The air picture changed once more. Now the icons were streaming toward two ridges an a steep valley in far northeastern Iraq, right on the border with Iran. These were the camps of the Ansar al-Isla terrorists, where al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Zarqawi had trained disciples in the use of chemical and biological weapons. But this strike was more than just another [Tomahawk Land Attack Missile] bashing. Soon Special Forces and [Special Mission Unit] operators, leading Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, would be storming the camps, collecting evidence, taking prisoners, and killing all those who resisted."

page 519:
"[The Marines] also encountered several hundred foreign fighters from Egypt, the Sudan, Syria, and Lybia who were being trained by the regime in a camp south of Baghdad. Those foreign volunteers fought with suicidal ferocity, but they did not fight well. The Marines killed them all."

Quote:

www.dni.gov/release_letter_101105.html
A summary of Letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi July 9, 2005.
*The war in Iraq is central to al Qa'ida's global jihad.
*The war will not end with an American departure.
*The strategic vision is one of inevitable conflict with a call by al-Zawahiri for political action equal to military action.
*More than half the struggle is taking place "in the battlefield of the media."
*Popular support must be maintained at least until jihadist rule has been established.


_________________
At birth all people are endowed by God with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. People who deny others any of these rights also deny them to themselves.
Theist individualists seek freedom; Atheist collectivists seek power.



ican711nm
Veteran Member



Joined: 30 Jul 2003
Posts: 6567
Location: Texas
Posted: Fri 02 Mar, 2007 12:34 pm Post: 2546674 -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-11-10-iraq_x.htm?csp=34
Al-Qaeda in Iraq taunts Bush, claims it's winning war
Updated 11/10/2006 2:33 PM

BAGHDAD (AP) — A recording Friday attributed to the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq mocked U.S. President George W. Bush as a coward whose conduct of the war had been rejected by U.S. voters, challenging him to keep American troops in the country to face more bloodshed.
"We haven't had enough of your blood yet," terror chieftain Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, identified as the speaker on the tape, said as he claimed to have 12,000 fighters under his command who "have vowed to die for God's sake."

The Egyptian said his fighters would not rest until they blew up the White House and occupied Jerusalem.

It was impossible to verify the authenticity of the 20-minute recording, posted on a website used by Islamic militants.

Al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, boasted that al-Qaeda in Iraq was moving toward victory faster than expected because of Bush's mistakes.
...


Quote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/iraq_dc
Dozens of al Qaeda killed in Anbar: Iraq police By Waleed Ibrahim and Ibon Villelabeitia
Thu Mar 1, 3:17 PM ET [2007]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces killed dozens of al Qaeda militants who attacked a village in western Anbar province on Wednesday, during fierce clashes that lasted much of the day, police officials said on Thursday.

Sunni tribal leaders are involved in a growing power struggle with Sunni al Qaeda for control of Anbar, a vast desert province that is the heart of the Sunni Arab insurgency in Iraq.

In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi troops are engaged in a security crackdown to stop bloodshed between Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs.

U.S. and Iraqi military officials said troops would soon launch aggressive operations to seize weapons and hunt gunmen in the Shi'ite militia bastion of Sadr City, signaling resolve to press ahead with the plan even in sensitive areas.

Dozens of loud explosions that sounded like mortar bombs rocked southern Baghdad in quick succession on Thursday evening, Reuters witnesses said.

Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier Qassim Moussawi said the blasts were part of the new security offensive, Iraqiya state television reported, without giving details. A U.S. military spokeswoman said she had no information on the explosions.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf said foreign Arabs and Afghans were among some 80 militants killed and 50 captured in the clashes in Amiriyat al Falluja, an Anbar village where local tribes had opposed al Qaeda.

A police official in the area, Ahmed al-Falluji, put the number of militants killed at 70, with three police officers killed. There was no immediate verification of the numbers.

A U.S. military spokesman in the nearby city of Falluja, Major Jeff Pool, said U.S. forces were not involved in the battle but had received reports from Iraqi police that it lasted most of Wednesday. He could not confirm the number killed.

Another police source in Falluja put the figure at dozens.

"Because it was so many killed we can't give an exact number for the death toll," the police source told Reuters.

Witnesses said dozens of al Qaeda members attacked the village, prompting residents to flee and seek help from Iraqi security forces, who sent in police and soldiers.

Bombers massacre Shiite pilgrims in Iraq



This article along with many others since this surge started only goes to prove

This.

I might point out to you that AQ in Iraq is now stronger than ever because of Bush's invasion of Iraq. Bush has helped AQ, not hurt it.

Also, as active as they are in Iraq, they are a minority among the Sunnis and are only tolerated by them because the have a common enemy.

I may also point out that any fatwa issued by AQ is meaningless if Muslims ignore it. Bush's invasion of Iraq has made Muslims worldwide hate us more so any fatwa's issued by AQ will now have more support than they did just after 9/11 when most of the Muslim world sympathized and supported us. However, even today, a majority of worldwide Muslims still do not support AQ.

I may also point out that AQ is not an organization that can invade and overthrow any country, even Iraq. They thrive in environments that idiots like our current president created in Iraq. But they thrive only as a small terrorist group, not a large army that can sweep through a country and conquer it.

AQ would have very well been history if Bush had elected to put most of our resources into destroying AQ and the Teliban in Afghanistan. Instead he allowed them to survive and thrive so today they are making a resurgence and Afghanistan is now a disaster that will claim more American lives and money.

George Bush is a failure in Afghanistan, in Iraq and on the War against Terrorism. He has been a disaster for this country because this man is ruled by ideology, not common sense.

ican's coments


I might point out to you that AQ in Iraq is now stronger than ever because of Bush's invasion of Iraq. Bush has helped AQ, not hurt it.

This is more of the standard Soros gang's stupid polemic. You don't know what the strength of al-Qaeda in Iraq would be now if we hadn't invaded. We know for a fact that from December 2001, when al-Qaeda established sanctuaries in Iraq, to March 2003, when the US invaded Iraq, al-Qaeda grew at least as fast as it did in the first year after it established sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Also, we know that many of the al-Qaeda fled our troops in Afganistan for Iraq in December 2001.

Also, as active as they are in Iraq, they are a minority among the Sunnis and are only tolerated by them because the have a common enemy.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is no more tolerated by civilized Sunnis than it is by civilized Shiites. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is killing both to foment permanent hatred between Sunnis and Shiites to ensure that a non-al-Qaeda governent is never established in Iraq.

I may also point out that any fatwa issued by AQ is meaningless if Muslims ignore it. Bush's invasion of Iraq has made Muslims worldwide hate us more so any fatwa's issued by AQ will now have more support than they did just after 9/11 when most of the Muslim world sympathized and supported us. However, even today, a majority of worldwide Muslims still do not support AQ.

You don't know this. This is just more of the standard Soros gang's stupid polemic. When we succeed in helping the Iraqis people arrive at the point they can defend themselves, the Muslim world will probably be very appreciative.

I may also point out that AQ is not an organization that can invade and overthrow any country, even Iraq. They thrive in environments that idiots like our current president created in Iraq. But they thrive only as a small terrorist group, not a large army that can sweep through a country and conquer it.

This is more of the standard Soros gang's stupid polemic. In Afghanistan, al-Qaeda had trained 10 to 20-thousand, before we invaded. Al-Qaeda is currently a worldwide confederation of terrorist groups--not a small terrorist group.

AQ would have very well been history if Bush had elected to put most of our resources into destroying AQ and the Teliban in Afghanistan. Instead he allowed them to survive and thrive so today they are making a resurgence and Afghanistan is now a disaster that will claim more American lives and money.

This is more of the standard Soros gang's stupid polemic. Bush allowed them to survive and thrive Gad that's dumb. Al-Qaeda fled Afghanistan for neighboring countries including Iraq. Oh, you probably are convinced that because Bush invaded Iraq, a country to which al-Qaeda fled from Afghanistan, his administration possessed the means to prevent that flight. Damn that's dumb.

George Bush is a failure in Afghanistan, in Iraq and on the War against Terrorism. He has been a disaster for this country because this man is ruled by ideology, not common sense.

George Bush is not our principal problem. The Soros gang, its fellow travelers and sympathsizers are our principal problem. They are responsible for giving al-Qaeda the conviction that Americans are a bunch of carping cowards, unwilling and unable to persist in defending themselves for long. Al-Qaeda leaders have repeatedly said as much.[/quote]

Apparently not. The 'reasoned judgments' made by yourself and those like you who run the gov't have turned out to be inaccurate at best.

I don't trust any 'reasoned judgements' from them or you. There is no good reason to.

Cyclotpichorn

I don't trust your judgment, reasoned or otherwise.

(1) you have repeatedly stated the stupid assertion that one cannot prove a negative;
(2) You have repeatedly made the ignorant claim that al-Qaeda has contributed little to the 2006 and current mass murders of non-murderers in Iraq;
(3) You have claimed al-Qaeda was caused to be in Iraq by the American invasion of Iraq;
(4) You have claimed the Bush administration is responsible for the mass murders of non-murders perpetrated in Iraq since we invaded Iraq.

Who cares whose judgment you trust? War supporters such as yourself become more and more marginalized by the day, where as war opponents such as myself grow in strength and numbers.

You are losing the battle against your ideological opponents, and you are losing it because your platforms are built on a terrible lack of understanding of the fundamental nature of humanity.

It doesn't affect me that you wish to either believe, or choose to post, lies about my position. If you had proof, you'd link to specific comments. You don't, so it's merely entertaining to watch you flail about.

Cycloptichorn

This administration will continue the rhetoric that this new surge is successful and showing progress. I wonder where we've been hearing this for the past four years?


From the NYT:

March 7, 2007
Scores of Shiites Killed in Iraq in 2nd Day of Strife

Progress
A Shared Stake in Iraq's Future
How the Oil Agreement Points the Way Forward

By Zalmay Khalilzad
Saturday, March 3, 2007; Page A15

Under the national hydrocarbon law approved this week by Iraq's Council of Ministers, oil will serve as a vehicle to unify Iraq and will give all Iraqis a shared stake in their country's future. This is a significant achievement for Iraqis' national reconciliation. It demonstrates that the leaders of Iraq's principal communities can pull together to peacefully resolve difficult issues of national importance.

Resolving concerns about control of oil is central to overcoming internal divisions in Iraq. The country has the third-largest oil reserves in the world, and more than 90 percent of federal income comes from oil revenue. The effective and equitable management of these resources is critical to economic growth as well as to developing a greater sense of shared purpose among Iraqi communities.

The goal of Iraq's leaders was to draft a law that ensured that all Iraqis could be confident they would receive their fair share of the benefits of developing the country's resources, that the revenue from oil and gas would enable a decentralization of power while maintaining national unity, and that Iraq would adopt the best international practices for the development and management of its mineral wealth. By these standards, the hydrocarbon law is a great success. It:


· Reaffirms that oil and gas resources are owned by all the people of Iraq and contains a firm commitment to revenue-sharing among regions and provinces on the basis of population.


· Establishes a predictable framework and processes for federal-regional cooperation that demonstrate the government's commitment to democracy and federalism.


· Creates a principal policymaking body for energy -- the Federal Council on Oil and Gas -- that will have representatives from all of Iraq's regions and oil-producing provinces.


· Ensures that all revenue from oil sales will go into a single national account and that provinces will receive direct shares of revenue, thereby significantly increasing local control of financial resources.


· Establishes international standards for transparency and mandates public disclosure of contracts and associated revenue and payments. This is essential to build confidence in the new political order and to counter corruption.

The law defines a role for the Oil Ministry that is primarily regulatory, which is the modern standard and which will also harness the market to achieve the optimal development of Iraq's resources. It provides the legal framework to enable international investment in Iraq's oil and gas sectors, a break from the statist and overcentralized practices of the past. It also requires best practices in environmental protection and field management and development, ensuring that the environment is not damaged and that hydrocarbon assets are not wasted by poor practices of the past.

While the draft law will need to be enacted by the Iraqi Council of Representatives when it returns from recess, the prospects for passage are excellent because all the major parliamentary blocs are represented in the cabinet. Companion legislation will be required in several areas, and Iraqi leaders hope to complete the entire package of hydrocarbon legislation by the end of May.

Arriving at this agreement was not easy. It has taken other countries years to complete such legislation. While negotiating this law presented special challenges for the federal government, the Kurdistan regional government and the leaders of key political blocs, the approval of the draft by the Council of Ministers sets a precedent for problem-solving and cooperation that is critical to the stabilization and development of Iraq.

This is the first time since 2003 that all major Iraqi communities have come together on a defining piece of legislation. A national reconciliation that stabilizes Iraq can be achieved if similar compromises are made on the future of de-Baathification and on amending the constitution. The agreement on the oil law should give us confidence that Iraqis are willing and able to take the steps needed for Iraq's success.

The writer is the U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

Pentagon deploys more troops to Baghdad
By LOLITA BALDOR, AP Military Writer
30 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has approved a request by the new U.S. commander in Iraq for an extra 2,200 military police to help deal with an anticipated increase in detainees during the Baghdad security crackdown, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. Gates also cited early indications that the Iraqi government is meeting the commitments it made to bolster security, although he cautioned that it was too early to reach any firm conclusions about the outcome.


"We're right at the very beginning," he told a Pentagon news conference. "But I would say that based in terms of whether the Iraqis are meeting the commitments that they've made to us in the security arena, I think that our view would be so far, so good." He was referring to the movement of additional Iraqi troops into the capital.

Gates said that the request for extra MPs is in addition to the 21,500 combat troops that President Bush is sending for the Baghdad security plan and 2,400 other troops designated to support them.

Gordon England, the deputy defense secretary, told Congress earlier this week that the number of required support troops could reach 7,000.
"That's a new requirement by a new commander," Gates said of the request for more MPs by Gen. David Petraeus, who assumed command in Baghdad last month. He added that there were other troop requests still being considered in the Pentagon; he gave no specifics.

Gates said it was not a surprise that Sunni insurgents have launched increased attacks in recent days.


28,500 more troops is still not enough by a big margin.

http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm

USA Today/Gallup Poll. March 2-4, 2007. N=1,010 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.


"Would you favor or oppose Congress taking each of the following actions in regards to the war in Iraq? How about [see below]?"

3/2-4/07
Favor = %
Oppose = %
Unsure = %

"Requiring U.S. troops to come home from Iraq if Iraq's leaders fail to meet promises to reduce violence there"

77
20
3

"Setting a time-table for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of next year"

60
39
1

"Voting to revoke the authority it granted President Bush in 2002 to use U.S. military force in Iraq"

44
52
4

"Denying the funding needed to send any additional U.S. troops to Iraq"

37
61
2


GO FIGURE!

As the world turns...

Bomber kills 30; 3 soldiers die in Iraq

"Would you favor or oppose Congress taking each of the following actions in regards to the war in Iraq? How about [see below]?"

"Requiring U.S. troops to come home from Iraq if Iraq's leaders fail to meet promises to reduce violence there"
.................Favor.......Oppose......Unsure
....................%..............%............%
3/2 - 4/07.....77..............20............3


From Washington Post:

Majority in Poll Favor Deadline For Iraq Pullout

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 27, 2007; A01



With Congress preparing for renewed debate over President Bush's Iraq policies, a majority of Americans now support setting a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from the war-torn nation and support putting new conditions on the military that could limit the number of personnel available for duty there, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Opposition to Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq remained strong. Two in three Americans registered their disapproval, with 56 percent saying they strongly object. The House recently passed a nonbinding resolution opposing the new deployments, but Republicans have blocked consideration of such a measure in the Senate.

Senate Democrats, led by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.) and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), are preparing another resolution that would have the effect of taking away the authority Bush was granted in 2002 to go to war. The measure would seek to have virtually all combat forces withdrawn from Iraq by the end of March 2008.

The Post-ABC poll found that 53 percent of Americans favored setting a deadline for troop withdrawals. Among those who favored a deadline, 24 percent said they would like to see U.S. forces out within six months and 21 percent called for the withdrawals to be completed within a year. The rest of those who supported a timetable said they do not support withdrawing all troops until at least a year from now.

Looks like none of these people are listening to the American People; the majority wants our troops home in one year. All they want are continued extensions to "stay the course."

Dems to seek withdrawal from Iraq by '08

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
14 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders intend to propose legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of 2008, and even earlier if the Iraqi government fails to meet security and other goals, congressional officials said Wednesday night.

The conditions, described as tentative until presented to the Democratic rank and file, would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the officials said.

The legislation is expected on the floor of the House later this month, and would mark the most direct challenge to date the new Democratic-controlled Congress has posed to the president's war policies. As such, it is likely to provoke a fierce response from the administration and its Republican allies in Congess.

So Soros and his gang is now responsible for all of our woes. What happen to Clinton?

You decide to find a new villain?