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| Iraq-Jordan |
| The Army Wins |
| 2004-10-06 |
| IN a remarkable display of skill, elements of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division and newly trained Iraqi national forces drove the terrorists from the city of Samarra last week. Killing over 100 of freedom's enemies and capturing many more, our troops lost a single soldier. The two-day sweep through Samarra incorporated lessons learned on the ground over the past several months — especially the need to win swiftly in urban settings. Our soldiers performed flawlessly under difficult conditions. Iraqi commandos, backed by our Special Forces, liberated two key mosques before a hostile media could intervene on terror's behalf. The city's population is glad that their oppressors are gone. Has Sen. Kerry acknowledged the performance of our troops? Has he thanked them? Of course not. The senator and his posse of defeatists resent American victories in the final weeks before our presidential election. We're supposed to lose, you understand. There's an enormous and troubling disconnect between the situation on the ground in Iraq and the portrait of disaster hawked by Kerry & Co. — abetted by the media. The victims of this disinformation campaign are our soldiers, the American people and the law-abiding citizens of Iraq. Indeed, the Dems have declared defeat so loudly and insistently that they've convinced much of the world that freedom's cause is lost in the Middle East. But let me tell you who isn't convinced: Our soldiers. Last week, I was privileged to speak to — and listen to — hundreds of U.S. Army officers and enlisted soldiers at the Land Combat Exposition in Heidelberg, Germany — the headquarters of our ground troops in Europe. Even I was surprised by the complete absence of griping. I did not hear a single criticism of our engagement in Iraq. Now, soldiers complain. It's a hallowed tradition. Yet, not one of the troops with whom I spoke suggested we were losing in Iraq. Those soldiers, from generals down to the junior enlisted ranks, are the ones who pay the bills that come due in blood. And they were proud to have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many were getting ready to go back. They believed in what their country asked them to do. But the most inspiring exchanges I had weren't with those in uniform. It was the military spouses, left behind while their loved ones went to war, who really got to me. I recall two splendid young women whose husbands serve in the same infantry battalion — the most dangerous of assignments — in Iraq's Sunni triangle. They went out of their way to let me know that they supported their husbands proudly and without reservation. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #15 Here's hoping that the soldier's (4 out of 5)put their vote where their belief in Bush is. |
| Posted by: RN 2004-10-06 3:52:47 PM |
| #14 What Peters writes about the soldiers attitudes is right on target. I have had the same experience. These guys know what they are doing and they are ready and willing to do their duty. I am constantly amazed at the quality of individuals who are in our armed forces. It is without question the highlight of my job to be able to spend time with these people. BTW: Kerry is a bum and 4 out of 5 active duty and reserve soldiers think so too. If that doesn't send a message to the American voter, I don't know what will. |
| Posted by: remote man 2004-10-06 3:37:28 PM |
| #13 I would like if Kerry apologized to the Viet vets and the POWs. He should then apologize to the rest of us for making us endure his and the rest of the MSM BS. He doesn't have it in him to thank the troops It wouldn't be enough for me. Kerry would not only have to apologize, he would also have to be reborn as a conservative, voting on all the right things in his senate seat. Slashing taxes and domestic spending, eliminate rules vote inposed on the CIA, maintianing a strong national defense, drilling in ANWR, vote to repeal all federal gun laws passed in the last 25 years, introduce a bill banning partial birth abortion: in other words, the alpha and omega of what it means to be a conservative in the 21st century. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-10-06 3:29:54 PM |
| #12 I would like if Kerry apologized to the Viet vets and the POWs. He should then apologize to the rest of us for making us endure his and the rest of the MSM BS. He doesn't have it in him to thank the troops. |
| Posted by: John (Q. Citizen) 2004-10-06 3:19:36 PM |
| #11 Look what LeMonde in Francistan has to say: The forces américano-Iraqi launch an offensive on the "road of death" |
| Posted by: 3dc 2004-10-06 2:06:34 PM |
| #10 The two-day sweep through Samarra incorporated lessons learned on the ground over the past several months — especially the need to win swiftly in urban settings. Our soldiers performed flawlessly under difficult conditions. Iraqi commandos, backed by our Special Forces, liberated two key mosques before a hostile media could intervene on terror’s behalf. The city’s population is glad that their oppressors are gone. I love the way Col. Peters thinks and writes. A shame we don't have a lot more like him. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-10-06 7:21:28 AM |
| #9 Such a good article that I had to check to see who wrote it: Ralph Peters. Well said...as usual. In fact this one is brilliant!! I'd add one comment re: How on earth have we sunk so low that a man who would be president is willing to undercut those in uniform, while encouraging our enemies to believe — against all evidence — that they're winning? Answer: Undermining the president, soldiers and American people for political gain has been Kerry's political m.o. since the day he began. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-06 4:23:38 AM |
| #8 He would be more tauntable if he at least adopted a handle. I wonder how long his cloud of stupidity lasts after each EST. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-10-06 3:33:13 AM |
| #7 A4336 is typical. Nothing of substance on the war - just more "Bush is a monkey with big ears who lies and is like Hitler" overthetop BS that no one is listening to anymore. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-06 2:07:11 AM |
| #6 You rock, Pappy! Asshole4336 is one of the new trolls. A batch of experimental twits, scheduled to be zapped and returned to the primal soup of single-celled intellects, was set free from a lab in Berkely, by ALF relatives. Hideously disinformed, foolishly disingenuous, and with a burning desire to, well, post on blogs, it only comes out late at night. The dysfunctional combination of its beliefs cause a great internal pressure and, unfortunately, blogging seems to offer it some measure of relief. Known primarily for eating its young, fouling its nest, and typing prodigious incoherent Talking Points which clearly reflect this characteristic dysfunctional thought pattern, it has been spotted in several locations. The smell of its spoor. That's how you can positively identify its passing. #2 hits the mark. |
| Posted by: .Poop Patrol 2004-10-06 1:24:12 AM |
| #5 The point I'm making is that Iraq is still a police state, pervaded by perhaps tens of thousands of Baathist spies or potential informants. Interviews with reporters are worthless because Baathist and Islamist enforcers are all over the place. No one is going to say what he really thinks and risk getting his head cut off. Iraqis working for the new government or the coalition are getting killed daily. No Iraqi is going to say anything positive to the media because it will get him killed. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-10-06 1:03:16 AM |
| #4 A4336: Those Iraqi bastards really love us, don't they? Some Iraqis are never going to love us. In particular, the guerrillas' supporters are never going to love us. But the comments solicited by the reporter mean nothing. Note that the article mentions that the neighborhood in which the guerrillas are staging attacks against US forces are expressing support for the guerrillas. Doh! What Iraqi moron is going to criticize the guerrillas? The penalty for criticizing them is death. Did Iraqis ever criticize Saddam before he was toppled? No. And Iraqis aren't going to criticize the guerrillas until they are driven out - permanently. The fact that we have taken so few casualties tells me that we know, more or less, where every one of the bad guys is. And that information could only have come from one source - many of the same people who are proclaiming their fealty to the guerrillas to avoid being killed by them. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-10-06 12:57:47 AM |
| #3 When will the cloud of stupidity be lifted? When you leave Rantburg, permanently? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-10-06 12:55:09 AM |
| #2 Victory! When will Bush give Samarra back to the Islamofascists, like he has every other time American troops invest blood equity? Sanction pseudo-democratic elections, and legitimate an Islamofascist Iraq, at a cost of $200 billion to American taxpayers. Toss nukes, or take a humiliating loss. Those Iraqi bastards really love us, don't they? http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9842981.htm When will the cloud of stupidity be lifted? |
| Posted by: Anonymous4336 2004-10-06 12:46:08 AM |
| #1 The Kerry campaign may be Bush's new sekrit weapon: make the loons think that the moonbats are winning and they'll let down their guard. As for how the Dem's have sunk so low: there is nothing that they will not do. Nothing at all. To win this election. If they've got to shoot up a campaign office, or just plain old break in, they'll do it. sad. |
| Posted by: Brutus 2004-10-06 12:45:09 AM |