...With a competent and full intelligence picture??? Is that so?Murtha Insists: Redeploy Out of Iraq Now
June 3 (LPAC)—"There's a bloodbath now that is going on" in Iraq and the only solution is for the U.S. to redeploy out of the country, declared Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa), who has one of the most accomplished military records in the U.S. Congress. Murtha also demonstrated today on the ABC News show, "This Week," that he is one of very few elected officials with a competent and full intelligence picture on Iraq.
This increase in casualties, however are expected, since our soldiers are actually confronting and taking out the bad guys:U.S. general says troop surge has led to progress in Iraq
By Aamer Madhani
Chicago Tribune
(MCT)
WASHINGTON - With the last month marking one of the deadliest periods for U.S. troops since the start of the war, the second-ranking U.S. military commander in Iraq said Thursday that some progress has been made in the early going of the troop buildup.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of multinational troops in Iraq, said that overall sectarian violence is down, attacks in volatile Anbar province have been cut by half and nearly 18,000 enemy fighters have been captured this year.
"We've made small progress here. We have not made the progress that I think is necessary yet, but I hope over the summer that we will continue to make progress," Odierno said.
For the moment, however, any gains on the security front have been overshadowed by the American death toll.
At least 122 U.S. service members were killed in May, making it the deadliest month of the war since November 2004, when 137 troops were killed in action as the military fought some of the most pitched battles of the war in the embattled city of Fallujah. Two others U.S. soldiers who were captured in an attack earlier this month remain missing.
But I'm sure that Jack Murtha, being the "most competent" military mind in congress, already knew that.The increased casualties are of course lamentable, and for the individuals and families involved, they bring a heavy price. But exposure to violence is the nature of combat, and battles are fought to win. We are seeing benefits that will help bring us victory.1. An increase in actionable intelligence from residents. The population sees that the Coalition is sharing in their hardships, that we are living among them and so a level of trust with local communities is developing that had not been there before.
2. With this increase in actionable intelligence naturally come more successful actions, in the form of raids, ambushes, attacks, and searches. The liberation of 41 prisoners from an AQ prison last month is one excellent example out of many that have been reported, and many more that have not been reported. This increase in successful operations in turn degrades the enemy's capabilities and effectiveness.3. The press has reported the terrorists are moving to different areas outside of Baghdad, where the violence has picked up. What is not being widely reported, but is unclassified, is that in response, Coalition commanders have moved more troops into those same areas to counter the insurgents' operations. The increase in violence in these spots is a sign that they have not eluded us by fleeing., rather than that violence is really spreading.
4. Because the Coalition has moved into these COPs or JSSs with the ISF elements, trust has grown between the two forces. Any combat veteran with tell you that participating in combat with another person is the quickest way to build a deep and dedicated relationship, which in turn leads to a corresponding strong trust. This trust is not just a trust between units, it is a trust between individuals, which is the strongest trust, that compels a person to do anything for his friend. This in turn makes for more effective missions.5. Some in the ISF that have been working with the bad guys due to a lack of Coalition presence now have, for lack of a better term, "supervision". It is now harder for these bad apples to slip away and participate in passing intelligence to, and participating in, operations with the enemy, death squads, militias, and in insurgent activities. It is informative to note how the secretarian violence has dramatically decreased since the start of the surge. This is a result of the surge, not of some random phenomenon.6. An increase in the raw numbers of US and Iraqi Security Forces in Baghdad means more soldiers per capita in Baghdad. With more soldiers come more contact with friendly Iraqis, neutral Iraqis, and insurgents. So while the vital trust is built, the vital enemy contact is made; and so more good is done and more enemy are killed or captured; but more Americans are, unfortunately, killed and injured.
Or did he?
