Tuesday - September 12, 2006

Point / Counterpoint

Pointless Pessimism From The Media

Marine Calls Situation In Anbar Province Dire
U.S. military can do little to secure region in western Iraq
_{(MSNBC) - Sept 11, 2006 2:59 a.m. CT}

The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country’s western al Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.

The officials described Col. Pete Devlin’s classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq. One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province, “We haven’t been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically—and that’s where wars are won and lost.”

The “very pessimistic” statement, as one Marine officer called it, was dated Aug. 16 and sent to Washington shortly after that, and has been discussed across the Pentagon and elsewhere in national security circles. “I don’t know if it is a shock wave, but it’s made people uncomfortable,” said a Defense Department official who has read the report. Like others interviewed about the report, he spoke on the condition that he not be identified by name because of the document’s sensitivity.

- More pessism from MSNBC here ...

Positive Counterpoint From The Man In Charge On The Ground

STATEMENT ON THE STATUS OF AL ANBAR PROVINCE
BY MAJ. GEN. RICHARD ZILMER

Release Date: 9/12/2006

Release Number: 06-09-01P

Description: FALLUJAH, Iraq – Recent media reports fail to accurately capture the entirety and complexity of the current situation in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.  The classified assessment, which has been referred to in these reports, was intended to focus on the causes of the insurgency.  It was not intended to address the positive effects Coalition and Iraqi forces have achieved on the security environment over the past years.

That said, there is an active insurgency in Anbar.  The enemy we face has no concern for the welfare of the Iraqi people, nor any peaceful vision for their future.  We believe the Iraqi people want something more and are willing to fight and die for it.

We are making steady progress in the accomplishment of our primary mission to train and develop the Iraqi Security Forces to defeat the insurgency.  This is due in large measure to the successful recruiting and training of thousands of Iraqi Police and improvements in the overall capabilities of the Iraqi Army.
This has resulted in the transfer of increasing responsibilities to the ISF for fighting the insurgency.  Finally, the progress we have made has been due to the dedicated and heroic actions of both US and Iraqi forces.

Despite these consistent advances in the security environment, we have found making the same progress politically and economically, throughout all of Anbar, to be much more challenging.  In areas where the presence of Iraqi Security Forces is combined with an effective local civil government, we have seen progress made.  Not just in the area of security, but in economic development and the establishment of social order and public services.  These are the conditions which must be set that will result in the support of the local people, and ultimately cause the defeat of this terrorist backed insurgency.

For lasting progress to take place, comparably effective advances must be made in the development of governmental and economic institutions at the local, provincial and national levels.  Only then, will the people of Al Anbar be able to realize their goal of long-term security, prosperity and confidence in their government.

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/12/2006 at 10:06 AM   
Filed Under: • Media-Bias • Military •  
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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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