Biden Calls It

By Cernig

Joe Biden calls the facts:

"The purpose of the surge was to bring violence in Iraq down so that its leaders could come together politically," said Biden, D-Del., in this week's Democratic radio address. "Violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together."

He later added, "There is little evidence the Iraqis will settle their differences peacefully any time soon."

..."I believe the president has no strategy for success in Iraq," Biden said. "His plan is to muddle through, and hand the problem off to his successor."

What's really amazing is that this isn't really news - it's as plain as the nose on your face. Unless of course you listen to Republican shills who spin all news from Iraq as good news, even when it isn't.

Comments

[Eric Blair]

Badger at MissingLinks reports on the US military's latest "push" into Sadr City, which includes the infamous 3a.m. house-calls: battering down doors, rousting people out of their homes, beatings, arrests of MAMs, etc. And overlayered upon these outrages are the "close air support" bombing and missile strikes on heavily populated urban districts containing Shi'ites supporting M al-Sadr. When will the Yanks get it through their preternaturally thick heads that these tactics are self-defeating, both for the MNF-I and the puppet al-Maliki government? One remains utterly stupified.

[nabalzbbfr]

Biden is just blowing smoke out of his ass. Prime Minister Maliki demonstrated in the last two weeks that he is starting to confront Iraq's political problems head on. He bloodied the Sadr movement and forced them to back down in Basra. In the process he also smoked out Sadr's Iranian backers. General Petraeus is about to call Sadr's puppetmasters in Teheran to account in his Congressional testimony in the coming week. Check out the following references:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/05/wiran105.xml

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3690010.ece

[Steve Hynd]

Hi Eric,

I think it's a case of many officers would like to stick to the book on counter-insurgency - but there simply aren't enough frontline boots in the whole US military to make a Surge big enough to do it all over Iraq. Which leaves them making up for troops on the ground any way they can - and traditionally that means by the application of heavy firepower. Which is, as you point out, self-defeating.

Regards, C

[Steve Hynd]

Nabal, do you work for the Badr Brigade or something? Because you keep ignoring that massive elephant in the room - the fact that Maliki's SIIC/Badr allies are far, far closer to the IRGC than Sadr is.

Even the neocon's favorite regime-change group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, says so. Funny how all their claims about the Iranisn State's hi-jinks get major US and UK conservative media attention...except this one.

Regards, C

[nabalzbbfr]

It may have been true in the past that Iran supported SCIRI/SIIC over the Sadr faction. But since the overthrow of Saddam, the situation has completely reversed. SCIRI/SIIC have cast their lot with us, whereas Sadr and his Mahdi Army have gained favor with Iran by violent confrontation with the US.

In the links I posted above, General Petraeus reports that in the recent military operations in Basra and in Baghdad, Iranian Quds Forces have engaged in close tactical support of the Mahdi Army, including firing missiles at the US Embassy in the Green Zone.

We are now very much at war with Iran in Iraq and our military has to have a free hand in dealing with this.

[Steve Hynd]

You didn't click the link in my comment above, did you Nabal? And you avoided the question about your loyalties.

Regards, C