New York Times: A War We Just Might Win

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/opinion/30pollack.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

After the furnace-like heat, the first thing you notice when you land in Baghdad is the morale of our troops. In previous trips to Iraq we often found American troops angry and frustrated — many sensed they had the wrong strategy, were using the wrong tactics and were risking their lives in pursuit of an approach that could not work.

Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

 

Because We Haven't Been Wrong Before...

About This.

Lately.

In The Past Couple Days.

Today.



(And that sig is beneath you, tony.)

 

Agreed. Classless.

 

Well, I thought saying "since the 1950s" would be more accurate but I cut them some slack.

The truth is never beneath me.

 

You realize that the NYTimes article was an opinion piece?
So it isn't grounded by facts, but by observations and even then they didn't go as far as saying "victory" is close, but a "sustainable stability."
So we spend $750 billion, so far, at the cost of 3,500 and counting American lives, and going on five years to get "sustainable stability."
And for how much longer? The only thing the writers can muster is to keep going on into 2008, which is simply a political calculation, which is what happened in 2004 and also in 2006.
And here's a question posed by the writers, a question they didn't answer, but maybe Old_Tony can give it a shot...

 

Brookings is considered to be the most liberal of the big 3 think tanks in D.C. But yes it is an opinion piece. I'm glad the soldiers finally feel they are making progress. Props to Patraeus.
Don't know if the American people are open to a few more years of this though. I think the horses have already left the barn.

 

Is the liberal media trying to fuck with conservatives?

 

Gosh Old_Tony, you mean to tell me the war wasn't "won," the "mission" wasn't "accomplished" way back in 2003? I guess we'll have to "stay the course" now until we win. I mean those Iraqis love us, it's only a matter of time before the security forces and the government get the situation under control. And since they love us so much, any day now, the Sunnis and the Shi'a will forget their 1100 year fight. We'll be forevermore remembered as heroes! And to top it all off, Iraq will become an example for the rest of the region. I mean, its obvious that al-Qaeda is already dying, the Taliban is retreating, Iran is stopping its nuclear weapons program, and all is becoming well in the Middle East. Our operation for "Iraqi freedom" is going so well!

 

Remember, Pollack was one of the liberal hawks who pushed for this war, no matter how much he might have criticized its execution in recent years. He's got a dog in this hunt.