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January 11, 2007

RE: Heads Up

[Dadmanly]

The local Fox affiliate gave this deadlined MILBLOGGER some airtime this am, for reaction to the President's speech last night. Video here.

Nowhere near as detailed, nor exhaustive, as Greyhawk, but maybe every little bit helps to dispel the ignorance...

Posted at 2206Z

Iran,Syria denounce Bush plan

[Soldier's Dad]

via AP

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran and Syria on Thursday denounced President Bush's new Iraq strategy that blames them for fueling violence in the war-torn country, and they said the plan to send more U.S. troops would only increase bloodshed

I wasn't all that thrilled about the plan, but if it upsets the usual suspects, Iran and Syria, it must be good.

Posted at 2034Z

Heads Up

[Greyhawk]

Below the fold, the White House fact sheet sent to media in advance of tonight's speech.

And:

The Highlights of the Iraq Strategy Review Slideshow is now available on the White House website in PDF format.

A quick clip from the speech itself:

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have.

Somewhere here I believe I've already indicated my agnosticism on the "surge". But a part of that was due the "restrictions" piece. I'm surprised to see it mentioned here.

Of course, a better definition of exactly what "restrictions" were acknowledged as excessive would be nice too. (I'm betting it ain't General Order One he was talking about, but other than that who knows?) I'm not sure we'll see one though - but once again, I didn't expect "restrictions" would be addressed at all.

But I'll bet that in all the "surge" hype, even in the "President acknowledges mistakes" hype that's sure to follow, this "restrictions" bit gets overlooked by most. The smart kids will notice.

Updating: A slightly different take - Byron York caught it, but thinks it will lead to "more pointed questions than ever before". I suspect he believes there are lots of smart kids out there.

More: Meanwhile, back in iraq, where the President's speech played at 0'dark hundred...

Iraq PM Tells Shiite Militias to Give Up

Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as American and Iraqi troops prepared major military operations aimed at ending sectarian warfare in Baghdad.

The move came as President Bush said he will send an additional of 21,500 American combat troops to Iraq, according to excerpts of a speech the president was set to deliver later Wednesday.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, head of Iraq's Shiite-led government, previously had blocked several U.S. attempts to crack down on fighters controlled by his most powerful political ally, Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric.

"Prime Minister al-Maliki has told everyone that there will be no escape from attack," a senior Shiite legislator and close al-Maliki adviser said. "The government has told the Sadrists: 'If we want to build a state we have no other choice but to attack armed groups.'"

These might be the aforementioned "restrictions":

In the past, the Iraqi government has tried to prevent American military operations against the Mahdi Army, while giving U.S. forces a free hand against Sunni militants. The Bush administration has pushed al-Maliki, who took office in May, to curb his militia allies or allow U.S. troops to do the job.

Although al-Maliki withdrew political protection from the Mahdi Army, there was no guarantee the Shiite fighters would be easily routed from the large and growing area of Baghdad under their control.

And for those interested in why Sadr is still around, there's this.

I have another concern about the surge though, but if whoever I eventually share a cot with at least smells nice it won't be too awful bad.

Final update: Full transcript here.

Continue reading "Heads Up "

The New Way Forward In Iraq

The President's New Iraq Strategy Is Rooted In Six Fundamental Elements:

1. Let the Iraqis lead;
2. Help Iraqis protect the population;
3. Isolate extremists;
4. Create space for political progress;
5. Diversify political and economic efforts; and
6. Situate the strategy in a regional approach.

- The Consequences Of Failure In Iraq Could Not Be Graver – The War On Terror Cannot Be Won If We Fail In Iraq. Our enemies throughout the Middle East are trying to defeat us in Iraq. If we step back now, the problems in Iraq will become more lethal, and make our troops fight an uglier battle than we are seeing today.

Key Elements Of The New Approach: Security

Iraqi:

· Publicly acknowledge all parties are responsible for quelling sectarian violence.

· Work with additional Coalition help to regain control of the capital and protect the Iraqi population.

· Deliver necessary Iraqi forces for Baghdad and protect those forces from political interference.

· Commit to intensify efforts to build balanced security forces throughout the nation that provide security even-handedly for all Iraqis.

· Plan and fund eventual demobilization program for militias.

Coalition:

· Agree that helping Iraqis to provide population security is necessary to enable accelerated transition and political progress.

· Provide additional military and civilian resources to accomplish this mission.

· Increase efforts to support tribes willing to help Iraqis fight Al Qaeda in Anbar.

· Accelerate and expand the embed program while minimizing risk to participants.

Both Coalition And Iraqi:

· Continue counter-terror operations against Al Qaeda and insurgent organizations.

· Take more vigorous action against death squad networks.

· Accelerate transition to Iraqi responsibility and increase Iraqi ownership.

· Increase Iraqi security force capacity – both size and effectiveness – from 10 to 13 Army divisions, 36 to 41 Army Brigades, and 112 to 132 Army Battalions.

Establish a National Operations Center, National Counterterrorism Force, and National Strike Force.
Reform the Ministry of Interior to increase transparency and accountability and transform the National Police.

Key Elements Of The New Approach: Political

Iraqi:

· The Government of Iraq commits to:

o Reform its cabinet to provide even-handed service delivery.

Act on promised reconciliation initiatives (oil law, de-Baathification law, Provincial elections).
Give Coalition and ISF authority to pursue ALL extremists.
· All Iraqi leaders support reconciliation.

· Moderate coalition emerges as strong base of support for unity government.

Coalition:

· Support political moderates so they can take on the extremists.

o Build and sustain strategic partnerships with moderate Shi'a, Sunnis, and Kurds.

· Support the national compact and key elements of reconciliation with Iraqis in the lead.

· Diversify U.S. efforts to foster political accommodation outside Baghdad (more flexibility for local commanders and civilian leaders).

Expand and increase the flexibility of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) footprint.
Focus U.S. political, security, and economic resources at local level to open space for moderates, with initial priority to Baghdad and Anbar.

Both Coalition And Iraqi:

· Partnership between Prime Minister Maliki, Iraqi moderates, and the United States where all parties are clear on expectations and responsibilities.

· Strengthen the rule of law and combat corruption.

· Build on security gains to foster local and national political accommodations.

· Make Iraqi institutions even-handed, serving all of Iraq's communities on an impartial basis.

Key Elements Of The New Approach: Economic

Iraqi:

· Deliver economic resources and provide essential services to all areas and communities.

· Enact hydrocarbons law to promote investment, national unity, and reconciliation.

· Capitalize and execute jobs-producing programs.

· Match U.S. efforts to create jobs with longer term sustainable Iraqi programs.

· Focus more economic effort on relatively secure areas as a magnet for employment and growth.

Coalition:

· Refocus efforts to help Iraqis build capacity in areas vital to success of the government (e.g. budget execution, key ministries).

· Decentralize efforts to build Iraqi capacities outside the Green Zone.

Double the number of PRTs and civilians serving outside the Green Zone.
Establish PRT-capability within maneuver Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs).
· Greater integration of economic strategy with military effort.

Joint civil-military plans devised by PRT and BCT.
Remove legal and bureaucratic barriers to maximize cooperation and flexibility.

Key Elements Of The New Approach: Regional

Iraqi:

· Vigorously engage Arab states.

· Take the lead in establishing a regional forum to give support and help from the neighborhood.

· Counter negative foreign activity in Iraq.

· Increase efforts to counter PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

Coalition:

· Intensify efforts to counter Iranian and Syrian influence inside Iraq.

· Increase military presence in the region.

· Strengthen defense ties with partner states in the region.

· Encourage Arab state support to Government of Iraq.

· Continue efforts to help manage relations between Iraq and Turkey.

· Continue to seek the region's full support in the War on Terror.

Both Coalition And Iraqi:

· Focus on the International Compact.

· Retain active U.N. engagement in Iraq – particularly for election support and constitutional review.

All done!

Posted at 0200Z

Just Like Home

[Greyhawk]

There's a hell of a quote buried in Bill Ardolino's interview with Captain Eric "Disco" Dominijanni, USMC, a New Yorker currently serving as a Company Commander in Iraq:

I asked him who the enemy was:

"A lot of (those who plant IED's) are poor farmers who have no money. Some just drop them off on their way to work. A local insurgent leader or ringleader will say 'hey, here's $5 to drop an IED against the Americans," sometimes more if they video them dropping it. It's also almost like a rite to manhood out here. We're getting kids, like 18 and 19 years-old that are trying to look like men, get that symbol of manhood and establish themselves as local leaders in the community. And what's the best way to do that? It's to fight the infidels."

I suggested they join football teams instead.

"Well actually we're doing that, we're handing out soccer balls, and you can actually see the impact in some areas with the younger kids. All kids want candy, but when you see them and they are waving when you drive by, that's a key indicator - but only when no adults are nearby, because some of them will slap their hands down. Some areas are friendly and some are not; you'll feel it, like back in NY. When everyone scatters, something is about to go down."

Bill doesn't belabor that "like back in NY" bit, but it's something anyone who's driven extensively through any major American metropolitan area understands immediately.

Continue reading "Just Like Home "

Posted at 0140Z