Quote:
Originally Posted by Imperator
so you beleive some of the sucess of the surge, which here to fore they have bascially denied and pooh poohed is due to iranian policy pulling back?
I mean her grasp if the situation seems so infantile anyway, its hard to debate someone with a hyper partisan views of the events in any case. Basra is just a piece of the surge, I'd say her generalization is off based and a gross mischaracterization. Last year fallujah, ramadi where virtual no go zones. How significant is the Iranian influence there?
|
I think that at least a portion of the successes of the surge have been due to aspects outside of the control of the U.S. and Iraqi militaries. My response wasn't as much of an agreement with Pelosi as it was a disagreement with Mudwhistle's interpretation of Pelosi's comments.
Furthermore, can people stop referring to the surge as a "resounding success" every chance we get? I know you, IMP, aren't one of these people, but it really destroys credibility when people use phrases like that. If the surge was a "resounding" or "tremendous" success, we'd be ready to start bringing troops home. After all, isn't the ability to
end a war after all goals are accomplished the true indicator of success? Many of the goals of the surge have been accomplished and much due credit should go to those who implemented them. However, the situation in Iraq is still extremely complicated and, according to many analysts, far from over.