Day: August 18, 2010

Let’s Talk Iraq

College of Political Knowledge

International Studies Group

Middle East Desk

The surge worked….Patreus is a genius…..Too much violence, blood and death……Happy days are finally here!  This is the year that the draw down of American troops will begin in Iraq.  The president will keep his promise and begin bringing the boys and girls home…..well to be accurate….they will be most likely sent to Afghanistan….for we have yet another surge to to fund and the days of too much violence, blood and death are far from over.

Let us be realistic shall we?  Here is the “real” story of the Surge……

The Sons of Iraq grew out of a series of mini-rebellions against militants associated with Al-Qaeda that started in late 2006. They soon grew into a success story in Iraq, which was capitalized on by the then-commanding US General David Petraeus, who agreed to pay each member a $300 monthly salary and used the rebels as a tool to quell the violence.

But there is a problem with the strategy…that is that some of the tribes have NOT picked up their pay from the US and Iraq government in several months…..NOT a good sign in a country that is knee deep in poverty.

It seems the AQ has taken a page from the surge…..this from Newser…

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is trying to make a comeback, by luring Awakening Council fighters to defect. Awakening leaders tell the Guardian that the terrorist group is offering to pay its fighters more than the $300 a month militia members get from the government. One says he believes 100 of his 1,800 fighters have defected, because they haven’t claimed their salaries in two months.For al-Qaeda, the time is ripe. The US is leaving, and the country’s politicians still haven’t formed a government, even though the election was five months ago. The mostly Sunni Awakening fighters, meanwhile, have frequently felt neglected by the Shiite-dominated government. “It is an easy market for al-Qaeda now,” says another Awakening leader. “The Iraqi government has disappointed them, and it is an easy choice to rejoin the terrorists.”

Read more: http://www.newser.com/story/97835/al-qaeda-in-iraq-plots-comeback-as-us-departs.html#ixzz0wOwLwJGl

That is NOT the only problem that is facing Iraq and its future…..it seems that the Iraqi political scene is more confusing than Ikea construction manual and is in almost constant chaos….that makes it damn near impossible for them to take the lead on any violence.  But wait!  There is more…..

An Iraqi Army official admitted Wednesday that his military needs 10 more years before it is ready to defend the country by itself.

U.S. politicians must “fill the void,” once American armed forces fully withdraw at the end of next year, Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari told Agence France-Presse.

“The army will be fully ready in 2020,” he said.

His comments contradict the U.S.’s top commander in Iraq.

Does NOT look goods for the US to get out of Iraq……..no matter what the spin doctors in Washington would have us believe.  Looks like we have another decade or more or war….of violence…..of blood…..of death.
Do not forget that we were in Vietnam originally to train their army and such to stand up to insurgents….and it lead to a much wider involvement…..we may be pulling out slowly but slowly….but it ain’t over ’til its over!

Is This What We Are Fighting For?

We are in Afghanistan for almost 10 years and things are NOT going so well…….we fight…we die…and this is what we are there for….

A man and a woman who allegedly had an adulterous affair have been stoned and killed in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz.

The punishment happened in a crowded bazaar on Sunday in the Taliban-controlled village of Mullah Quli.

The Taliban asked the villagers to attend the stoning through an announcement on loudspeakers in the mosque, two witnesses from Mullah Quli told the BBC.

“There was a big crowd of people,” one said.

“The Taliban made the women wear black clothes and the men were made to stand. The Taliban started throwing stones. We were also asked to throw stones. After a while, the Taliban left. The woman was dead but the man was still alive.

The Taliban operates a shadow government, consisting of judges, tax collectors, district governors and commanders, in several parts of Kunduz, he adds.

the Taliban were seeking to create and exploit a power vacuum, and some are urging the government and the ostensibly pro-government Council of Ulema (religious scholars) to take a stronger stance against extremism.  So far that has been a hollow dream….

Remind me again why we are in the country……and how our presence there will change things for the people for the better…….