CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Iraq Progresses To Some Of Its Worst
Inter Press Service
Analysis by Dahr Jamail

WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (IPS) - Despite all the claims of improvements, 2007 has been the worst year yet in Iraq.

One of the first big moves this year was the launch of a troop “surge” by the U.S. government in mid-February. The goal was to improve security in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province, the two most violent areas. By June, an additional 28,000 troops had been deployed to Iraq, bringing the total number up to more than 160,000.

By autumn, there were over 175,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq. This is the highest number of U.S. troops deployed yet, and while the U.S. government continues to talk of withdrawing some, the numbers on the ground appear to contradict these promises.

The Bush administration said the “surge” was also aimed at curbing sectarian killings, and to gain time for political reform for the government of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

During the surge, the number of Iraqis displaced from their homes quadrupled, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent. By the end of 2007, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are over 2.3 million internally displaced persons within Iraq, and over 2.3 million Iraqis who have fled the country.

Iraq has a population around 25 million.

The non-governmental organisation Refugees International describes Iraq’s refugee problem as “the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis.”

In October the Syrian government began requiring visas for Iraqis. Until then it was the only country to allow Iraqis in without visas. The new restrictions have led some Iraqis to return to Baghdad, but that number is well below 50,000.

A recent UNHCR survey of families returning found that less than 18 percent did so by choice. Most came back because they lacked a visa, had run out of money abroad, or were deported.

Sectarian killings have decreased in recent months, but still continue. Bodies continue to be dumped on the streets of Baghdad daily.

One reason for a decrease in the level of violence is that most of Baghdad has essentially been divided along sectarian lines. Entire neighbourhoods are now surrounded by concrete blast walls several metres high, with strict security checkpoints. Normal life has all but vanished….”

Remember when the surge troops started building these walls? They knew then, what was coming.

You can read the rest at the website below, or link to the interpress service at the top of the article.

** Visit the Dahr Jamail website http://dahrjamailiraq.com **

The Iraqi crooks know how to play us like a fish.  Stalingrad was just the same sort of idiotic disaster.  Bush never knows when to fold his cards.

Does anyone really beleive the adversaries facing the U.S. occupation of Iraq just gave up and went home? Do we really think they are so stupid as to fight a war with us using conventional weapons and methods?
The surest way to start a war is to allow no room for either party to back away from military conflict and the surest way to lose any war is to underestimate your enemy.
Our adversaries in Iraq may not win this “war” in the conventional sense but I doubt they define “winning” the same way we do. All they have to do is maintain resistance (an IED here and there or a suicide bomber)to tie up 100,000 of our troops.
Like the British in our own Revolutionary war we can’t understand why they won’t fight like “gentlemen”.
At this point we need to seek a diplomatic agreement with Iraqs government and leave them to running their country (for better or worse).
By definition we cannot and do not have ethical or moral license to instill “democracy” by threat and intimidation. We didn’t accept the role the British wanted to impose on us as a colony of England; why would Iraqis want to be a subservient nation to us?

13 Martyrs

Only because I just happened to see this today, I thought I’d share it. The writing directly below, is just the photo caption to the story.

BUT, there’s something far more interesting from a couple of days ago, which is the second article. It appears that the shrub is going to veto the latest defense spending bill that he harassed the Congress critters to come up with. (Remember that $70 billion more that they agreed to give him to keep the occupation going?)

Well, turns out that it had a little loophole in it that Georgie’s lawyer’s must have missed. Well, not really a ‘loophole’ but a provision attached, (sponsored by Sen. Lautenberg) that would allow “American victims of terror – to hold perpetrators accountable, and to even sue them. Now that was intended to apply to Iran, or anybody else, and dating back to Saddam’s era.

So, when the CURRENT Iraqi government found out about it, (that would be The Cabal’s criminal conspirators) THEY picked up on it right away, and of course they got on the teley IMMEDIATELY, and said…OH NO! We can’t have THIS!! I mean, it could cost them jillions of the dollars that the Cabal has agreed to give them, as their part of the heist. (I mean, think of all the damage that Americans can claim from the Saddam Era, not to mention since we began the occupation) All of that would have to come out of the Iraqi government’s take.

So NOW, the Cheney lawyers are scrambling to fix it. Otherwise, their corrupt partners in Iraq, might renege on whatever secret deals they’ve got going.  It appears that this was only discovered AFTER this reconciliation meeting between these Sunnis and Shia,.

But, I don’t know WHAT bin Laden was reacting to. That could be because I don’t necessarily believe that any of the stuff that supposedly comes from him, actually does. But, I could be wrong.

US Presses for Iraqi Self-Sufficiency
  By Tina Susman
  The Los Angeles Times

December 28, 2007 | Iraqi Shiite tribal leaders are served coffee at a reconciliation meeting between the Sunnis of Hawr Rajab and neighboring Abu Disheer, a Shiite area, in southern Baghdad on December 22.
(Photo: Loay Hameed / AP)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122607E.shtml

Bush Plans to Veto
Defense Policy Bill

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122807R.shtml

I think the backsliding has begun as the pendulum begins to swing the other way. I’m hoping for sustained stability just as much as the next guy, but if Iraq has taught us anything nothing can be sustained for long. It’s interesting that we have heard absolutely zero about how the Iraq government is improving its efforts to reconcile Shi’a and Sunni differences. But we are certainly hearing from Bin Laden his views about Sunni activities against Al-Qaeda.

http://13martyrs.blogspot.com/

How much longer until TPTB realize that the “surge” will never work and those people will never accept our form of government.

Maybe with the advent of a Kucinich or Paul presidency the Iraqis can turn those permanent bases into amusement parks.