Dennis Hitzeman gives us a big heads up in the rapidly-developing world of international news.
Can anyone say “potential powder keg”?
Showing posts with label iraq. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iraq. Show all posts
9/22/07
9/9/07
Overnight Promotion?
Is there such a person as General Joseph Biden?
I don’t think so, and neither does Dennis Hitzeman, of the Worldview blog.
Let's just hold our horses for a few more days, and see what General Petraeus says...
I don’t think so, and neither does Dennis Hitzeman, of the Worldview blog.
Let's just hold our horses for a few more days, and see what General Petraeus says...
8/3/07
Iraq Weekly Briefing
Check out the Iraq Weekly Briefing on Small Wars Journal:
From the intro:
"Paul Brinkley, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, and Philip Reeker, US Embassy, Baghdad, join BG Kevin Bergner, Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman, in an expansion of the normal weekly Iraq update. Bergner starts off with a security update then turns over to Reeker and Brinkley who discuss reconstruction, economic and political efforts underway to assist the government of Iraq. Of note - Brinkley provides a detailed update on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). Q&A follows the formal brief."
I haven’t watched it all yet (it’s almost an hour long), but even the briefing notes give you a lot better picture of what’s going on than the sound-byte approach to news that we usually get.
7/23/07
When Is a Fact Not a Fact?
Well, obviously, when it’s not true.
Read Dennis L Hitzeman’s latest article, What’s Deteriorating? for a rather pointed look at a dishonest misrepresentation of facts in the mainstream media’s coverage of the war in Iraq.
He writes, in part, “The bottom line is that the Mainstream Media, like their allies on the Liberal Left, do not want the United States to succeed in Iraq because success means that those of us who honestly and truly support the war against fundamentalist Islam and totalitarian despotism around the world are right … Success in Iraq means revealing the MSM and the Left for what they are, thereby diminishing their power over all of us.”
Bonus feature: Read this article to see the same logic applied to the upcoming presidential debates. Twice the fun!
Read Dennis L Hitzeman’s latest article, What’s Deteriorating? for a rather pointed look at a dishonest misrepresentation of facts in the mainstream media’s coverage of the war in Iraq.
He writes, in part, “The bottom line is that the Mainstream Media, like their allies on the Liberal Left, do not want the United States to succeed in Iraq because success means that those of us who honestly and truly support the war against fundamentalist Islam and totalitarian despotism around the world are right … Success in Iraq means revealing the MSM and the Left for what they are, thereby diminishing their power over all of us.”
Bonus feature: Read this article to see the same logic applied to the upcoming presidential debates. Twice the fun!
Fear in Iraq
Forbes ran this article a few days ago, in which the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, was quoted as making the following statement: “If there is one word I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq - on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level - that word would be ‘fear.’”
There is some optimism in the article ― such as a statement from Crocker himself about restoring electricity, political headway at the local level, and further cooperation among the sects ― but all of that hopefulness is belied by statements like “I’m not optimistic” (Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine), “Time is running out in a big way” (Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware), and that Sen. Kit Bond (R-Missouri) predicted that Iraq would miss its goals in September.
The fact is, there is cause for optimism in Iraq. Lots of it. From Michael Yon to the Guardian, tentative, cautious optimistic reports are coming out every day. You just have to know where to look.
We don’t know the exact context of Ambassador Crocker’s statements. For all we know about media spin, he could have meant something completely different from the way his statement was quoted.
But if you’ll allow me to speculate for a second, I think there is plenty of fear in Iraq. I think it’s fear that the U.S. will leave before it gets the job done. I think it’s fear that the “strongest tribe” will cut-and-run, and not finish what it started, and not do what it promised.
As Ambassador Crocker himself also said, “For Iraq to move forward at any level, that fear is going to have to be replaced with some level of trust and confidence and that is what the effort at the national level is about.”
Trust and confidence. I hope our leaders in Washington heard that loud and clear. I hope that their fear (and their fear-inspiring, defeatist rhetoric) is soon replaced by the trust and confidence that America can and needs to stay the course.
There is some optimism in the article ― such as a statement from Crocker himself about restoring electricity, political headway at the local level, and further cooperation among the sects ― but all of that hopefulness is belied by statements like “I’m not optimistic” (Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine), “Time is running out in a big way” (Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware), and that Sen. Kit Bond (R-Missouri) predicted that Iraq would miss its goals in September.
The fact is, there is cause for optimism in Iraq. Lots of it. From Michael Yon to the Guardian, tentative, cautious optimistic reports are coming out every day. You just have to know where to look.
We don’t know the exact context of Ambassador Crocker’s statements. For all we know about media spin, he could have meant something completely different from the way his statement was quoted.
But if you’ll allow me to speculate for a second, I think there is plenty of fear in Iraq. I think it’s fear that the U.S. will leave before it gets the job done. I think it’s fear that the “strongest tribe” will cut-and-run, and not finish what it started, and not do what it promised.
As Ambassador Crocker himself also said, “For Iraq to move forward at any level, that fear is going to have to be replaced with some level of trust and confidence and that is what the effort at the national level is about.”
Trust and confidence. I hope our leaders in Washington heard that loud and clear. I hope that their fear (and their fear-inspiring, defeatist rhetoric) is soon replaced by the trust and confidence that America can and needs to stay the course.
7/19/07
General David Petraeus Interview
I can’t think of a better first post in the “stay informed” category than this interview with General David Petraeus, the commander of the Multi-National Forces ― Iraq.
Read the interview “General David Petraeus on the conditions on the ground in Iraq” from The Hugh Hewitt Show.
Several main points jumped out at me:
1) No matter what a person’s opinion on the reasons for starting the war, we as liberators have “an enormous responsibility” to the people of Iraq to finish the job that we started. Whether you feel we’re there for good reasons or not, the point is, we’re there now, and “a precipitous withdrawal would have potentially serious implications for important interests that we have in Iraq, in the region.”
2) When watching the evening news, it’s important to remember “the fact that a sensational attack is going to lead.” General Petraeus says, “And I think that occasionally, you know, folks will wince over here and say gosh, you know, they didn’t get the ribbon cutting we did today, or nobody covered the job fair, or the opening of the new police academy, or whatever it might be, because a car bomb went off. Well again, that’s reality, and terrible loss of life, sadly but realistically, is going to bump some feel good stories. So I think that’s just something we have to come to grips with. It is again a fact of life, and such is life.”
3) The “anti-terrorist only” option put forward by many (including Michael Duffy of TIME) seems unrealistic according to the General’s analysis. He says that al Qaeda-Iraq “is a significant enough network in capability that it is not going to be dealt with just by certainly, if you will, classical counterterrorist operations.” Instead, he reminds us that it is a coordinated effort between special forces and “conventional forces.”
4) Finally, to the question, “What do you hear your men and women saying about this mission? Do they think it can be won?” General Petraeus answers, “I think they do…I think individuals are doing all that they can to try to achieve success in this mission here, and that’s the focus of the folks with whom I’m privileged to soldier.”
Anyway, read the whole interview. It’s eye-opening to someone whose news diet is strictly the “we lost ― let’s get the hell out of there” clamoring. He even ends on a little “what are we going to do about it?” note.
I am thankful that we have such an able commander leading our troops in Iraq.
Update:
Also check out this interview with General Petraeus on NPR. I'm kind of surprised by the headline...
Read the interview “General David Petraeus on the conditions on the ground in Iraq” from The Hugh Hewitt Show.
Several main points jumped out at me:
1) No matter what a person’s opinion on the reasons for starting the war, we as liberators have “an enormous responsibility” to the people of Iraq to finish the job that we started. Whether you feel we’re there for good reasons or not, the point is, we’re there now, and “a precipitous withdrawal would have potentially serious implications for important interests that we have in Iraq, in the region.”
2) When watching the evening news, it’s important to remember “the fact that a sensational attack is going to lead.” General Petraeus says, “And I think that occasionally, you know, folks will wince over here and say gosh, you know, they didn’t get the ribbon cutting we did today, or nobody covered the job fair, or the opening of the new police academy, or whatever it might be, because a car bomb went off. Well again, that’s reality, and terrible loss of life, sadly but realistically, is going to bump some feel good stories. So I think that’s just something we have to come to grips with. It is again a fact of life, and such is life.”
3) The “anti-terrorist only” option put forward by many (including Michael Duffy of TIME) seems unrealistic according to the General’s analysis. He says that al Qaeda-Iraq “is a significant enough network in capability that it is not going to be dealt with just by certainly, if you will, classical counterterrorist operations.” Instead, he reminds us that it is a coordinated effort between special forces and “conventional forces.”
4) Finally, to the question, “What do you hear your men and women saying about this mission? Do they think it can be won?” General Petraeus answers, “I think they do…I think individuals are doing all that they can to try to achieve success in this mission here, and that’s the focus of the folks with whom I’m privileged to soldier.”
Anyway, read the whole interview. It’s eye-opening to someone whose news diet is strictly the “we lost ― let’s get the hell out of there” clamoring. He even ends on a little “what are we going to do about it?” note.
I am thankful that we have such an able commander leading our troops in Iraq.
Update:
Also check out this interview with General Petraeus on NPR. I'm kind of surprised by the headline...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
