Upper Left Coast

Thoughts on politics, faith, sports and other random topics from a red state sympathizer in indigo-blue Portland, Oregon.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Quote of the Day: Michael Totten on the Surge

OK, it's actually a quote from almost two weeks ago, but I just saw it today. It's from the New York Daily News, and is an op-ed by Portlander Michael Totten, who recently traveled to Iraq to see how the military surge is working. The short story: it is. And it isn't. But it needs more time to determine which side wins.
...what I saw was overwhelming, undeniable and, like it or not, complicated: In some places, the surge is working remarkably well. In others, it is not. And the only way we will know for sure whether the tide can be turned is to continue the policy and wait.
...
this much cannot be denied: There are powerful winds of change in Iraq, and not enough time has passed to determine how they will transform the country.

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posted by Ken @ 9:51 PM  

3 Comments:

  • At 9/10/2007 1:15 PM, Blogger OregonGuy said…

    Hit Michael today...heck of an article.

    Thanks for your posts, too.

     

  • At 9/11/2007 3:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Actually waiting is not the only thing we can do. With all do respect to Mr Totten, his is about the 100th article/interview, in the last five years, that reinforces the idea that there is a chance of military success in Iraq. Excuse me if I don't believe them anymore.

    Yes Anbar shows improvement since we started arming Sunnis. Critics of the war predicted this 4 years ago. Their position was that Iraqis didn't like Al Qaeda and the only reason they were tolerated was because they attacked Americans. Since we started arming Sunnis they now like us and are purging Al Qaeda. The problem is that once they take care of Al Qaeda, they will use these weapons on Shiites. Finally, the agreement between the Sunnis and the US in Anbar was made before the Surge. So waiting is actually the worse thing to do.

     

  • At 9/12/2007 12:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wait a minute, did the previous poster say the sheer volume of articles saying there is a chance of military success in Iraq makes him LESS likely to believe it? What kind of logic is that??

     

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