How do you keep people happy after a dictator called Saddam Hussein has been less than honest, is brutal and all-powerful? You improve on the old regime. His old regime had water and electricity flowing, no matter what his ulterior motives were. And there were no suicide bombers in Baghdad. Can you blame a large community for being hopeful of change--but it hasn't come. The whole mess is ripe for insurgency and disruption. I don't know all the facts but I think that had the US brought Iraqui's a better way of life, this whole thing could have turned. They haven't and it hasn't. I blame Bush and Rumsfeld for poor planning.

I agree. The Bush policy in Iraq is a TOTAL Failure and we have created MORE enemies and are in greater danger then after 9/11. There were no terrorists in Iraq PRIOR to our invasion. Today we have the sectarian violence that is turning into a Civil War as well as foreign terrorists operating in Iraq. We have spent 2,600 lives and hundreds of Billions to make America LESS SAFE.

Al-Qaida gains strength in Sunni heartland as U.S. focuses on Baghdad
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
August 16, 2006 7:42 AM EDT
HADITHA, Iraq - In the dusty plains of western Iraq, al-Qaida is gaining strength. Daily attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces are on the rise and there is little sign of progress in convincing the population to support the national government.

U.S. commanders acknowledge they are locked in struggle with insurgents for the allegiance of Iraq's youth.

"We're in a recruiting war with the insurgency," said Brig. Gen. Robert Neller, the deputy Marine commander in western Iraq.

U.S. commanders have said privately that a military solution to the insurgency in Anbar is impossible, and what's needed is a political deal between the Sunni Arabs and the other religious and ethnic communities.

"This country needs a political solution - not a military solution," one government worker told Marines who stopped by his home in Haditha. "Are we going to stay in this situation where you shoot them, they shoot you? We are the victims."

American attention has shifted in recent weeks to Baghdad, where violence between Sunni and Shiite extremists is on the rise. The U.S. is sending nearly 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces to the capita to curb the violence.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has said sectarian violence in the capital is now a greater threat to Iraq's stability than the Sunni Arab insurgency, which is entrenched in western Iraq.

Nevertheless, of the 23 U.S. troops who have died this month in Iraq, 16 of them were in Anbar.

The situation in Anbar, with its heavily Sunni population, is a barometer for the entire Sunni Arab minority, which lost its favored position to the majority Shiites and the Kurds when Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in 2003.

As long as the insurgency rages here, it is unlikely that Sunni Arab politicians in Baghdad can win over significant numbers of Sunnis to support the government of national unity, which took office May 20.

Some areas in Anbar have shown significant progress, such as the border city of Qaim, once an al-Qaida stronghold. Trouble has increased in other areas, like the rural stretch between Ramadi and Fallujah.

In Baghdad, U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Wednesday that al-Qaida was "making a concerted effort to gain legitimacy" by promoting itself as a credible organization "that appeals to Iraqis in desperate social and economic situations while projecting a civic-minded image."

He also said al-Qaida was seeking to build support "from whole tribes rather than individual Iraqi citizens."

On the other hand, U.S. commanders say few insurgents have shown a willingness to meet with them, much less hold meaningful talks.

The top U.S. commander in Haditha went so far as to ask local leaders to spread the word that Marines wanted to know which reconstruction projects would be safe from sabotage. But insurgents never responded.

We asked "'Is there anything we can allow the community to do that won't hurt their political cause,'" Lt. Col. Norm Cooling, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, said.

U.S. troops face similar problems elsewhere in Anbar, a North Carolina-sized province that extends from the western edge of Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

In Ramadi, the largest city and provincial capital, several prominent tribal leaders who had approached the military earlier this year were promptly slain. Commanders say several key Sunni leaders have fled to Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.

Even in calmer Fallujah, which remains under tight U.S. and Iraqi control, several prominent leaders have been killed - including the city council chief, a senior cleric, and deputy police chief. The mayor also recently fled the city.

The war has eroded the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of Sunni Arabs, many of whom have been steadily abandoning the area. In the cluster of riverside homes that make up Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Parwana, U.S. commanders estimate that about two-thirds of the population have fled their homes since the beginning of the war.

"The situation is starting to go from bad to worse, from worse to worst," said one government official in Haditha who asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisal. City council members here won't admit to being part of the government, and officials frequently resign after insurgent threats.

The majority of Iraqi soldiers are Shiite or Kurdish - while young Sunni Arabs make up most of the insurgency. The Americans would like to redress the imbalance and bring more Sunnis into the ranks.

But efforts to recruit more Anbar Sunnis into the army have faltered, either because of intimidation by insurgents or genuine support for their cause.

The death last June of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi appears to have made little dent in support for the terror group. Most of al-Qaida's fighters are Iraqis rather than foreign fighters, U.S. officials say.

In Ramadi, for example, U.S. commanders estimate that a quarter of the fighters are al-Qaida members. In Haditha, Cooling called al-Qaida the most prominent insurgent group in "influence and resources."

Some commanders said the insurgents have grown adept at shifting away from areas targeted by U.S. troops, turning up elsewhere. For example, some Marines attributed a recent spike across the region to increased U.S. military operations in Ramadi.

"It's like pushing on a water balloon, if you will. When you apply pressure to Fallujah, they squirt elsewhere," Cooling said. "Wherever you do not apply a significant amount of pressure, that's where the enemy is going to go."

The U.S. military has pinned its hopes on the development of Iraqi forces. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers have flowed into Anbar over the past year and are expected to soon take over key terrain such as Fallujah.

But commanders say it's a struggle to keep soldiers stationed in Anbar - thousands have deserted after being given orders here or shortly after arriving.

There were no terrorists in Iraq PRIOR to our invasion

How can you say that? Were you there?

That's like saying there were no terrorist in the US prior to 9/11. There were terrorists in Iraq prior to the war.

Active or sleeping a terrorist cell, is a terrorist cell, is a terrorist cell.

Arguments like these prove you have no real agenda but misinformation.

Arguments like these prove you have no real agenda but misinformation.

I'm sorry, were you talking about the COL, or yourself here John? I'm confused...

Wether you like him or not, wether you agree with him or not. He's dead on with this post folks. The Bush policy has failed miserably. You righties need to admit it. It's ok, even Dubya can make mistakes.

Unfortunately his cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives.

As much as I hate to do this, I have to admit that our adventures in the Middle East are just annoying now. Many people feel we should just get up and go and leave these countries to be. That we have no business there. Well I see it fom a differnt point of view.

You see, there is no way we can isolate ourselves from the arab world (muslim world, call it what you want). Even if we just took every American soldier from every point in the Middle east and just either sent them back home or move them to a military base somewhere in Europe, Asia or something like that, we would still have a huge connection with the arab world. For starters there's Israel, though some would prefer we just let them stand on their own, we have a close relationship with them and we are allies so we are required to help them when needed. Besides, what would you think of someone who would abandone a friend when they needed you the most?

Then there's our favorite product, gasoline. No matter how much we don't care about the arab world or how much we would want to drop a bomb and turn the Middles East into the worlds largest piece of glass, in the end the American people can not live without their precious SUV's that they so dearly need to carry that 1 bag of groceries from the supermarket or that very expensive dress from Macy's and SUV's need that gasoline to move.

Even more interesting are those who cry about out dependence of oil and how Bush has donthing to stop it. Well I tell everyone that, first of all, when you start driving an electric car or a hybrid (BTW you still use gas in hybrids, just not as much), then you can cry, bitch and moun (spell?) about dependence on gas. Even then you would have to move to Mars or an isolated island and eat of the land, cause whether you like it or not every product you use in your daily life is connected to gas in one way or another. Everything is hauled around the country in trucks that require gas, home and building construction need heavy machinery that use gas to move around, everytime you take a flight, drink a soda, eat a burger, wear your Tommy brand clothes, it all has gas connected to it. Dependency of foreign oil? This country would die without it and guess who has a lot of it? Our good friends, the Muslim world. We're stuck with them whether we like it or not. And they will hate use no matter what cause they feel they have an ace up their sleeve, gasoline.

So say what you want, no matter what Bush does, good or bad, right or wrong, a mistake or not, we will always have and always will have to deal with the muslim world. I only see one way to deal with such a group of people who's idea of dealing with the infidels is to use their own ideals against them, we do the unexpected. They hurt use, we give it back to them and their people 10 times fold. Sonner or later they will get the point. Knock down a building of ours? Bomb a whole city. Blow up our trains? Blow up their utility systems. Blow up one of our planes? Blow up their airport. Kill our people? Kill 10 times more of theirs. Fight fire with fire is what everyone always says. It's time for the US to grow up and stop all this trying to be good routine and just deal with problems they we should, swift and clean.

As Bush has said, we need to JUDGE BY RESULTS. Let’s look at the results in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan. EVERY one of these areas is getting worse and the Bush policies have been a total failure. Add North Korea and you should get the picture!!!!!

As Bush has said, we need to JUDGE BY RESULTS. Let’s look at the results in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan. EVERY one of these areas is getting worse and the Bush policies have been a total failure. Add North Korea and you should get the picture!!!!!

If you didn't spend so much time ignoring what others have to say, repeating yourself like a broken record and starting your titles or articles with blaming Bush, then maybe you could get you point across and maybe even find some people who would agree with you. Hows about we all point out the real problems we face in todays world and debate on how to solve it rather than waste time trying to find someone to blame for the problem. Blaming Bush will not solve anything. Again today politicians are using Bush's problems as their ads to get peoploe to vote for them. I don't need to be told that you can do better than Bush, what I want is to hear you tell me that you will do what I want, that you will represent what the people want, that you will work your butt off to make sure that the American people benefit from it. If you feel that you need to put down others in order to get elected then that only tells me that you don't have what it takes to do anything on your own, that all you need is to improve a little what others have failed to improve in order to prove that you are better. I don't want better than the previous person, I want the best, I want 100%, I want dedication. I want politicians who will run because they care about the people, because they believe they have what it takes to do what is right for the American people. To use the failures of others to make yourself look good is to hope that others will fail in order for you to get what you want.

Bush is in the position that has the power, properly used, to help resolve issues. Very few if any other leader has the ability to affect the solutions needed. The problem is we have a leader that has gotten his way for the most part and his policies have not WORKED to solve the issues facing us. He refuses to acknowledge that he is NOT making progress and continues with the same policies that have failed. His leadership is ineffective and he is not willing to seek other solutions.

The second section of my book contains specific suggestions to address many of the issues that need solutions. I have therefore documented how Bush has failed in section one and provided new suggested policies predicated on the research I have done using the advice of some of the most knowledgeable experts who are not circumscribed by politics.

Sorry for the points, but taking potshots is Gene's military specialty. He has nothing constructive to say, so I offer nothing constructive in return.

Daiwa

If you are saying that Bush has succeeded at ANYTHING you are in a dream world. The situation all over the world is such that to argue that Bush has been effective is totally ridiculous. To point to the financial conditions of our country is just another example of the failure of Bush. Look at the Blog where I posted the comments of the Comptroller General and the report yesterday about how Homeland Security has misspent Billions of our tax dollars. You, like a lot of others on this Bog Site, are JUST LIKE Bush-- You refuse to look at reality and admit that this President is a FAILURE at just about everything he has done since he took office!

I agree totally with u...L'agenda politique américain en Irak a eu un effet de boomerang et ressemble de plus en plus à une boîte de Pandore ... Plus les américains pataugent, plus les irakiens doutent dans leur pays...