January 11, 2007
Bush Speech (II)
Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Here are the differences: In earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of terrorists and insurgents but when our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned. This time, we will have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.
Do peshmerga in the Iraqi Army or "National Police Brigades" count towards the supposed requisite force levels? Do we have a "green light" from Maliki to "enter" neighborhoods like Sadr City? Did Bush peer into Maliki's soul and espy new resolve? Boy this is thin gruel!
Posted by Gregory at January 11, 2007 03:43 AM
"This time, we will have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared."
You said it in your previous post, but it bears emphasising: so the difference between not enough force and enough force was only 15%? On what basis does he think that?
