Iraq visit is an ‘eye-opener’ for Stevens
UNANNOUNCED: On a radio show, he assesses the surge as a success.

By ERIKA BOLSTAD
ebolstad@adn.com
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: November 29, 2007) WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens is wrapping up a weeklong trip to Iraq, where he visited with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the country. Stevens made stops in Baghdad and Anbar province. He also met with deployed soldiers who are based at Anchorage’s Fort Richardson, said Aaron Saunders, a spokesman for the Alaska Republican. Stevens is on the trip with his close friend, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who, like Stevens, is a World War II veteran. Inouye, 83, and Stevens, 84, oversee defense spending in the Senate.

Murtha: ‘Surge Is Working’

By Josh Kraushaar

 Nov 29, 2007

(The Politico) Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) acknowledged that the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is “working” after returning from a brief trip to Iraq last week, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The comments, coming from a harsh critic of President Bush’s Iraq war policy, suggest there may be a shift in Democratic rhetoric on Iraq in light of recent reductions in violence in Iraq over the last several months.

Murtha made the comments today at his district office in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

He added that the Iraqi government needed to better “take care of themselves” and achieve greater progress with political reconciliation, according to the Post-Gazette.

The statement is a marked shift from this July, when Murtha told CNN that he “dismissed” an op-ed by Brookings Institution analysts Ken Pollack and Michael O’Hanlon that the surge was beginning to make progress, and said that their comments were “an illusion.”

Article published Nov 26, 2007 Washington Times
Terrorists target Army base — in Arizona

Sen. Lieberman on Iraq Progress

Tuesday , November 27, 2007

This is a rush transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto,”

November 26, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Well, attacks are down. Reports today Iraqi people are returning home. So why aren’t Democrats who opposed the surge in Iraq acknowledging at least this progress in Iraq?

Reaction now from independent Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman. The senator is just back from Iraq, has seen the progress firsthand.

Senator, good to see you. Thank you for coming.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN, I-CONN.: Good to be back with you, Neil. Thanks.

CAVUTO: What have you seen?

LIEBERMAN: This is the third time I have been in Iraq since last December. And last December, Al Qaeda was winning — it’s as simple as that — and we were losing. Today, Al Qaeda is on the run. We are winning.

What’s more important, the normal people of Iraq are winning. They are returning to their homes. Their businesses are opening up again, and they have decided something that’s critically important not just in Iraq, but in the larger war against terrorism. They have decided that al Qaeda is their enemy, and, ultimately, we are more supportive of their future than Al Qaeda is.

So, it’s been, I think, one of the most remarkable turnarounds in modern military history. And it’s time that everybody, including Democratic candidates, acknowledge reality and get off of this storyline of retreat and defeat that they have been too committed to.

CAVUTO: Well, maybe their silence is what’s deafening, Senator, because the strategy has now shifted to talk about the economy and to talk, no doubt after today, the markets free falling. What do you make of that?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first off, I wish, you know — the critics of the war have been saying bring the troops home. Because of the success on the ground, we’re going to begin to bring the troops home, 25,000 or 30,000 by next July.

They have said, transition the effort. Based on facts on the ground, we’re beginning to transition the effort. So, I wish that we could finally have a moment of bipartisan support for success in Iraq, because it’s in everybody’s interest.

And now we have to work together locally. The economy is in some difficulty. I mean, there’s basic strength in the American economy, but this subprime mortgage scandal, which I believe it really has been, has had much deeper ramifications than almost anybody thought at the beginning.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, is it your opinion, Senator, that it will be the economy deciding next year’s race and not Iraq, that Iraq, because of the success of the troop surge, becomes less of a divisive issue and the economy does?

LIEBERMAN: Well, that’s certainly my hope and my prayer. And the way things are going now that’s exactly the case. We’re going to see troops coming home.

There are going to be many fewer casualties, thank God, in Iraq. And people are going to begin to ask not only who can protect America in a dangerous world, but what we can do together to make the economy better, to fix the health care system, to do something, for instance, about climate change.

So, I think anybody who thought that this was going to be an anti- war election better think twice.

CAVUTO: All right, this on a day we’re expecting announcement any moment, Senator, from Usama bin Laden with a warning, we’re told, for Europe.

What do you make of his continued presence and his continued use of the media?

LIEBERMAN: Well, in a way, Usama bin Laden is using the media more frequently, I think because of the defeat his forces are suffering in Iraq.

Make no mistake about it, the main battlefield in the war against Islamist extremism and terrorism, Al Qaeda, is in Iraq, and they are being defeated. And they are being defeated because of the bravery, yes, of the American military, but they’re being defeated because the Muslims of Iraq have turned against Al Qaeda. And I think the media and the tapes coming out from bin Laden are his way of swaggering and telling people he’s still there.

But, in some ways, the more frequently he appears, the more it says to me that he’s anxious about the future of his movement, not time for us to relax. These people are killers. They hate us and our value system.

But we have made progress. And the last thing we should do is to lose that progress by attaching conditions or demanding early withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

CAVUTO: Senator Lieberman, always a pleasure. Thank you very, very much.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you, Neil. Good to be with you. Have a good one.

Content and Programming Copyright 2007 FOX News Network, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2007 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user’s personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, Inc.’s and Voxant Inc.’s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.

Where to find progress in Iraq

By Jon P. Dorschner Thu Nov 29, 3:00 AM ET

Tallil, Iraq - America’s media and pundits’ view of Iraq has been too Baghdad-centric. This year, they have judged whether the US surge succeeded almost solely by looking at violence levels in the city. Critics also pointed to the Baghdad government’s failure to produce reconciliation legislation as a bellwether for the country.

But progress does not have to be measured by the security and politics of Baghdad alone. Maybe it is time to reframe the debate. Maybe the real trend line is elsewhere.

My Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is in Dhi Qar Province in southern Iraq. It’s a dusty, sparsely populated backwater as far from Baghdad as you can get. It is inhabited by “marsh Arabs,” Bedouin tribesmen, and simple peasants, who eke out a subsistence living from the harsh landscape and live in simple one-story structures of adobe bricks, with old cars parked in front. Village boys commonly herd family livestock through the flat, dusty plains.

Dhi Qar’s story is much different from that of Baghdad. Almost 100 percent Shiite Muslim, its inhabitants participated in two abortive “uprisings” called by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Now instead of calling for uprisings, Mr. Sadr has ordered his Jaish al Mahdi militia to stand down, and violence has dramatically declined.

Governance and security there have been in the hands of Iraqis for more than a year. The governor and popularly elected provincial council make policy, construct a provincial budget, and implement development plans, while the Iraqi Army and police maintain order. US Army forces are seldom seen in Dhi Qar, while my PRT pursues projects in the area virtually unmolested.

Today, there is no uprising in the air. Instead, the people of Dhi Qar are thinking of different possibilities, such as building up their infrastructure.

On Nov. 10, I attended a conference hosted by the Dhi Qar provincial government. While waiting for the VIPs – officials from Baghdad – to arrive, I mingled with other movers and shakers, including tribal sheikhs in traditional garb, generals in a wide variety of uniforms, and government officials. Some foreign ambassadors were present as well, but the conference was clearly an Iraqi affair from top to bottom.

When the VIPs arrived, they were greeted by a maulvi (cleric), who presented a moving recitation from the Koran, followed by local schoolchildren singing patriotic songs and poets expressing their love for Dhi Qar and Iraq.

This was the first time any Dhi Qar government had hosted such an ambitious undertaking. It provided the security, transportation, and logistics. Baghdad-based officials had usually avoided Dhi Qar, but this time, Vice President Adel Abd al-Madhi and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih attended with a large delegation. They acknowledged that Dhi Qar has long been neglected and had suffered under Saddam Hussein’s regime. Now, they said, is the time for change.

With the audience settled comfortably in their chairs, drinking fruit juice from cardboard cartons and holding lively conversations, the VIPs made their presentations. The deputy prime minister noted that Iraq’s 2008 budget, at $16 billion, would be the largest in the nation’s history, and that southern Iraq could receive $3 to $4 billion.

A parade of provincial ministers provided facts, figures, and PowerPoint slides documenting reconstruction projects, including roads, schools, hospitals, government centers, power plants, water treatment plants, canals, and irrigation projects. Slides of future possibilities included a new marketplace for the capital, Nasiriyah, a multistory parking garage, apartment blocks in the city center, and a rebuilt sewer system.

The governor emphasized that his province has come a long way and has a long way to go. He requested more help from Baghdad and foreign donors, for improved irrigation, new schools, paved roads, and improved healthcare.

The conference demonstrated that the formerly powerless people of Dhi Qar are not going to wait for the Baghdad government to pass legislation and move forward on reconciliation. They have begun to assert themselves and assume their rightful role in Iraq’s political setup.

After years of violence, insurgency, and uprisings, the current window of relative peace may present an unprecedented opportunity to move ahead economically and politically. Provincial people and their governments appear determined to grab this opportunity and run with it, with or without the government in Baghdad. And that is a legitimate sign of progress for the country.

• Jon P. Dorschner is a career foreign-service officer and the Iraq provincial affairs officer in the Italian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Dhi Qar Province. This piece was subject to State Department review.

Poll: U.S. Military Doing Better in Iraq

1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The public increasingly believes the U.S. is making military progress in Iraq but still wants President Bush to remove American troops from the country as quickly as possible, a poll showed Tuesday.

People are evenly split over how well the military effort in Iraq is going, with 48 percent saying it is going well and the same number saying it isn’t, according to a survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. In February, shortly after Bush announced he would send additional troops to the country, only 30 percent said things were going well.

Stark partisan divisions remain, though even growing numbers of Democrats cite gains. While 16 percent of Democrats said in February that things were going well, that figure has grown to 33 percent — less than half the 74 percent of Republicans who felt that way.

Overall, 43 percent said the U.S. is making gains against the insurgents, up 13 percentage points from February. The percentage of people seeing progress reducing civilian casualties has more than doubled to 43 percent, while the number seeing results in preventing civil war is 32 percent, almost double the February level.

There have been smaller increases in the number of people citing progress in preventing terrorist bases, rebuilding Iraqi public works and establishing democracy.

Even so, 54 percent say they favor bringing the troops home as soon as possible, virtually the same number as in February.

The public remains split over whether the U.S. will succeed or fail in Iraq, just as in February. A small majority feels the U.S. is losing ground in getting Iraqi leaders to work together.

The poll involved telephone interviews with 1,399 adults from Nov. 20-26. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

FOX News Poll: Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War

Thursday, October 04, 2007

By Dana Blanton

 AP

Oct. 4: A U.S. soldier gives candy to an Iraqi boy in western Baghdad, Iraq.

NEW YORK —  Nearly one out of every five Democrats thinks the world will be better off if America loses the war in Iraq, according to the FOX News Opinion Dynamics Poll released Thursday.

The percentage of Democrats (19 percent) who believe that is nearly four times the number of Republicans (5 percent) who gave the same answer. Seven percent of independents said the world would be better off if the U.S. lost the war.

Click here for results of the poll.(pdf)

Overall, 11 percent of Americans think the world would be “better off” if the U.S. lost the war, and 73 percent disagree.

Opinion Dynamics Corp. conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News from Sept. 25 to Sept. 26. The poll has a 3-point margin of error.

Praying for Peace

Large majorities of Americans say they have said a prayer for soldiers serving in Iraq and for the war to end, while just over half say they have prayed for President Bush.

Most people — 87 percent — say they have said a prayer for the troops, and another 77 percent have prayed for the war in Iraq to end. A much smaller 54 percent majority of Americans say they have prayed for the president.

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• Column Archive

  • Among groups, Democrats (80 percent) and Republicans (76 percent) are about equally likely to say they have prayed for the war to end, and women (80 percent) are only slightly more likely than men (73 percent) to have done so.

Republicans (74 percent) are twice as likely as Democrats (37 percent) to have included the president in their prayers, while just over half (52 percent) of independents have prayed for Bush.

Appealing to a higher authority on behalf of the president does not appear to be influenced by gender, as about as many men (51 percent) as women (56 percent) say they have prayed for Bush.

“It’s interesting to see the parallel between overall voter sentiment toward the president and the relatively reduced likelihood to pray for him,” says Ernest Paicopolos, principal of Opinion Dynamics. “It’s also striking to see a more than 30-point gap between prayer for the troops and prayer for the commander-in-chief of those same troops.”

In general, more Republicans (64 percent) than Democrats (53 percent) and independents (48 percent) say they pray every day. Southerners (66 percent) are 20 percentage points more likely than those living in the Northeast (46 percent) to pray daily.

Overall, a 56 percent majority of Americans says they pray every day, including 64 percent of women and 47 percent of men.

Another 17 percent say they pray several times a week and 7 percent several times a month. Few Americans — 7 percent — say they never pray.