Pirate's Cove

For all those who say that there is no plan for the surge, that couldn't be farther from the truth (from Defend America)

The new security plan being implemented in Baghdad will be successful if the United States remains dedicated to the mission and Iraqis commit to resolving their differences, the U.S. commander in charge of forces in the city said today.

The Iraqi government has started sending additional forces to Baghdad to partner with U.S. forces in the mission to secure the population and enable the government to function more effectively, Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of Multinational Division Baghdad, told Pentagon reporters in a news conference via satellite.

About 13,000 Iraqi soldiers and 20,000 Iraqi national police are in Baghdad, along with more than 35,000 U.S. troops, Fil said. He noted that as the numbers of Iraqi forces go up, their quality also is increasing.

“They’re much more capable; they’re much more committed; and they are much better led,” he said. “I’ve been very impressed with their operations so far, and they’ve actually been leading several of the operations we’ve conducted recently.”

Fil described the mission in Baghdad as “clear, control and retain.” These new terms appear in the revised doctrine to replace “clear, hold and build.” The major difference in the two strategies is that the pace of operations is no longer determined by how quickly U.S. and Iraqi forces can clear neighborhoods of terrorists, but by how quickly they can generate forces to control the areas after they have been cleared, he said.

The “clear” phase of the mission is essentially the same as under the old doctrine: Iraqi and U.S. forces move into neighborhoods and clear out extremist elements. In the “control” phase, the combined forces maintain a full-time presence on the streets, Fil explained. The forces will man combined security stations, which are being built all over the city, and will work to establish conditions that allow Iraqi forces to take over operations completely.

The “retain” phase comes when Iraqi forces are responsible for day-to-day security operations and coalition forces can move out of the neighborhoods and into areas where they can respond if assistance is needed.

During these three phases, efforts will continue to stimulate local economies by creating employment opportunities, initiating reconstruction projects and improving infrastructure, Fil said. These efforts will be spearheaded by neighborhood and district advisory councils and the Iraqi national government.

General Fil also stated that they have seen violence go down in some areas of Baghdad already. Heck, we have seen Sadr supposedly split Iraq for Iran. We have Coalition troops, including Iraqi's, on the outskirts of Baghdad to capture or kill insurgents/terrorists as they leave Baghdad. Yet, the Defeatocrats, along with some Whte Flag Republicans, said "nyet" to the surge.

And, of course, we have the Senate Defeatocrats trying the same thing this Saturday, a disengenuous attempt on their part, as the NY Times headlines states, "Democratic Leader Gambles That Weekend Detention Could End Senate’s Squabbling on Iraq."

As the House prepared to pass a symbolic resolution denouncing President Bush’s war policy, Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday abruptly scheduled a weekend debate on Iraq in an effort to break a stalemate and avoid impressions that partisan bickering was weighing down deliberations over the war.

Reid wants to avoid the impression that many Senators do not approve of the Surrender in Iraq resolution. Dems are always more worried about impressions then reality, and what is the right thing to do.

As the President stated:

"This may become the first time in the history of the United States Congress that it has voted to send a new commander into battle and then voted to oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that battle."

Caught up in the fighting over the Surrender resolution, this little blurb from the NY Times article

Also Thursday, Senator Joseph R. Biden, a Delaware Democrat who leads the Foreign Relations Committee, said he would work to repeal the 2002 war authorization vote in an effort to close down the war.

That paragraph speaks for itself. And, via the Belmont Club

Senator Lieberman argued that the non binding resolution, "proposes nothing. It contains no plan for victory or retreat… It is a strategy of "no," while our soldiers are saying, "yes, sir" to their commanding officers as they go forward into battle."

And that is exactly what the House version says, as well. No.

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