Not the Onion..'How we won in Iraq'' by David PETRAEUS

[Ichingcarpenter]

I'm not gonna post his content seeing that no one really won with the amount of death and destruction witnessed by the world on that nation.

But here is the link:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/10/29/david_petraeus_how_we_won_the_surge_in_iraq


Don't forget to take his new college class... How to promote bullshit.

[DonCoquixote]

1. Info from a Tampa man

This idiot Petraus wound up making a fool of himself in Tampa thanks to a bunch of idiot socialites who fashioned themselves Mata Hari, save that they were simply trying to use secrets to become rich and famous. It takles a very special sort of idiot to actually earn consistent ridiclue in a city that provides so much fodder for the tabloids.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/20/petraeus-mistress-secretly-followed-tampa-socialite/

Normally I would not quote Fox News, but note how even THEY dare not polish the mess.

So, this tampa Boy would NOT trust Petraus judgement on where to get a decent Cuban Sandwich in Tampa. Actually, no where on Bayshore Blvd (the rich place where he did his work, think of a cheap house being about 2 million) has good Cubans, save the Publix. It does NOT surprise me that he reveals just how follish he was. And to think, if not for a bunch of would be Mata Haris, he would still be in charge, getting primed as a GOP prez in 2016, and probably kill a LOT of people in the process.

[Recursion]

6. Though it was a typo, "ridiclue" is my new favorite word

That is awesome.

[DonCoquixote]

13. hey

it is early am where I am, so my brain is stillsleepy, but frankly, I think I may have stumbled onto something...

[jsr]

2. Once again announcing himself to be a world-class asswipe

[joshcryer]

3. "Iraq today looks tragically similar to the Iraq of 2006"

I don't have the stomach to read that whole thing because he starts talking strategy in a monotone robotic military type of writing style, and I don't know what to say. I skipped to the last page to read his conclusion.

"Iraq today looks tragically similar to the Iraq of 2006"

If Iraq and the Iraqis are to have yet one more opportunity to move forward, they would likely find it useful to revisit the entire array of approaches pursued in 2007 and 2008. It is heartening, thus, to know that some of the veterans of the surge, American as well as Iraqi, are engaged in the effort to help Iraq determine and then pursue the initiatives needed to address the terrible increase in violence in that country. This is a time for them to work together to help Iraqi leaders take the initiative, especially in terms of reaching across the sectarian and ethnic divides that have widened in such a worrisome manner. It is not too late for such action, but time is running short.

If further action is necessary, Petraeus, then we have not "won" in Iraq.

I went back to skim for the surge bullshit, in 2007 and 2008, and it led to many deaths in Americans and Iraqi's alike. He's basically arguing for the Iraqi people to surge and acting as if "that's the winning strategy." What he doesn't understand is that the "surge" led to the current state of unrest in Iraq to begin with. Ethnic cleansing is going on in that country, and the US hasn't won shit.

Read your own fucking words Petraeus. POS war criminal.

[Recursion]

7. ?

What he doesn't understand is that the "surge" led to the current state of unrest in Iraq to begin with

Eh? I don't think you can compare 2013, or even 2008, with 2005 and early 2006, can you?

[joshcryer]

15. He does.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. 2013 is pretty close

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/ (Monthly table)

2005: 16,212 deaths - 1,351 per month.
1st 4 months of 2006: 1,544, 1,570, 1,940, 1,794.

2013: October casualties so far: 1,056 civilians killed.
Over 7,000 killed this year.

It's not that far below the 2005 figures.

[Recursion]

20. Fair enough

I didn't realize it was that high. I honestly don't know much at all about the current violence; I was under the impression the "drag people off in the night and torture them to death with power drills" stuff had stopped.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. I don't know if the kidnapping is still significant

but the number of bombs, and the casualties from them, is high at the moment.

[bemildred]

25. It looks like low-grade civil war to me in the west.

If you want to still consider it separate from the Syrian conflict. I think the chaos in Iraq is not unrelated to the sudden desire to restore some sort of order in Syria, perhaps. Even if the Saudis don't like it.

[Festivito]

18. +1

[malaise]

4. Careful

Of course Betrayus means they won the oil contracts and fuck humanity.

[newfie11]

5. Blowing an innocent country to smithereens

Bombing innocent civilians, distroying infrastructure, poisoning the country with radioactive parts left behind.
Yeah this is sure something to be proud of!!!

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. I like your thinking .. we need to send you

to Afghanistan to head that operation and then to the CIA.

Do you teach? You could get a job at a prestigious university too. You know how to get things done

[KG]

9. or 'How we paid off the warlords so we could pretend we won'

it's a fucking joke. run of the mill generals defeating a prostate country with the largest army in the world suddenly being hailed as some sort of genius for the not fucking it up.

[B Calm]

10. We won?

[Enthusiast]

22. We really really really lost.

And Iraq lost even though there is no longer a Saddam Hussein.

[Snake Plissken]

11. We all know what the war profiteers won, but what exactly did 'we' win in Iraq?

4,486 American fatalities?

32,223 Wounded Americans?

Trillions of dollars in debt?

Providing al Qaeda a base in the Middle East to operate?

One Million dead Iraqis?

[sendero]

14. Lying liars and the lies...

...... they spew. It ought to be crime to peddle this bullshit.

[another_liberal]

16. All we won was the hatred and loathing of the rest of the World.

Despite the bravery, sacrifice and monumental waste that went into our war against Iraq, all we won was the hatred and loathing of the rest of the World, that and, finally, a chance to leave in shame and disgust.

Petraeus is a war criminal and a self-serving liar. Look for him to run for political office soon.

[ReRe]

17. Agree with everything you said....

... that SOB needs to go somewhere and never come out in public again. Does he have bodyguards?

Should read "How I won in Iraq!" It was party time all the while he was over there, right? What a POS. Nothing more disgusting than a dude who is a legend in his own mind, when in fact he is a pure-tee narcissistic psychopath.

[another_liberal]

30. No doubt he'll get a hero's welcome . . .

He's just waiting for most people to forget about the mistress, then he'll run for office on the slogan: "Our military won in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Obama stabbed us in the back!"

Look for him to receive a hero's welcome at the next Republican national convention.

[ReRe]

32. That bunch just can't believe...

... that the party is over. They have no idea how ridiculous they look and sound. This one ('Betrayus) needs to go to his retreat and become an outdoors-man for the rest of his life and stay OUT of the publics eye.

[JHB]

23. What he describes is at best "salvaged", not "won"

Here's the money quote:

At the highest level, President Bush's decision to conduct the surge was exceedingly courageous. His advisers were split on the decision, with many favoring other approaches that in my view would have failed. And as the going did get tougher over the early months of the surge, President Bush's steadfast leadership and his personal commitment to seeing the war through to a successful conclusion (albeit one that might take many years to unfold) took on enormous significance.

***
President Bush's commitment had an enormous psychological effect on our men and women in Iraq, as well as on the Iraqi people. Our troopers recognized that we had a chance to do what was needed to reverse the terrible cycle of violence that had gripped Iraq in the throes of civil war. And the citizens of the Land of the Two Rivers realized that there was still hope that the new Iraq could realize the potential that so many had hoped for in the wake of the ousting of Saddam Hussein and the collapse of the Ba'athist regime in 2003.

Nowhere does he mention that everything he writes about was due to the complete, double-barreled failures of Bush: first and foremost for launching the war under false pretenses, and second -- having launched the war -- the absolute and complete failure to maintain order and provide the public with basic security and other needs. Everything in Petraeus's article is about cleaning up the mess that took root because Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the neocon PNAC gallery bet the lives of soldiers and civilians that their pet power play could be done on the cheap. And what would they care if it didn't? They got rid of Saddam like they wanted to, and the rest didn't cost them anything, did it? What price did they pay?

Iraq is not a "win", certainly not on the alleged (and now obviously false to anyone not infoxicated) reasons for launching the invasion, nor even on "oust Saddam and let Iraqis move on" grounds. Accepted counterinsurgency doctrine would have required at least twice the number of troops Rumsfeld sent in, with three- or four-times the number more likely to be effective. Of course, troop levels that high would have made it impossible to keep claiming that the war could be done quickly and cheaply, which would have changed the political calculations of those who voted for the AUMF. So the Bushies said whatever would get their foot in the door, and to hell with whoever paid the actual price for it.

That observation is glaringly absent from Petraeus' talk about his "win".

[Ichingcarpenter]

26. Petraeus' new talk is on

How Normandy was really a diversion and the real attack was supposed to be on the Pas-de-Calais. It was only when the Allies' diversion worked better than expected that they called off the main invasion at the Pas-de-Calais.

Anyway thanks for your input because I know many couldn't stand reading his revision of history and needed some insight on his article.

It made me so angry I had to make a joke about it and not tear it apart as it needed to be done.

I'm sure his op ed will get tons of rebuttals over time.

[JoePhilly]

24. So ... "Mission Accomplished" ????

[spanone]

27. obviously petraeus doesn't know shit from shinola. he's in the war business, what else would he say

fuck the warriors

[SDjack]

28. We even lost what we wanted the most -- Chinese companies were selected by Iraq govt

to exploit its oil fields.

[Blue Owl]

29. With foreward by Ted Cruz

n/t

[marmar]

31. That's the Orwellian newspeak world we live in.