Inspiration for this post drawn from the ever vigilant Flopping Aces reporting on Iraq.
DoD press briefing with Lt. General Odierno - May 31, 2007
Speaking to the assembled press from Camp Victory in Baghdad, Lt General Odierno describes the situation in Iraq and what changes 'The Surge" has wrought since January 2007. As far as I know, not one member of congress sat in on this briefing with the Lt. General.
The slide images presented below are from the briefing and I've included them along with highlights from his presentation. You can read the full briefing HERE
We're well into our third month in Fard al-Qanun, and although we've made some very clear progress, there's still, as you all know, a great deal of work left to do.
You should be looking currently at a map of Iraq, which is the current Multinational Corps-Iraq concept for Iraq. Our top priority right now is to create stability and security to protect the Iraqi people, first and foremost in Baghdad. The population and the government of Iraq are the center of gravity. Creating a stable environment in Baghdad should provide time and space for the Iraqi government to continue to mature as a government and continue to build its capacity.
AQI represents our most significant and volatile threat within Iraq, and will go to any lengths to undermine the efforts of the coalition and the government of Iraq.Their brutal nature is unmatched, with total disregard for human life.
A fact ignored or perhaps celebrated by Code Pink and their supporters when the organization with the help from Rep. Waxman (D-Ca) chose to donate $600,000 to 'the other side' in Fallujah
As the chart indicates, we have 12 coalition brigades and 44 combat battalions operating in Baghdad and the belts. This equates to approximately 50,000 combat troops. Our enemy is focused on establishing footholds outside the city, and we are focused on denying them sanctuary to plan these terrible attacks that brutally terrorize Iraq's innocent civilians. Our forces within the 10 security districts, along with the Iraqi security forces, are working on securing the population. Parts of the city are more secure than others, but there's still, as you all know, a great deal of work to do.Is this the work of uneducated, uncontrolled soldiers that our elected officials often describe as terrorists? Or is this the work mercenaries - the media's newest pet term for our soldiers?
Our soldiers' close interaction with the population is paying dividends.
Just last week we received tips from concerned citizens that led to the discover of 26 IEDs in on night in an East Rashid neighborhood. The mission of our forces in the belts around the city are denying accelerants, interdicting the enemy's lines of communication and also protecting the local citizens.
The Iraqi security force continues to develop and grow, assisted by embedded transition teams. Yes, there are still problems within the Iraqi security forces -- some sectarian, some manning and some to do with equipping. But progress is being made, and it's steady. The Iraqi security force plans, coordinates and conducts missions either alongside or often independent of coalition forces.
Coalition soldiers live, work and patrol with their Iraqi counterparts, developing relationships with each other and building the trust of the local residents. That is our goal. In addition, we hope this will help to build confidence of the populace in their own Iraqi security forces. We believe overall this will provide confidence and hope to the Iraqi people. People are thanking us for driving away gangs, criminals and terrorists, but we have not completed the mission.
The next three slides below speak for themselves and yet this information has not made the front page of any newspaper in the US.
Can anyone (libs) provide me with some statistics of what al-queda has been working on in rebuilding this nation? What is their global plan of economic development for the Iraqi people? How many schools and health clinics have they built? What benefits do they offer in exchange for lending your support to al-queda. A hug from the mother of Casey Sheehan does NOT count as a benefit!
The moral of this press briefing: We have seen real progress in this early stage of the Surge, yet far more work is needed to break al-queda and uplift Iraq. To semi-quote John Lennon: " All that we're saying: is give surge a chance".
X-Posted at Ancora Imparo
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