On the Ground in Iraq

                   
washingtonmonthly.com     Jul 24, 2008            

FP: There's been a debate in the media about how much credit should be given to "the surge" for what you're seeing now. Barack Obama said it was just one of several factors that helped improve the security situation. Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, didn't even credit the addition of U.S. troops in his recent interview with Der Spiegel. Meanwhile, John McCain gives the surge the lion's share of the credit. Who do you think is right? NY: When you ask the Iraqis here, they say that the added U.S. forces were a part of it, but what really turned things around was the Sahwa movement [of former insurgents switching sides], Moqtada's ceasefires, and in their minds, Basra. Basra was the first Iraqi-led success story, and it really changed the momentum. So, the Iraqis that we talk to see it as a complex equation with the... [read full story]                    

Full Coverage

Basra - here's the good news story

freerepublic.com     Jul 24, 2008          

There is an interesting piece of graffiti on a bridge near Basra. A fleeing militiaman has scrawled “We'll be back”; underneath an Iraqi soldier has scribbled in reply “And we'll be waiting for you”. The Shia militias, the...                    

comments

Security in Basra “transformed” - PM

bloggers4labour.org     Jul 24, 2008          

The security situation in the southern Iraqi city of Basra has been “transformed”, with a massive drop in incidents of indirect fire against British troops in recent months, the PM has said. In a statement to Parliament, Mr...                    

comments

Can the Brits Come out to Play?

cjunk.blogspot.com     Jul 25, 2008          

If there ever was a sure sign that all is better in Iraq ... and getting much better by the minute, it's the fact that the UK no longer seems locked up on its base. In fact, UK troops can actually move out and about Basra ......                    

comments