SUPPORT THE TROOPS

An Iraqi soldier with head wounds, left, asks a wounded colleague to write his home telephone number so that he can inform the man's family.

In Maureen Dowd's December 3 column, "W.'s Head in the Sand," she highlighted the cowardice and incompetence of Iraqi forces.

She used a Time reporter that Anderson Cooper interviewed as the source for her generalization.

Dowd wrote:

At the Naval Academy, President Bush talked about how well the Iraqi security forces were fighting. He claimed that 40 Iraqi battalions were taking the lead in the fight against insurgents, and that in the battle of Tal Afar this year, “the assault was primarily led by Iraqi security forces – 11 Iraqi battalions backed by 5 coalition battalions providing support.”

Anderson Cooper of CNN swiftly produced Time magazine’s Baghdad bureau chief, Michael Ware, who was embedded with the U.S. military during the entire Tal Afar battle. “With the greatest respect to the president, that’s completely wrong,” Mr. Ware said, adding: “I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with Al Qaeda. They were not leading.”

He also told Mr. Cooper: “I have had a very senior officer here in Baghdad say to me that there’s never going to be a point where these guys will be able to stand up against the insurgency on their own.”

Mr. Ware recalled that in a battle two weeks ago, he saw an Iraqi security officer put down his weapon and curl up into a ball when he was under attack. “I have seen that on – on many, many occasions,” he said.

Curling up in a ball. Good National Strategy for Victory.


I'm not in a position to dispute Ware's account of what he witnessed as an embedded reporter.

However, I'm deeply troubled by the consistent manner in which the libs dismiss the Iraqis that are fighting the insurgents. These libs demean their bravery and their sacrifice.

On Saturday, nineteen Iraqi soldiers were killed when they were ambushed.

From December 4, 2005, Reuters:

BAQOUBA, Iraq -- Insurgents ambushed an Iraqi army patrol north of Baghdad yesterday, killing 19 soldiers one day after the Pentagon announced that 10 U.S. Marines were killed by a bomb west of the capital.

A roadside bomb exploded as the Iraqi soldiers were moving in a five-vehicle patrol near Baqouba, 40 miles from Baghdad. Immediately afterward, gunmen opened fire in what police described as a well-planned assault.

Police sources said the 19 soldiers were from southern Iraq, where the population is largely Shi'ite Muslim, potentially adding a sectarian element to the attack.

The Iraqi army unit was patrolling about 60 miles north of Baghdad, near Adhaim. According to AP, survivors of the attack said, "insurgents triggered a roadside bomb and then showered the patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire."

How in God's name are Maureen Dowd and others like her able to make sweeping generalizations depicting the Iraqi soldiers as cowards?

Are the lives of these nineteen men of no significance to them?

How can it be so easy for the libs to dispel the Iraqis' commitment to freedom?

Iraqis are dying for it.

While it is legitimate to be concerned about the Iraqis' ability to take over the security of their own country, I am sick of the criticism coming from Dowd, Dems, and libs that ignores the sacrifices being made by the Iraqis fighting for democracy and freedom. They completely brush off the many stories of the Iraqis whom courageously are stepping up to thwart the insurgency.

Everyday, more and more Iraqis are trained to fight more effectively. I find the way that Dems and their media mouthpieces belittle what these forces are accomplishing to be unconscionable.

In addition to the hopelessly misguided Dowd, John Murtha provides a perfect example of the distortion of the truth.

When he appeared on Meet the Press, November 20, 2005, Murtha had this exchange with Tim Russert:

MR. RUSSERT: Congressman, according to our military experts, there are only 700 Iraqi troops who are fully independent and combat ready. That being the case, if we withdraw our troops quickly from Iraq, won't the Iraqi citizens be overwhelmed by the al-Qaeda and Saddam loyalists? Are the Iraqis capable of defending themselves without the U.S.?

REP. MURTHA: Tim, I'm absolutely convinced that we're making no progress at all, and I've been complaining for two years that there's an overly optimistic--an illusionary process going on here. They keep trying to measure Iraqi troops by our standards. They don't need to meet our standard. And until we turn it over to the Iraqis, we're going to continue to do the fighting. Our young men and women are going to continue to suffer.

The numbers from NBC's "military experts" and Murtha's conclusion that "we're making no progress at all" don't come close to the facts given by President Bush in his speech at the Naval Academy last Wednesday.

Transcript excerpt

THE PRESIDENT: At this time last year, there were only a handful of Iraqi battalions ready for combat. Now, there are over 120 Iraqi Army and Police combat battalions in the fight against the terrorists -- typically comprised of between 350 and 800 Iraqi forces. Of these, about 80 Iraqi battalions are fighting side-by-side with coalition forces, and about 40 others are taking the lead in the fight. Most of these 40 battalions are controlling their own battle space, and conducting their own operations against the terrorists with some coalition support -- and they're helping to turn the tide of this struggle in freedom's favor. America and our troops are proud to stand with the brave Iraqi fighters.

...As Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead in the fight against the terrorists, they're also taking control of more and more Iraqi territory. At this moment, over 30 Iraqi Army battalions have assumed primary control of their own areas of responsibility. In Baghdad, Iraqi battalions have taken over major sectors of the capital -- including some of the city's toughest neighborhoods. Last year, the area around Baghdad's Haifa Street was so thick with terrorists that it earned the nickname "Purple Heart Boulevard." Then Iraqi forces took responsibility for this dangerous neighborhood -- and attacks are now down.

Our coalition has handed over roughly 90 square miles of Baghdad province to Iraqi security forces. Iraqi battalions have taken over responsibility for areas in South-Central Iraq, sectors of Southeast Iraq, sectors of Western Iraq, and sectors of North-Central Iraq. As Iraqi forces take responsibility for more of their own territory, coalition forces can concentrate on training Iraqis and hunting down high-value targets, like the terrorist Zarqawi and his associates.

We're also transferring forward operating bases to Iraqi control. Over a dozen bases in Iraq have been handed over to the Iraqi government -- including Saddam Hussein's former palace in Tikrit, which has served as the coalition headquarters in one of Iraq's most dangerous regions. From many of these bases, the Iraqi security forces are planning and executing operations against the terrorists -- and bringing security and pride to the Iraqi people.

Progress by the Iraqi security forces has come, in part, because we learned from our earlier experiences and made changes in the way we help train Iraqi troops. When our coalition first arrived, we began the process of creating an Iraqi Army to defend the country from external threats, and an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps to help provide the security within Iraq's borders. The civil defense forces did not have sufficient firepower or training -- they proved to be no match for an enemy armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars. So the approach was adjusted. Working with Iraq's leaders, we moved the civil defense forces into the Iraqi Army, we changed the way they're trained and equipped, and we focused the Army's mission on defeating those fighting against a free Iraq, whether internal or external.

Now, all Iraqi Army recruits receive about the same length of basic training as new recruits in the U.S. Army -- a five-week core course, followed by an additional three-to-seven weeks of specialized training. With coalition help, Iraqis have established schools for the Iraqi military services, an Iraqi military academy, a non-commissioned officer academy, a military police school, a bomb disposal school -- and NATO has established an Iraqi Joint Staff College. There's also an increased focus on leadership training, with professional development courses for Iraqi squad leaders and platoon sergeants and warrant officers and sergeants-major. A new generation of Iraqi officers is being trained, leaders who will lead their forces with skill -- so they can defeat the terrorists and secure their freedom.

That doesn't sound like only 700 Iraqi troops are combat ready, nor does it support Murtha's claim that no progress "AT ALL" has been made.

The notion that the Iraqis are not moving toward being capable of securing their country is a myth or a lie. Whatever, it's FALSE.

On Saturday, nineteen Iraqis died because they stepped up willingly to fight terrorism and the enemies of freedom. Through their service and sacrifice, these Iraqis exhibited that they believe in democracy and want to guarantee a free Iraq for their families.

They weren't curled up in a ball. They gave their lives for their cause.

The Iraqis do not deserve the mocking and disrespect that they've been getting from American Leftists.

I thought Leftists support the troops.

The question is:

Which troops?