Situation Called Dire in West Iraq (Anbar Is Lost Politically)

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001204.html

Situation Called Dire in West Iraq
Anbar Is Lost Politically, Marine Analyst Says

By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 11, 2006; Page A01

The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western al Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.

The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq.

One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province, "We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically -- and that's where wars are won and lost."

The "very pessimistic" statement, as one Marine officer called it, was dated Aug. 16 and sent to Washington shortly after that, and has been discussed across the Pentagon and elsewhere in national security circles. "I don't know if it is a shock wave, but it's made people uncomfortable," said a Defense Department official who has read the report. Like others interviewed about the report, he spoke on the condition that he not be identified by name because of the document's sensitivity.

[Kagemusha]

1. And then Cheney says we only lose if we stop wanting to fight.

So we can tread water for the next decade like Soviets.

[Renew Deal]

2. I want to fight

I honestly have no problem with fighting. But what the &*^$# are we fighting for? If we were fighting against those that attack us, then lets fight. If we are fighting in some war for this country then lets fight. But to fight a war for nothing based on lies with no strategy or exit plan, what's the point. Our country is weaker. Our military is in shambles. Our reputation is destroyed. Let's fight. And the correct fight is a fight for change at home.

[Mr_Spock]

9. Cheney belongs in an institution for the criminally insane

Why he's not in front of a firing squad for treason is beyond me.

[greccogirl]

3. I'm always skeptical when I read

about people who file "secret" reports. And they show up on the news?

[Roy]

15. While this administration in power......

ALL reports that tells the truth about the realities in Iraq and this country must be filed secret and anonymously for the retaliation will be swift and strong, maybe even deadly for low profile persons.

[Mark E. Smith]

4. WP: Situation Called Dire in West Iraq

Anbar is Lost Politically, Marine Analyst Says

Washington Post Sept 11, 2006

The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently
filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for
securing that country's western al Anbar province are dim and that
there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the
political and social situation there, said several military officers
and intelligence officials familar with its contents.

The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of
the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military
officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq.

One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province,
"We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated
politically -- and that's where wars are won and lost."

The "very pessimistic" statement, as one Marine officer put it, was
dated Auig. 16 and sent to Washington shortly after that, and has
been discussed across the Pentagon and elsewhere in national
security circles. "I don't know if it is a shock wave, but it's made
people uncomfortable," said a defense Department official who
has read the report. Like others interviewed about the report, he
spoke on the condition that he not be identified by name because
of the document's sensitivity.

Devlin reports that there is no functioning Iraqi government
intitutions in Anbar, leaving a vacuum that has been filled by the
insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001204.html

Bush has pretty much lost this war. Move aside Gerald Ford, we
now have another war loser for the history books.

[Lost-in-FL]

5. Is that Clinton's fault too?

:eyes:

[Straight Shooter]

6. Why does the Washington Post hate America?

Cheney believes that anything other than gung-ho support for the war emboldens the terrorists. Articles like this are demoralizing and unpatriotic.

:sarcasm:

[Kagemusha]

7. Obvious solution is more wiretapping, criminal investigations,

throwing reporters in jail to force them to reveal their sources etc, because reports that we're not winning threaten national resolve which is the only means by which we'll lose, as opposed to treading water and bleeding forever.

Watch people call for it.

[Recursion]

8. DELVIN!!!???!??

OK.... let me just add a bit of context here...

Col. Delvin is (was) a True Believer; as close to a kool-aid'er as a serving Marine officer can be. I knew this dude back when he was temp. XO'ing 5th Marines.

This is beyond huge. This is the most hawkish voice I know among the forward officer corps in the Marines saying we've lost.

[Kagemusha]

10. Thank you for that information - the rest of us have little to go on.

I think Anbar Province is good at sobering the most gung-ho Marines out there, except the ones paid to be spokesmen whose job demands denial of reality rather than the recognition of it.

[karlrschneider]

11. Are we sure it's the same guy? Devlin, or Delvin...?

...

[Recursion]

18. My bad, different guy

Guy I knew was definitely Delvin, and was not intel. Oh well...

[warrens]

24. Maybe they ran out of Kool-Aid. You know, like edible food, armor

And all the other shit they "forgot" to send to our troops.

[appleannie1]

12. From another area of Iraq

The ongoing evolution of Sadr from populist cleric to guerrilla leader to political kingmaker is emerging as a core challenge to U.S. visions of stability in Iraq. He's a question mark that many analysts say needs to be dealt with immediately and delicately.

"Sadr is a work in progress," said Phebe Marr, a leading expert on Iraqi politics. "He is volatile, an opportunist and dangerous. But he is also popular and has grass-roots support among an important slice of the population. He and his movement need to be dealt with carefully and skillfully before he can take permanent root.

"He is too powerful now to take him on frontally."

Senior U.S. military officials are starting to share this view. Once dismissed by Bush administration officials and U.S. generals as irrelevant to Iraq's future, Sadr is increasingly seen as a man who has the power to either implode Iraq or keep it together, even as his militia continues to defy the authority of the Iraqi government and its U.S. backers. As sectarian violence ravages Baghdad and other parts of the country, Sunni Muslims accuse Sadr's Mahdi Army of operating death squads under the mantle of Islam.

"There's not a military solution in my view to Moqtada al-Sadr," a senior coalition official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We may be a bit uncomfortable with his position as a legitimate political figure, but he is a legitimate player."

It's a remarkable shift for two enemies whose forces are the most powerful in Iraq and fought some of the deadliest battles since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. But in the fourth year of the occupation, the nature of the Iraqi resistance has changed as politics, religion and war have melded. The guerrilla fighters now control key ministries and derive legitimacy as much from the polls as they do from the battlefield.

Publicly, U.S. officials have declared the Mahdi Army and other militias the biggest threat to Iraq's stability. Privately, their views are now more nuanced.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091000953.html?sub=AR

So why are we there? If Bush wanted to kick and I quote "Saddam's M***** F****** Ass all over the Middle East" Why didn't he just go do it himself and leave our men and women out of it?

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. This will be common knowledge by april of next year

When we are doing a Saigon style retreat.

[rodeodance]

14. and the war is esculating in Afghan. I think we are in 'maintain' hold til

the US election.

[Botany]

16. But Cheney just said things are going great.

"....... reports that there are no functioning Iraqi government institutions in Anbar ........."

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Does this mean Cheney isn't telling the truth? Nah, that can't be.

Cheney has such an honest face. I feel deceived.

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. Why does the Marine Corps C of I hate America?

OBVIOUSLY he is a stealth liberal, planted by Bill Clinton to undermine our nation's credibility at a time when it is vulnerable. And anyway, his report is a criminal offense: members of the military are not allowed to question policy or say or do anything that casts the Commander In Chief or any other member of the command structure in a poor light. OFF WITH HIS HEAD!

:sarcasm:

[civildisoBDence]

20. An old African proverb says, "He who takes something apart

should first know how to put it back together again."

DUHbya has disassembled Iraq (and "disassemble" doesn't mean "to lie," dumbass; that's "dissemble, which you do regularly)--now all his horses and all his men can't put it back together again.

Newsprism

[Spazito]

21. Wow, that's a scathing report that was NOT meant to see the light of

day, I have little doubt. Thanks for posting.

[IWantAChange]

22. calling DNC calling DNC

broadcast this negative assessment of Iraq loud and long right now - start to play the game with more of a Rovian mindset. Imagine using facts and assessments from the military to support what everyone knows - THE 'WAR' IS GOING BADLY - c,mon guys, get in the game.

[llmart]

23. That damned librul media..................

why can't they report some of the good news that's coming out of Iraq? Aren't there some pencils being handed out or something?

[Rhiannon12866]

25. US intel report: Iraq's Anbar province 'politically lost'

Chief Marine analyst says region's political vacuum being filled by Al Qaeda.
By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com

In a report that some have said is the most negative yet filed by a senior military officer in Iraq, the chief of intelligence for the US Marine Corps in Iraq concluded that the possibilities of the US and Iraqi governments securing the troubled western Iraqi province of Anbar are remote.

The Washington Post reports that Col. Pete Devlin's assessment, written in mid-August, also says that "there is almost nothing the US military can do to improve the political and social situation there."

One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province, "We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically – and that's where wars are won and lost." The "very pessimistic" statement, as one Marine officer called it, was dated Aug. 16 and sent to Washington shortly after that, and has been discussed across the Pentagon and elsewhere in national security circles. "I don't know if it is a shock wave, but it's made people uncomfortable," said a Defense Department official who has read the report. ...

Devlin reports that there are no functioning Iraqi government institutions in Anbar, leaving a vacuum that has been filled by the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has become the province's most significant political force, said the Army officer, who has read the report. Another person familiar with the report said it describes Anbar as beyond repair; a third said it concludes that the United States has lost in Anbar.

The Post reports that Colonel Devlin offers several reasons for this situation: a lack of US and Iraqi troops in the province, the collapse of local governments, and a weak central government with almost no presence in the region.

News of Devlin's comments about Iraq come only a few days after the Canadian Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor said it was impossible to militarily eliminate the Taliban in Afghanistan. NATO military leaders there also complained about a lack of troops to fight that country's growing insurgency. The Times of London also reports that one of Britain's top soldiers in Afghanistan quit the Army last month because he was so frustrated with the situation in that country. Captain Leo Docherty of the Scots Guards said the campaign in the southern province of Helmand province has become "a textbook case of how to a counter-insurgency

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0911/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu

[whistle]

26. So, do we stay the course and dump another $400 billion and...

...countless more American dead and wounded into winning back Iraq, or do we get out now? I say leave now.

[Rhiannon12866]

27. I've been saying that we should get out now for more than three years.

We can't do any good there. They hate us and our presence there only foments more violence. We need to get out and bring a multinational force of peacekeepers in, including other Arab nations in their number. The UN can handle this better than we can. We obviously can't.:dunce:

But why should anyone be surprised about this? This province includes Fallujah... It's also huge.:eyes:

Edited to include map.