The Senate Majority Whip, Senator Dick Durbin (D-ILL), has told CNN that the United States is, in his opinion, making military progress in Iraq. He also said that we are “intercepting al Qaeda” with our operations.
SEN. DICK DURBIN: There were two important parts of this story, the military type as Senator Casey said the men and women were doing their best and making real progress. We found that today as we went to a forward base. The fifth year of the war, it’s the first time we’re putting troops on the ground to intercept al Qaeda. There’s another side to this story the Brookings institution shouldn’t miss. As we are seeing military progress, any political scene is discouraging. We are seeing the al Maliki government once branded the government of unity coming apart. We are seeing Sunnis and others leaving and not becoming the stability of this country.
The surge is working, folks. Yet, most Democrats insist we are making no progress and that we should withdraw immediately. A military success in Iraq would be a defeat for Democrats here at home. They’re counting on a never-ending stream of bad news from Iraq, in order to propel them to victory in ‘08. Any good signs of progress would dampen their chances. That’s certainly something they don’t want.
The video can be viewed over at The Weekly Standard. Incidentally, as Allah points out, British PM Gordon Brown is hoping for a withdrawal of US troops after Petraeus’ report to Congress in September. Allah figures it’s to make Britain’s own disastrous withdrawal from Basra seem less disastrous.
By the way, when watching the video, take note of how Senator Casey says the surge is working. In the next he stands by his votes against it. He also notes that the soldiers are dedicated to the effort.
They say the surge is working. They say the troops are dedicated. They say there is definitely progress being made. In the same breath, they’re calling for a change in direction. Interesting.
by Stephan Tawney on Wed, Aug 8, 2007