tequila
09-04-2007, 08:08 AM
Weighing the "Surge" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301486_pf.html) - Washington Post, 4 Sep.
Nearly every week, American generals and politicians visit Combat Outpost Gator, nestled behind a towering blast wall in the Dora market. They arrive in convoys of armored Humvees (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/AM+General+Humvee?tid=informline), sometimes accompanied by helicopter gunships, to see what U.S. commanders display as proof of the effectiveness of a seven-month-long security offensive, fueled by 30,000 U.S. reinforcements. Gen. David H. Petraeus (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/David+Petraeus?tid=informline), the top U.S. military (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Armed+Forces?tid=informline) leader in Iraq (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iraq.html?nav=el), frequently cites the market as a sign of progress.
"This is General Petraeus's baby," said Staff Sgt. Josh Campbell, 24, of Winfield, Kan., as he set out on a patrol near the market on a hot evening in mid-August.
Next week, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Ryan+Crocker?tid=informline) will deliver to Congress their much-anticipated response to the central question that has dominated U.S. policy in Iraq this year: Is the "surge" working?
...
In many areas, U.S. forces are now working at cross-purposes with Iraq's elected Shiite-led government by financing onetime Sunni insurgents who say they now want to work with the Americans. The loyalties of the Iraqi military and police -- widely said to be infiltrated by Shiite militias -- remain in doubt.
Even U.S. soldiers assigned to protect Petraeus's showcase remain skeptical. "Personally, I think it's a false representation," Campbell (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Campbell?tid=informline) said, referring to the portrayal of the Dora market as an emblem of the surge's success. "But what can I say? I'm just doing my job and don't ask questions ..."
Good report on conditions in the Dora market, which appears to be something of a Potemkin village for visiting VIPs.
Nearly every week, American generals and politicians visit Combat Outpost Gator, nestled behind a towering blast wall in the Dora market. They arrive in convoys of armored Humvees (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/AM+General+Humvee?tid=informline), sometimes accompanied by helicopter gunships, to see what U.S. commanders display as proof of the effectiveness of a seven-month-long security offensive, fueled by 30,000 U.S. reinforcements. Gen. David H. Petraeus (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/David+Petraeus?tid=informline), the top U.S. military (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Armed+Forces?tid=informline) leader in Iraq (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iraq.html?nav=el), frequently cites the market as a sign of progress.
"This is General Petraeus's baby," said Staff Sgt. Josh Campbell, 24, of Winfield, Kan., as he set out on a patrol near the market on a hot evening in mid-August.
Next week, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Ryan+Crocker?tid=informline) will deliver to Congress their much-anticipated response to the central question that has dominated U.S. policy in Iraq this year: Is the "surge" working?
...
In many areas, U.S. forces are now working at cross-purposes with Iraq's elected Shiite-led government by financing onetime Sunni insurgents who say they now want to work with the Americans. The loyalties of the Iraqi military and police -- widely said to be infiltrated by Shiite militias -- remain in doubt.
Even U.S. soldiers assigned to protect Petraeus's showcase remain skeptical. "Personally, I think it's a false representation," Campbell (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Campbell?tid=informline) said, referring to the portrayal of the Dora market as an emblem of the surge's success. "But what can I say? I'm just doing my job and don't ask questions ..."
Good report on conditions in the Dora market, which appears to be something of a Potemkin village for visiting VIPs.