Patraeus: Quelling Iraqi insurgency may take ten more years

General David Patraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, stressed patience on Sunday and suggested that the US could be dealing with the Iraqi insurgency for another decade:

Stabilizing Iraq could take as long as a decade, says the U.S. commander in Baghdad.

"In fact, typically, I think historically, counterinsurgency operationshave gone at least nine or 10 years," Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday."The question is, of course, at what level."

Patraeus also became the first US official to hint that the troop surge will need to be maintained into next year, even though the military is at a breaking point:

"Fox News" Host Chris Wallace asked Petraeus, "You surely don't think the job would be done by the surge by September?"

"I do not, no," Petraeus replied. "We have a lot of heavy lifting todo. The damage done by the sectarian violence in the fall and winter of2006 and early 2007 ... was substantial."

Overnight, the logic went from 'stay the course' to maintaining unsustainable troop numbers that makes the US more vulnerable if a conflict breaks out elsewhere.  And there are few signs that this strategy is helping Iraq's long-term security.

In Baghdad, students are fearful of showing up for finals.  Security guards that watch a university were afraid to erase militant graffiti from the wall in fear that they would be killed:

Six guards sharing two rifles said they were afraid to wipe off theslogans. "If we did that, we would lose our heads," said one, whorefused to give his name for fear of being targeted.

The editor of an Iraqi newspaper was found slain over the weekend -- making him the 85th Iraqi journalist to die since the war began.  More than 36 people died on Monday just south of Baghdad after a fierce gun battle erupted in the streets.  Three US soldiers were killed over the weekend -- bringing the toll to 3,525.

Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), one of the few Republicans that opposes the war, had lunch with a US Marine who worked with an Iraqi officer.  The Marine told Smith that when the Iraqi officer revealed to his fellow cadets that he was Catholic, they stoned him to death.

What are we doing sending our soldiers to an uncivilized, socially intolerant place like Iraq?  It will never become the democracy we wanted.  You cannot successfully change people that have lived a certain way for one thousand years.  Only they can change themselves.

Comments

[granny]

PATIENCE!?!

Two rifles shared between six guards ?!!

Democracy "we" wanted?!!

Has everyone lost their senses?!!

This is a madman's dream...

Why are we tolerating this?!