The US border and immigration have consumed the attention of conservatives in countless measure. Republicans have decreased or stopped contributing to the party, and voters have rallied in the hundreds of thousands in response to the proposed immigration reform bill. Radio stations, television and cable channels are seeing huge increases in ad revenues as a result of capitalizing on the heightened frenzy over the fate of the estimated twelve million undocumented people already in the US.
George Bush’s approval ratings are continuing to plummet and the fate of the Republican Party is uncertain. The immigration hysteria is single-handedly undermining the chances for a GOP win in 2008. One can only imagine the consequences of an Obama win in 08. With his strings being pulled by the evil puppeteer George Soros, a win for Obama would represent a long awaited win for Soros. Soros has openly stated his animosity for George Bush and the United States. The very inexperienced Obama does not have a foundation of support inside of the Beltway. His evil puppeteer would bind and closet him within minutes of his being sworn in; giving the evil puppeteer absolute and complete control. Even Hillary looks good in contrast to Obama and she is shamelessly promoting her socialist agenda as the gospel according to the goddess.
Why did George Bush acquiesce on the border issue? He needed to make the ultimate sacrifice for the long term good of the American people and life as we know it today. Remember what George said,
“Democracies don’t harbor terrorists. It’s not in their political or economic interest to do so.”
His vision has been to bring democracies to the Middle East as the most powerful deterrent to the spread of terrorism. The media has worked overtime against the success of a democratic Iraq and for that matter Afghanistan. This is the very same liberal media constantly doing the bidding of liberal Democrats.
When Americans last took to the voting booths, they were influenced by the most powerful political voice; the media. The result netted a Democratic stronghold in Congress. George Bush found himself in a difficult situation. He needs Congress to continue funding the fight for Democracy in the Middle East. The Democrats in Congress need George Bush to support the Immigration Reform Bill enabling the twelve million immigrants to potentially become legalized Kool-ade drinkers.
Understanding that sometimes one must sacrifice a battle in order to win the war, George made a deal. By doing so he relied on the ability of the American people to understand the long term, heinous, ramifications of leaving the Middle East. He also understands that the majority of the immigrants potentially eligible for legal status in the US are Catholic thereby; faith based and more likely to be pro-life and against gay marriage. These are among the core qualities shared by conservatives. George Bush believes that reason will prevail and that conservatives will understand the social, economic and political benefits resulting from changing the status of the undocumented workers and their families. The majority of the immigrants are far more likely to become Republicans because they will be guided by their Catholic values and mores.
The recent article and speech by Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson clearly exemplifies the fact that the media is ruining America and liberal Americans are savoring the short term anti-Bush glory. The frantic reaction over the border is also being exacerbated by the media. The media baited Americans to believe that our involvement in the Middle East is wrong, a waste of time, money and lives and that George Bush’s engagement in the conflict is directly tied to his oil interests. Believing that they have won their Iraq war PR campaign the media switched to the border debate counting on the vociferous objections from conservatives to drive the final nail into George Bush’s casket.
Conservatives need to peel the blinders off of their eyes, open their ears and sniff out the lies before they continue to blindly consume to poison bate being left for them by the media. Brig. Gen. Anderson’s hands on assessment of the situation in Iraq should be sent to every American’s email in box.
URL of this article:
http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/index.php
Jun 4, 2007
WASHINGTON: A U.S. general serving with Multinational Force Iraq recently took time out of his mid-deployment leave to let the American public know that the situation in Iraq is different from what they might think.
Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson, deputy chief of staff for resources and sustainment, spoke yesterday with representatives of veterans service organizations, outlining a speech he gave earlier at James Madison University about what he believes are 10 myths about the conflict in Iraq.
"There are some signs that our new strategy is working," Brig. Gen. Anderson said in a teleconference from Baghdad. "It's going to be a long, hot summer, and it won't be really until the end of it that we'll be able to evaluate it. There is plenty of opportunity, and plenty of reason to be cautiously optimistic about what's going on over there."
The 10 myths, as outlined by Brig. Gen. Anderson, are:
The war in Iraq is about oil;
The U.S. is fighting alone in Iraq;
Iraq is engulfed in a full-scale civil war;
The Iraqis were better off under Saddam Hussein than under the new government;
The Iraqi government is ineffective;
Economic development is non-existent in Iraq;
Contractors cost the U.S. government too much money;
U.S. troops aren't properly equipped;
Morale is low among U.S. troops; and
The U.S. has lost in Iraq.
None of these myths are true, Brig. Gen. Anderson said, and the situation in Iraq is much better than is often reported here.
The war in Iraq is essentially a fight against religious extremists, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. And while oil is an important element in the situation, it is not the key element. "It is essentially about freedom and peace and democracy, in my opinion," he said.
The United States is not alone in the fight, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. About 32 countries are contributing troops to the fight in Iraq, and about 40 countries are providing contractors and logistics support.
"It's truly a coalition of many nations, and all of them are committed equally to helping the Iraqis build their security forces and counter violence and empower the Iraqis to eventually take control and secure their nation," he said.
While violence levels in Iraq still are unacceptable, the situation is not a full-scale civil war, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. The fight involves religious extremists on the fringe and does not involve large-scale force-on-force combat, he pointed out.
The existence in Iraq of free speech, a free press and a democratically elected government are all signs that the Iraqi people are better off now than they were under Saddam, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. In addition, major improvements in the country's infrastructure have improved the people's quality of life, he said. Sewer, water, trash and electricity services all are improving, and the coalition has built almost 1,000 schools, renovated 97 railway stations, built 51 primary health-care centers and renovated 32 hospitals.
The Iraqi government does have room for improvement, but it is still a young democracy and it has made significant progress since its inception, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. Four of Iraq's 18 provinces are now completely under provincial-government control for security, and their ability to provide services to the people is improving.
"Do they need to get better? Absolutely," he said. "But are there signs that they are getting better? Absolutely."
The signs of economic progress in Iraq are very encouraging:
The Iraqi economy has cut inflation in half
The gross domestic product increased 40 percent in 2006 and is projected to grow more in 2007
The per capita income has doubled
The economy is getting foreign investments
The United States is working with the government to reduce corruption in the economy, improve oil exports and revitalize Iraqi businesses
"One need only to go to a place like Irbil, up north in Kurdistan, to see (what's) possible - an Iraqi city that is vibrant, has high employment and a flourishing economy," Brig. Gen. Anderson said. "It's almost like walking down the streets of a typical European city, with restaurants and shops and car dealerships. It's a thriving place, and I believe that is a demonstration of what is possible hopefully in the very, very near term."
Contractors are valuable contributors to the coalition mission in Iraq and have actually increased their services while reducing costs over the years, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. In addition, contractors, many of whom are from countries besides the U.S., risk their lives every day alongside coalition troops, he said. "I believe that they are patriots in every sense of the word," he said of the contractors who serve in Iraq.
Although the enemy is adaptive and constantly changes tactics to defeat U.S. defenses, U.S. troops are extremely well outfitted and receive the latest technologies to protect them, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. Body armor is provided to every troop who deploys, and vehicle armor is constantly upgraded as technologies become available, he said. In addition, Iraqi troops are becoming increasingly well equipped. They have armored vehicles, mortars, helicopters and aircraft, and the government is spending $7 billion this year to improve their equipment, he said.
Retention rates among deployed troops prove that morale is high, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. The troops know that many Americans don't support the war, but they continue to see the outpouring of support for those who fight, he said.
"This new generation of kids is unbelievable, and I think they are representing Americans extremely well," he said. "They're disciplined and compassionate; they don't pull the trigger indiscriminately; and they go truly overboard to protect citizens and respect Islamic culture."
The new operational strategy for Iraq is still in the initial stages, but there are encouraging signs already, Brig. Gen. Anderson said. Coalition and Iraqi forces will, for the first time, have enough troops to secure areas of Baghdad after clearing them of insurgents. More soldiers in an area does mean more opportunities for conflict with the enemy, so leaders expect the situation will get worse before it gets better, but they believe the new strategy can work, he said.
"We understand that the military cannot win the war (on its own), but we're certainly not losing it," he said. "We can only help set the conditions for a political solution; we understand that.
"We must continue to apply all of our political, military and diplomatic, economic and informational power to this fight," he continued. "We understand that this is the defining international event of our time. We absolutely understand that we must win this struggle and that we must prevail, and I'm optimistic that the opportunity still exists in order to do that."
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