Michael Yon live from Kuwait

Michael Yon called in from Kuwait to discuss his ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Good news in Iraq; sobering news from Afghanistan. Listen to the entire interview at WGIRam.com.

Pick up the best book I've read all year at Amazon.com.

And check out Michael's latest dispatched at PajamasMedia.com.

Obama Fails Foreign Policy Test

Barack Obama has had one test of his foreign policy judgement. Just one. And he failed. Not only that, he has failed to learn from his own failure. The guys at Powerline have the Report Card:

In short, Obama bet the farm on his prediction that General Petraeus and the American military would fail. He was as spectacularly wrong as John McCain was spectacularly right. But his op-ed somehow twists this history into vindication on the theory that Afghanistan has deteriorated, the Iraq war has been expensive, and Iraq's political leaders "have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge."

Let's start with the last point. Obama completely fails to acknowledge the remarkable political progress that has resulted from the surge, as manifested by the fact that the country's largest Sunni bloc has rejoined the government, and the U.S. Embassy reports that 15 of the 18 benchmarks of political progress that were set by Congress are now being met. Those benchmarks were set precisely for the purpose of measuring the "political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge," yet Obama fails even to mention them.

Still more dishonest is Obama's failure to acknowledge what would have happened if his policy prescription, precipitate withdrawal regardless of military conditions, had been followed: chaos, sectarian violence, possibly genocide, a resurgent al Qaeda in control of part of Iraq, with Iran possibly in control of other areas of the country. This would have been a foreign policy disaster, yet Obama, with vague references to cost and Afghanistan, claims vindication!

By the way, Paul Hodes also said that the Surge was "too little, too late" and doomed to fail. He was wrong.

Not seen on the CBS Evening News

The Times of London reports on the fight against Al Qaeda. We're winning:

American and Iraqi forces are driving Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.

After being forced from its strongholds in the west and centre of Iraq in the past two years, Al-Qaeda’s dwindling band of fighters has made a defiant “last stand” in the northern city of Mosul.

A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10.

Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects.

In Iraq, Al Qaeda is one enemy. Iraq is one battlefield. And the war against Islamic Fascism isn't yet won. But every victory like that in Mosul brings us a step closer to a safer world, and our troops a step closer to home.

Victory versus Defeat

With Barack Obama set to wrap up the delegates to capture the nomination under the Democratic Party's byzantine and undemocratic primary process, American voters will face a clear choice in the fall: Victory or Defeat.

John McCain was an often lonely voice calling for more boots on the ground in Iraq. He knows that the only way to bring our troops home permanently is to give them the tools and support they need to win. Otherwise, we will be forced to send another generation overseas to protect our freedoms from the threat of Islamic Fascism.

Barack Obama has consistently called for a rushed retreat, and has refused to acknowledge the progress that American troops and Iraqis are making in rebuilding that society. Like his acolyte, Paul Hodes, Obama is committed to defeat, and unprepared for a foreign policy that protects America.

McCain versus Obama
Victory versus Defeat
That's our choice.

From GraniteGrok

Granite Grok highlights Paul Hodes' continuing effort to silence any good news coming out of Iraq.

For quite some time, the Democrats, like House Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid, have been squawking that "the war is lost - let's run!". Sorrowfully, so have our two Democrat Congressman, Hodes and Shea-Porter.

Problem is, the evidence on the ground, the empirical evidence, the hard truth is, we are winning. Slowly, carefully, and not without pitfalls, the Iraqis are standing up, the Awakening is and has taken hold, and Maliki has grown a pair - evidence in Basra these past few weeks proves it.

Grant Bosse has been holding Hodes' accountable for these indefensible actions.

Progress in the Post

This morning, the Washington Post acknowledged the tremendous progress that both Americans and Iraqis have made in Iraq:

The Iraqi Upturn
Don't look now, but the U.S.-backed government and army may be winning the war.


THERE'S BEEN a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks -- which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. While Washington's attention has been fixed elsewhere, military analysts have watched with astonishment as the Iraqi government and army have gained control for the first time of the port city of Basra and the sprawling Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, routing the Shiite militias that have ruled them for years and sending key militants scurrying to Iran. At the same time, Iraqi and U.S. forces have pushed forward with a long-promised offensive in Mosul, the last urban refuge of al-Qaeda. So many of its leaders have now been captured or killed that U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, renowned for his cautious assessments, said that the terrorists have "never been closer to defeat than they are now."

This is exactly the sort of "propaganda" that Paul Hodes wants to outlaw. He actually wants to keep American troops from sharing the signs of progress with the American people. Hodes and Barack Obama need to rethink their insistence on immediate defeat:

It is -- of course -- too early to celebrate; though now in disarray, the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr could still regroup, and Iran will almost certainly seek to stir up new violence before the U.S. and Iraqi elections this fall. Still, the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments -- and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the "this-war-is-lost" caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Sunday Reading

Running for office should be as much about listening as it is talking. I'm also using my time on the road to catch up on some important reading. Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette has convinced me to finally pick up a copy of Michael Yon's new book, Moment of Truth in Iraq, thanks to his review just published in the New York Post.

Early on you'll find yourself charging down an alley in Mosul on the heels of Lieutenant Colonel Erik Kurilla, a leader in every sense of the word: "LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. He passed by me, and I chased, Kurilla leading the way. There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot. Kurilla was running when he was hit - in three places, including his femur, which was shattered.

"The commander didn't seem to miss a stride. He did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting from a sitting position," Yon reports.

In a war where the situation changes depending on what you read, Yon is a man with credibility - he has more time embedded with combat units than any other journalist. Early in 2005, when I'd completed my first tour of duty in Iraq, I was searching the Internet for news when I found Yon's page. I was hooked. Yon was simultaneously one of us - the guys in the war - and not one of us. While we knew of Iraq in our corner of the battlespace, he could move throughout the country - and did so. That freedom of movement afforded him opportunities that few would take, and that he initially took reluctantly.

I've found Yon's updates from Iraq powerful and informative, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he brings those dispatches together in the book.
Hattip: Powerline

From the Union Leader

The Union Leader this morning calls out Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes:

Hodes did not even wait for Gen. Petraeus to finish his testimony before releasing a statement insisting that U.S. forces be "swiftly" withdrawn. His office says he had an advance copy of the general's prepared remarks. But he ought to know by now that the real meat in congressional testimony comes out in the questioning, not in the prepared text. He had made up his mind before Gen. Petraeus even spoke.

Listen to the Generals

Steve Smith suggested we bump this post to the top so that it's easier to see. Great idea, Steve.

Here is General David Petraeus' opening statement from yesterday's Senate hearing:



As Paul Hodes and Nancy Pelosi continue to search for defeat instead of victory, it's important to give our troops the tools they need to complete the mission we've given them, and give Iraqis a chance to build on the progress they've made in rebuilding their country.

Primetime Politics also has questioning from Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama.

Listen to the Commanders on the Ground

Paul Hodes has been claiming lately that General Petraeus somehow endorses the Hodes "retreat and defeat" strategy in Iraq. I wonder is he'll listen to Petraues now?

The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets.

The ongoing battle in Iraq has been made longer, harder, and costlier because of Iran. Hodes may not acknowledge this, but it shows that the battle in Iraq is part of a broader war against Islamic Fascism. Iran is on the other side, and we can not afford a government that ignores this basic fact. Hodes would have us leave Iraq before securing that country from its hostile neighbors, creating a more dangerous world.

Hattip: Instapundit

Hodes flip-flops on Iraq

Paul Hodes has flip-flopped on Iraq. He still is pushing for defeat and standing in the way of victory, but his reasons have changed.

It's frustrating to see Hodes continue to put the daily talking points he gets from Nancy Pelosi ahead of our national security.

Yes, Congressman, we want our troops to come home. But you have played games with their funding, and refused to support their mission. You have consistently pushed for a retreat from the frontlines of our battle with Islamic fascism, and you have supported an ill-conceived strategy that would destabilize the Middle East and leave the region at the mercy of our most extreme enemies.

Paul Hodes was wrong when he called the surge "too little, too late," he was wrong when he said we should give up the progress we've made by surrendering the field to the enemy, and he's wrong now.

Grant on NH Taxpayer Radio

Grant says that Paul Hodes was wrong to oppose the Surge, and he's wrong now.

NHTR Clip 1

Grant explains why the next Congress will be the most important for Second Amendment rights in a generation.

NHTR Clip 2

Grant argues that the strength of the American economy comes from people, bot government.

NHTR Clip 3

Grant says that bipartisanship is overrated, unless it's backed up by sound principles.

NHTR Clip 4

Grant quotes Mel Thompson to make a point about taxes and spending.

NHTR Clip 5

Wrong Then, Wrong Now

Paul Hodes, opposing the Surge last January:

"There is no reason to believe this will accomplish anything productive,"

Paul Hodes, on the House floor, calling the Surge "too little, too late."




Paul Hodes, wrong then, wrong now.