September 8, 2007
The Independent
By Patrick Cockburn
General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq , has always shown exceptional skill in impressing American politicians and journalists with his military abilities. On Monday he will be listened to with immense respect in Congress as he reports on how far the "surge" – the increase in the number of US troops in Iraq by 30,000 – has positively affected the war in Iraq .
It is a measure of Petraeus's political skills that he was promoted to his present position despite being responsible in part for two of the greatest debacles of the Iraq war. In 2003/4 it was Petraeus who was in charge of securing Mosul , the third largest Iraqi city, from the insurgents, and his strategy of conciliating the Sunni and former Baath party members was lauded by the US media. But nine months after he left, the insurgents captured Mosul ; the police appointed by Petraeus fled or changed sides, and $41m worth of weapons were lost. Full Text
0 comments:
Post a Comment