25 Democrats Refuse To Condemn 'Betray Us' Ad In Senate Vote

Hillary has been ducking, dodging and flat out refusing to respond to questions about the MoveOn.org ad taken out against Gen. Petraeus.

Today she had her chance to speak up with the rest of the Senate and condemn the ad ... something that most Democrats have refrained from doing.

Amanda Carpenter:

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) would not criticize MoveOn.org on the campaign trail for an offensive advertisement the group produced to attack Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, but she sided with the anti-war lobby in a vote on Thursday.

Motivated by the full-page advertisement MoveOn.org published in the New York Times that accused Petraeus of betrayal, the Senate passed a resolution condemning “attacks of honor and integrity” on the general and other members of the Armed Forces.

The advertisement, purchased at a discounted rate, mocked Petraeus’ name as “Betray Us,” suggested he was “cooking the books” for the White House and characterized the general as a “military man constantly at war with the facts” who “will not admit what everyone knows: Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war.”

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s “sense of the Senate” resolution passed 72-25.

At least now we know which Democrats are so knee deep in MoveOn money they are willing to accuse a four star general of breaking the law, and violating his oath.

1. Akaka (D-HI)
2. Bingaman (D-NM)
3. Boxer (D-CA)
4. Brown (D-OH)
5. Byrd (D-WV)
6. Clinton (D-NY)
7. Dodd (D-CT)
8. Durbin (D-IL)
9. Feingold (D-WI)
10. Harkin (D-IA)
11. Inouye (D-HI)
12. Kennedy (D-MA)
13. Kerry (D-MA)
14. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
15. Levin (D-MI)
16. Menendez (D-NJ)
17. Murray (D-WA)
18. Reed (D-RI)
19. Reid (D-NV)
20. Rockefeller (D-WV)
21. Sanders (I-VT)
22. Schumer (D-NY)
23. Stabenow (D-MI)
24. Whitehouse (D-RI)
25. Wyden (D-OR)

You can see the full role call here.

The following didn't vote.

1. Biden (D-DE)
2. Cantwell (D-WA)
3. Obama (D-IL)

You'll notice that John Kerry voted against the measure to condemn the ad. This is odd given that he was one of only three Democrats to criticize the MoveOn ad shortly after it came out. Kerry is on record as saying the following:

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, criticized MoveOn.org Monday for taking an ad out in The New York Times criticizing Gen. David Petraeus. The general is testifying before Congress today about the situation in Iraq. (Related: Dems join GOP in slamming ad attacking Petraeus)

“I don’t like any kind of characterizations in our politics that call into question any active duty, distinguished general,” Kerry told CNN, adding “who I think under any circumstances serves with the best interests of our country.”

Gee, I wonder what changed his mind?

The GOP also asked the Democrat leadership to condemn the ad in an internal memo, but didn't get many takers.

Today, Bush finally spoke out against the ad, and Democrats that support it, publicly for the first time. We have had reports that he was furious in private meetings.

In a press conference Thursday morning, President Bush told reporters he thought the advertisement was “disgusting.”

He also spoke candidly about Democrats who were reluctant to criticize MoveOn.org. “That leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org, or more afraid of irritating them, then they are of irritating the United States military."

"That was a sorry deal,” Bush said.

To top this whole thing off, Democrats have been running to hide under their desks to avoid having to go on record in support of the MoveOn ad. Dick "The Turbin" Durbin tried to block the vote from even happening.

Cornyn first offered his resolution immediately after the offending advertisement was printed on September 10—the day Petraeus was scheduled to make his first appearance to testify about progress in Iraq. When it was offered, Democratic Majority Whip, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) used a parliamentary move--issued a point of order based on “germaneness”--against the measure to prevent the Senate from voting on it.

Make sure you don't question their patriotism everyone.

Reid: Surge Failed, Last Two Months Most Deadly For US Troops ... Too Bad He's Lying

This is becoming very tiresome to correct Reid's incompetent statements about Iraq. For crying out loud ... the guy has gone on TV to talk about Iraq, and was unable to accurately tell everyone how long we've been there. If you don't even know how long we've been fighting ... maybe you should excuse yourself from the discussion.

Anyway, the Pentagon released its report titled "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq." The news, anti-war crowd, and the Democrats have blatantly misled you all on what the report says.

Breitbart:

Top US congressional Democrats bluntly told President George W. Bush Wednesday that his Iraq troop "surge" policy was a failure.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the president over Iraq by sending him a letter, ahead of a White House meeting later on Wednesday.

"As many had forseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results," the two leaders wrote.

"The increase in US forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation.

Not so, but we'll get into the report in a bit.

The most notable quote from Reid's letter to the President is as follows:

"In fact, the last two months of the war were the deadliest to date for US troops."

This merits investigation because of what the troops have been saying about Baghdad recently.

So I waltzed over to icasualties.org. That's a site that tracks the coalition casualties in Iraq. As it turns out (no big surprise) Reid is wrong. May of 2007 was the third deadliest month for US troops in Iraq, and April of 2007 was the seventh. Here's the rundown of the top 7 deadliest months:

1. Nov. 2004
2. Apr. 2004
3. May 2007
4. Dec. 2006
5. Jan. 2005
6. Oct 2006
7. Apr. 2007

As you can see ... the last two months have not been the deadliest. What Reid is doing is adding the two months together, and saying that there has never been a more deadly two month period. This is spin, and dishonest. To take two months and add them together is just a way to manipulate the numbers to play political football with our fallen. There have been three month periods that have been deadlier, but Reid won't bring that up.

It is also worth mentioning that the average daily number of US troop deaths last month was about 4 per day. This month that average so far is 2.6 per day ... A marked improvement that reflects the typical trends of insurgent offensives not lasting more than two months with intensity.

Gen. Petraeus immediately challenged Reid on his statements ... though not directly.

When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq's capital, he sees "astonishing signs of normalcy" in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad.

"I'm talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant," says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain, he told USA TODAY in an interview Wednesday.

Much of what Gen. Petraeus said in that interview is presented clear as day in the report the Pentagon just released.

Of course, Reid decided to take the usual low road and verbally insult both Gen. Pace and Petraeus in an interview with liberal bloggers. Those comments were not reported by those given the interview.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.

Reid made similar disparaging remarks about Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said several sources familiar with the interview.

Reid is ok with misquoting Gen. Petraeus when it suits him, but then turns around and refuses to accept good news from the General while verbally attacking him.

So what is in the Pentagon's report about Iraq? Let's start with the link to the report so you can follow along with me. You can get the report from the DOD's website. As a side note ... I'd like to remind you that I get news feeds from the DOD updated several times a day on this site.

In Section 1—Stability and Security there are several of analysis about Iraq that are promising, and disheartening. They discuss the progress made in several areas, that progress is not ideal, most Iraqis want the nation to remain intact, and the influence of Iran and Syria in violence. The section is pretty boring, and is used mostly to outline the Iraqi government.

1.2 Economic Activity starts off with a promising sentence.

Several positive economic developments emerged during this reporting period, most notably the launch of the International Compact with Iraq, continued progress on reducing inflation, and a favorable IMF Standby Arrangement review.

The report also notes that Iraq's economy is expected to grow by 10%, and 7% outside of the oil sector. That's pretty positive growth for a country supposedly in a civil war.

The most intriguing part of the report is the section - 1.3 Security Environment. A section completely ignored by the media and Reid. Take a look at the following graph from the Pentagon's report about sectarian violence.


It could be my eyes playing tricks on me, but it looks like sectarian violence has improved since the beginning of the year. Why no props Reid?

You'll also notice the increase in weapons caches found. For those of you who don't know what that means ... it's progress.

The report also showed that the national hotline tips have drastically increased. This means that more Iraqis are helping the coalition track down the enemy.

The section concludes with confirming that Baghdad has experienced reduced violence because of the surge, and Anbar continues to have significant progress. It breaks down each region of Iraq in terms of the violence, and makes it clear that there has been an increase in violence in some relatively peaceful regions. Though nothing excessively concerning, and no where near the levels of Baghdad.

Section 1.4 Transferring Security Responsibility reports on the progress of turning the country over to Iraqi forces, and this is going very well. About a third of the country is under Iraqi control ... while most of the rest is partially ready for the transition to Iraqi forces. Only Anbar province is not ready for the Iraqis to take over.


The graphic below shows the areas of Iraq where the Iraqis are in the lead over American forces.


The Iraqi police have been getting glowing reviews in the past year from US forces, and the graphic below reflects the vast improvement in force size.


This graphic shows the Iraqi military, and how it has increasingly taken the lead in battle.


Not all of the report is glowing in its assessment of Iraq, but it shows significant improvement ... especially as a result of the surge so far. Reid and his cohorts chose to not mention any of that. Which is odd given that he's been clamoring for benchmarks to show marked improvement, and Iraqis taking the lead in the conflict. All of that was shown in the Pentagon's report only to be ignored by Reid. Not to mention that in spite of the progress that has been made ... Reid chose to verbally attack the generals who are responsible for that progress.

I would like to throw a couple of things out there. With Iraqi forces increasingly taking the lead in Iraq, the surge effort, the insurgent offensive launched last September, and Iran's increasing interference ... you will have more enemy contacts which will result in more casualties for the time being. The insurgents are now having to leave Baghdad because of surge efforts, and the population turning against them. That's why we are seeing an increase in activity outside of Baghdad now where we haven't before.

We also must acknowledge that the Iraqi forces are not as good as ours, and there will be collateral damage because of that. The insurgents may be more likely to come out into the open to confront Iraqis while US forces are playing wingman.

Petraeus Speaks

As I told you back in August ... Petraeus believes he can downsize our force in Iraq.

He also reiterated that the surge has worked, and violence in Iraq is down. Some of you may remember some of my previous posts where Petraeus tells you the violence is down, and about Reid lying to everyone on the contents of the "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" report. That's when Reid said the surge had failed.

Before Gen. Petraeus was allowed to speak ... he had to listen to a bunch of political rhetoric. Something I'm sure pained him greatly. Don't forget, Petraeus told Congress to shut their mouths back in April because the enemy was listening to them.

You can read some of the Dems' comments here.

You can read the AP article here.

To further illustrate Gen. Petraeus' point that violence is down I have a graph for you of the terrorist attacks in Iraq since 2000.


As you can see, violence is way down in Iraq this year by nearly 2/3. There is still a couple of months left in the year, and the terrorists were very active at the end of last year. However, this year has seen significant improvement in Iraq.

Last year, in Iraq, there were just over 330 terrorist attacks per month. This year, that number has declined to 127 per month.

Furthermore, global terrorism is also way down from last year.


It is important to note that even though terrorist attacks last year were so high ... the entire world, outside if Israel and Iraq, saw a decrease in terrorist activity.

Global terror last year yielded 554 attacks per month. This year, so far, those attacks have declined to 181 per month ... big difference.

You can compile any terrorist data you'd like using the analytic tools at TKB.ORG.

Gen. Petraeus Tells Congress To Shut The F--k Up

Too bad Democrats keep skipping the General's briefings, or maybe some common sense could have been shoved down their throats.

Every couple of years under every administration some idiot in Washington makes a public statement, or proposes a measure to "remind" the military and intelligence communities that what they say can be used by our enemies. This usually happens after some politician leaks classified information to the media which compromises the lives of those in the field. Of course, the military and spooks are all to well aware of the ramifications of leaking intel, but politicians never seem to be able to grasp this simple concept. Next thing you know ... they try to deflect their guilt and pin it on those on the front line. Today, Gen. Petraeus pwned the Washington elite, and chastised them for not being able to keep their damn mouths shut.

Fox News:

The top commander in Iraq did warn lawmakers that their volatile rhetoric is being heard by the enemy.

"One thing that he reminded us was, this is a test of wills and he admonished us, reminded us that what we say to the world, to our adversaries and our allies, is listened to by the other side," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Hunter said Petraeus "didn't try to sugarcoat the issues and the problems" that American forces face in Iraq, but noted that comments like that by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who last week said the war is lost, provide incentive for U.S. adversaries.

Good for the General. It's about time the leadership in the military stepped up to school these politicians on how the world works. Hunter then called for Reid to step down.

"It must come as a shock to Al Qaeda leaders to have an aide come into their safe house and tell them that Senator Reid has declared that, in fact, they are winning and the war is lost," Hunter said. "I think it's highly irresponsible for the leader of the U.S. Senate to have said that and, just speaking for myself as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I think that the leader of the Senate should step down from that position."

He should step down. It will make the recall efforts here in Nevada a little easier. Make no mistake ... there is a huge effort to mount a recall here.

There are some very familiar names on the list of prominent Democrats that didn't attend the briefing ... again.

Of The 41 Dems Demanding Rush To Apologize ... 39 Of Them Refused To Condemn Personal Attacks On The Honor & Integrity Of Our Troops Last Month

I've spent the last two days pointing out this hypocrisy on my show, and blogged about my call to Sen. Reid's office here in Vegas.

Last month the Senate voted on the Cornyn Amendment which not only condemned the "Betray Us" ad, but it also condemned any personal attack on the honor and integrity of our troops.

The text of the amendment is as follows:

To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

Several Senate Democrats refused to strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of our troops. They were:

1. Akaka (D-HI)
2. Bingaman (D-NM)
3. Boxer (D-CA)
4. Brown (D-OH)
5. Byrd (D-WV)
6. Clinton (D-NY)
7. Dodd (D-CT)
8. Durbin (D-IL)
9. Feingold (D-WI)
10. Harkin (D-IA)
11. Inouye (D-HI)
12. Kennedy (D-MA)
13. Kerry (D-MA)
14. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
15. Levin (D-MI)
16. Menendez (D-NJ)
17. Murray (D-WA)
18. Reed (D-RI)
19. Reid (D-NV)
20. Rockefeller (D-WV)
21. Sanders (I-VT)
22. Schumer (D-NY)
23. Stabenow (D-MI)
24. Whitehouse (D-RI)
25. Wyden (D-OR)

Of the 25 above who refused to condemn personal attacks on our troops (because many of them engage in personal attacks themselves) ... only Bingaman and Feingold refused to sign Harry Reid's letter demanding that Clear Channel repudiate Rush Limbaugh for his words which Harry Reid called attacks on:

"The courage and character of those fighting and dying for him and for all of us."

Perhaps Reid should apologize for all the times he insulted the military.

So what exactly is the difference between honor and integrity, and courage and character? Why is it that these Dems are willing to condemn attacks on courage and character, but not honor and integrity? Of course we all know the answer to that ... politics. You'd have to be a fool to not think this is a strategy to build support for the fairness doctrine. For crying out loud, Levin admitted he only read the part of the transcript that Media Matters gave him.

Let's not forget that Media Matters was started by Center for American Progress who was founded by John Podesta, former chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton. You should also know that Hillary had a part in creating both organizations.

Clear Channel told Reid and his minions to go jump in a lake in this letter.

Far more important to the political wrangling going on for the fairness doctrine is the fact that Reid is demanding that Rush apologize to Jesse MacBeth. Whom Rush was specifically talking about on his show at the time. Why would the Democrats support such a character as MacBeth?

He is a proven phony (hence phony soldier), who is now an admitted and convicted phony. He also completely discredited Iraq Veterans Against the War. MacBeth was allowed to speak at IVAW rallies, and was a poster boy for their organization for a time. Yet this group that proclaims to be veterans didn't catch the falsehoods in MacBeth's statements, and image?

How can you trust them to be an honest organization again? The picture below is from their website, and is their featured soldier profile right now. This guy is claiming to be still on active duty?


Notice some things missing?

Harry Reid's political career is coming to an end. You now all know what we in Nevada have known for a long time about this guy. The only reason he was reelected last time was that Nevadans were hoping he could stop Yucca Mountain (which he helped bring here in the first place), but he's done nothing to make that a reality. Reid is nearly done with politics, but we will have to deal with his son, Rory. Don't you guys worry about that ... we'll take care of business on our end this time.

If the Dems are going to constantly act like spoiled children, and get caught lying, there may be hope in 2008. Problem is that too many people do not pay attention to all of this, and will not be prepared to cast their vote for the right candidate. In the meantime, we must keep up the good fight and fight for our troops against this slander so they can continue to make the great progress they've been making overseas.

For All Of You Idiots Out There: Sectarian Violence In Baghdad Is Down

The reason why I broke with my usual friendly demeanor and called people idiots in my header is pretty simple ... only an idiot will say that sectarian violence in Baghdad is worse than it has been.

I don't know that there is anyone outside of official channels that has given you as much proof of that than I have, but here's some more.

As I told you here on the 1st of May, and again when I broke down Harry Reid's lies about the Pentagon's report on Iraq, and saying the surge failed ... sectarian violence is down. That fact will not change no matter who leaves comments on this blog, or any other, saying the opposite of what the facts are.

American Forces Press Service:

Sectarian murders and executions in Baghdad are declining, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said on the "Fox News Sunday" television program.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus told host Chris Wallace via satellite link from Baghdad that the U.S. troop surge has helped reduce sectarian murders and executions in Baghdad by one-third between January and April. And despite an uptick in violence in May, the levels of violence are again going down.

"The fact is, as we go on the offensive, the enemy is going to respond," Petraeus said.

So how much of an increase in violence last month is the General talking about? Take a look for yourself.


If the violence had gone down by that much the MSM would have said that there was no decrease in violence. In other words ... the number of sectarian murders was roughly the same as the month before, and so far this month they are down.

There is NO DENYING that the number of sectarian murders, and incidents, has decreased since last year. Just look at the graphic. Where does that graphic come from? The same report the Pentagon released that compelled Reid to call the surge a failure.

Since there is less Sunni on Shia gang murders, the violence we are seeing now is because of the coalition offensives that have been launched as a part of the surge. The surge that is succeeding, not failing, according to the Pentagon's report.

Bonus:

Al Qaeda has typically had support in Diyala ... not anymore.

Torturous, Opressive U.S. Troops Save Iraqi Children's Lives

Those bastards!

Anyway, there are countless examples of the solid relationship with American troops and the Iraqi children. These latest three stories are just further evidence of the extent to which our troops will go to help an Iraqi child in need.

Army News Service:

Soldiers have answered the prayers of an Iraqi boy and his parents in Hollandia.

Sitting in the local health clinic with his father on a May morning, Ahaip Najim had no idea that hope would arrive. But in came members of the 97th Civil Affairs Battalion and 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, to assess the town's needs.

"They discovered him in the health clinic there and just gathered around him," said Capt. Jimmy Hathaway, commander, Headquarters Troop, 3rd Sqdn., 1st Cav. Regt. "They decided right there that they were going to do everything in their power to help him."

The boy had an obstructed bowel, and had undergone surgery that left his intestines outside of his body. The risk of infection was serious, and our troops went to work to get the boy the proper surgery.

Cavalry and civil affairs Soldiers began calling contacts throughout the Army to find help for the child.

"Finally, we were put in contact with the hospital in An Najaf, Iraq," Capt. Hathaway said. "They agreed to help us."

The next challenge was getting Ahaip and his father to al Sadr Hospital, but the pieces fell into place after the Soldiers explained the situation to Multinational Force - Iraq Commander Gen. David H. Petraeus.

"He asked if there was anything we needed. He said this is exactly the type of thing we needed to be doing and volunteered his own aircraft," Capt. Hathaway said. "The aircraft was provided by Multinational Division - Center, but Gen. Petraeus' offer really said a lot about how important this mission had become to everyone."

They used two Blackhawks, two Apaches and a MEDEVAC to make sure the boy was safe during transport.

He is recovering now.

This act of kindness from our troops has had an astounding impact on that city.

The coalition's relationship with the town of Hollandia has improved with Soldiers' help to the boy and his family, Capt Hathaway added.

"They are very pro-coalition," he said. "They all saw the coverage of this on Iraqi television and saw that we were trying to help. One man told me, 'You did what you said you were going to do. Thank you.' That means a lot. We go into the town now and people come out to see us. They laugh and joke with us. We feel very welcome there."

The next story is somewhat similar.



Defenselink:

Even though she’s surrounded by war, Dalal is not much different from other children her age. She likes jump-rope and Cinderella and enjoys reading and drawing. Her favorite classes are religion and language, and she recently completed second grade -- earning perfect marks in all her studies. But, unlike many of her peers, the 8-year-old Iraqi girl also has fought a life-threatening battle from within since birth.

Due to the efforts of a U.S. Special Forces medic and an Army civil affairs noncommissioned officer, all of that changed recently, and Dalal was granted a new lease on life.

Dalal received an operation in Amman, Jordan, July 23 to correct a heart defect known as “tetralogy of Fallot.” The congenital disease causes a decreased flow of blood to the lungs, as well as mixing of blood from separate chambers of the heart. Left unattended, Dalal’s prognosis could have been death around the time she hit puberty.

I especially thought her liking Cinderella was a nice touch in the piece.

Dalal’s journey to the operating room began in eastern Iraq several months ago.

“The previous (Special Forces) team here discovered her,” said Army Staff Sgt. Joe Murtaugh, a U.S. Special Forces medical sergeant assigned to Iraq’s Anbar province.

While reviewing Dalal’s medical records, Murtaugh found an e-mail address for the International Organization of Migration in Jordan and contacted them for assistance.

“They directed us to several contacts, but the most important was (Army Staff Sgt. Marikay Satryano). She took care of all the logistical details in Jordan and even arranged for three organizations to cover the $8,000 cost of Dalal’s surgery,” Murtaugh said.

A civil affairs specialist assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Satryano created a program that matches charities and corporations to individual Iraqi children’s cases. Over the past two years, she has arranged for 61 children to receive lifesaving cardiac surgery either in Amman or the United States. In Dalal’s case, Satryano coordinated with the Environmental Chemical Corporation to arrange a free flight from Baghdad to Jordan. She also scheduled everything with the hospital in Amman and the free services of a Jordanian dentist who provided some necessary dental care.

This one person has arranged 61 Iraqi children to receive lifesaving surgery ... wow! That's what Americans are all about, and we helped Dalal's smile with some free dental care as well.

U.S. special operations forces played a major role in ensuring Dalal and her father could make the trip to Jordan.

“We assisted them in getting the new Iraqi G-series passports to travel out of the country,” Murtaugh said. “Our special operations task unit coordinated a flight from their hometown to Al Asad (Air Base), and we worked with the Combined Joint Special Operations Air Command to fly them from Al Asad to Baghdad. Another team member and I escorted the family to Baghdad, and we stayed with them until they departed to ensure there were no problems. Everyone was extremely helpful and provided us with excellent support throughout.”

So what does Dalal's family have to say about all of this?

“We appreciate that they (the Americans) care about us,” Dalal’s father, whose name was withheld to protect his identity, said through an interpreter. “I know you are here doing another job, and I am thankful for all you do. This is an unforgettable thing what you are doing for my family, and we cannot thank you enough for your help.”

The last story today outlines the compassion of US troops even when it is not a life or death situation.



Army News Service:

Before she deployed, Spc. Diana Sokol listened to Soldiers tell stories about how Iraqi children asked them for soccer balls and other items. She saw photos of kids in the city with virtually nothing but the clothes on their back, and she knew she would take action once deployed.

So when arrived in Iraq with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, the medic started a goodwill mission of securing soccer balls and other toys for Iraqi children.

"There is more than just fighting a war," she said. "We are supposed to help the Iraqis while we are here, as well."

To date, Spc. Sokol has distributed more than 300 soccer balls and 500 stuffed animals to children within the Strike Force Brigade's area of operation. And she she's far from being finished.

"Americans are very generous and would often send gift boxes of supplies to me, which I really appreciate," she said. "But how many bars of soap and toothpaste can you use on one deployment?"

Spc. Sokol started asking friends and family to send toys for the children instead. By word of mouth, information spread through her family, friends and their co-workers, and more people started to donate. One friend, who works at Texas Instruments, started a toy drive to collect more than 500 soccer balls, the biggest one-time donation to date.

Several other small businesses, such as soccer shops, along with individual donations, also helped, she said. Beanie Babies Ambassadors donated 300 stuffed animals, turning Spc. Sokol's room into a small warehouse.

"I will continue to give out toys for as long as I am here and hopefully someone else will continue," Spc. Sokol said. "Now, units come to me before going out on missions asking for toys and soccer balls for the kids.

Hearts and minds people ... hearts and minds.

General Says Violence In Baghdad Down In Spite Of Bombings

This is a clear contradiction to what Edwards, and Reid, has said. If you look at Operation Arrowhead as well you will see that there is a lot of success. This has all been confirmed with my discussions with LT Nichols in Baghdad.

Maj. Gen. Scott has some interesting points to make that the MSM isn't covering.

American Forces Press Service:

Maj. Gen. Scott, deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for Multinational Force Iraq, told online journalists in a conference call that while there has been a slight increase in the number of "spectacular" car-bomb attacks around Baghdad, there has also been positive movement as a result of the U.S.-Iraqi plus-up strategy.

"Overall sectarian violence has decreased. Overall violence in the city of Baghdad has decreased," he said.

To bad Reid, Pelosi and Murtha never listen to the Iraq briefings from Gen. Petraeus. Hell, Reid wouldn't believe Petreaus if he gave good news anyway.

"Every day the government of Iraq becomes stronger - their government and their security forces," Maj. Gen. Scott said. In Maysan, he noted, "We're still embedded with the Iraqi forces, but they have the lead."

Those of us who have been watching the war closely knew the Iraqis were in the lead, but there are others who didn't know because of a lack of coverage.

Petraeus To Propose Troop Cuts

We'll see if the General's proposition holds up, and it should be noted that more troops than expected ended up in Iraq (not much). So the cuts might be to just bring the level of troops down to the required surge level.

Breitbart:

The top American commander in Iraq said Wednesday he was preparing recommendations on troop cuts before he returns to Washington next month for a report to Congress, and believes the U.S. footprint in Iraq will have to be "a good bit smaller" by next summer.

But he cautioned against a quick or significant U.S. withdrawal that could surrender "the gains we have fought so hard to achieve."

The general issued his comments to a small group of reporters who accompanied him to the headquarters of a group of former Sunni insurgents who are now working with American and Iraqi forces against al-Qaida in western Baghdad's Amariyah neighborhood.

Though this may just be a drawback to the intended surge levels ... it appears to be a part of the long term strategy after the surge's success.

"We know that the surge has to come to an end, there's no question about that. I think everyone understands that by about a year or so from now we've got to be a good bit smaller than we are right now.

"The question is how do you do that ... so that you can retain the gains we have fought so hard to achieve and so you can keep going. Again we are not at all satisfied where we are right now. We have made some progress but again there's still a lot of hard work to be done against the different extremist elements that do threaten the new Iraq."