What Gen. Sanchez said…and what the Washington Post is now admitting
The whole speech is here. A snippet:
It is astounding to me when I hear the vehement disagreement with the military’s forays into information operations that seek to disseminate the truth and inform the Iraqi people in order to counter our enemy’s blatant propaganda. As I assess various media entities, some are unquestionably engaged in political propaganda that is uncontrolled.
With regard to Sanchez’s assessment of the security conditions in Iraq, Victor Davis Hanson, recently back from Iraq, observes:
Gen. Sanchez was recently reported lambasting past and present strategy in Iraq, on grounds, according to Stars and Stripes, that “Such a strategy should involve political reconciliation among Iraqis, building up the Iraqi security forces and getting Iraq’s regional partners.”
True, but one of the things that strikes a visitor to Iraq is that the officers, major to colonel, and Gen. Petraeus himself reiterate exactly that tripartite approach-that is, they stress reconciliation (Gen. Petraeus has an entire working group formally entitled ‘reconciliation’), training Iraq police and army, and involving neighboring states at the formal diplomatic level and the more informal military liaisons and private investors.
In other words, Gen. Sanchez just summed up the present strategy and effort in Iraq. I’m not suggesting this is new, or that under his tenure we weren’t doing the same, only that his present suggestions of what we should be doing are exactly what we are doing.
Allahpundit sums up the general’s prescription this way:
We can’t win without our allies, who are deserting us, but we must continue on to achieve victory, which is impossible because we lack a grand strategy, so we should probably start reducing troop levels and let the Iraqis take over, except that this is “the greatest challenge of our lifetime” and we owe it to our soldiers to win, which is why our leaders must come up with a plan that rises above partisanship, which is never, ever going to happen with the public trending Democratic and 60-65% already demanding withdrawal and an election a year away.
It’s like saying, “Victory is within reach — if only the American people were completely different.”
Gen. Sanchez’s full-throated attack on the MSM is thoroughly deserved and much of it is on target, but I’d take it with a grain of salt given his rather oddly passionate defense of crony bureaucrat and disgraced FEMA director Michael Brown.
Weird. And not very reassuring.
Ed Morrissey and Bruce Kesler have much more.
***
Meantime, the Washington Post editorial board makes some stunning admissions:
A congressional study and several news stories in September questioned reports by the U.S. military that casualties were down. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), challenging the testimony of Gen. David H. Petraeus, asserted that “civilian deaths have risen” during this year’s surge of American forces.
A month later, there isn’t much room for such debate, at least about the latest figures. In September, Iraqi civilian deaths were down 52 percent from August and 77 percent from September 2006, according to the Web site icasualties.org. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the Associated Press reported similar results. U.S. soldiers killed in action numbered 43 — down 43 percent from August and 64 percent from May, which had the highest monthly figure so far this year. The American combat death total was the lowest since July 2006 and was one of the five lowest monthly counts since the insurgency in Iraq took off in April 2004.
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During the first 12 days of October the death rates of Iraqis and Americans fell still further. So far during the Muslim month of Ramadan, which began Sept. 13 and ends this weekend, 36 U.S. soldiers have been reported as killed in hostile actions. That is remarkable given that the surge has deployed more American troops in more dangerous places and that in the past al-Qaeda has staged major offensives during Ramadan. Last year, at least 97 American troops died in combat during Ramadan. Al-Qaeda tried to step up attacks this year, U.S. commanders say — so far, with stunningly little success.
Other little-noticed good news about Iraq here.
One can only imagine the reaction of the seething MoveOn and Code Pink mobsters…
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Ironic that the MSM cherry picked his quotes and engaged in the same kind of behavior that drew the General’s wrath in the first place. I guess they proved him right.
Not ironic.
Inevitable.
Thanks for setting that straight.
We Conservatives too often accredit some “naivete” or something unconscious, and “innocent” to the Liberals when they set out to deliberately destroy.
After about 50 years of it, that is lame.
The Lame-Stream-Media serving up freshly concocted BS? Today, everything is spun, positioned and primped to pique. These fatted hogs of broadcast publishing only know one thing: spin til you can’t spin no more.
The Lame Stream Media has finally…maybe, come to the realization that the anti-Americanists are NOT the majority of Americans. Perhaps that is wishful thinking on my part that they have recognized that fact.
Where would the Lame Stream Media be if it were not for us in the New Media to call them on their crap?
Moo-bat diet coming?
Blogs, the only real media left. Even Fox Noise is tabloid news any more. Bloggers like Michelle love the truth and will be the leaders of the overthrow of the present media.
By the way, that is NOT a suck-up comment, it is the truth.
More evidence of the media being less than honest in coverage of a major speech.
I concur.
It’s too bad that you have to be a retired General to say what we all know to be the truth; I guess I have to blame General George S. Patton Jr. for that one, not that he said anything that wasn’t true. It is the blatant lies told by a medium that was supposed to seek the truth; no matter who or what it might uncover, they were expected to be American’s first.
Speaking of Patton, what would happen to him today if he slapped someone. What would the LSM have to say and how would our Politicians take advantage of it?
They did a good job on Patton then, multiply it by 10,000 now.
Hey aj.
Yep, the dimocraps would have him on trial while releasing terrorists from GITMO.
Me thinks some are “Roasting the Crows” to soon. The MSM isn’t ready to eat that meal just yet.
Keep fattening the ‘Crows’ so, when the MSM must eat, they will be eating it for many years in the future.
“Weird. And not very reassuring.”
Amen and amen again, Michelle. I don’t know what to think any more or whom to believe any more. We’ve gotten so much smoke, mirrors, smear and slime from so many different places in the media, from Congress, from the State Department, from the military, and from the MSM, it’s impossible to really know what’s happening.
Every time I hear criticism of the veracity of General Petraeus, I cannot help thinking of the initial stories we got from the Pentagon about Pat Tillman’s death, and the Jessica Lynch incident. So, in a way I understand the cynicism, but I do not at all understand why the American left wants us to lose this World War. Heaven forbid we should lose, but if we do lose and the leftists think they will somehow be spared having their heads sliced off if they refuse to convert to Islam, they are truly deluded.
Hello all. I used to believe in the media. I began to mistrust them in 1982 when Flt 90 hit the 14th Street Bridge. The only fact the media got right was that a plane had crashed. Over the course of time, I cannot think of a major event where they offered the real story.
Have a great day everyone.
Sometimes it is simply bad reporting, but over the years I have come to realize it is all agenda driven. They play on the fact that many people simply do not have the time, or resources, to question them and find the truth.
Truth in media has become an oxymoron. The only good new is people are starting to get wise
The Bush/neocon strategy should be reconciliation with the Democrats. We must practice what we preach.
They still have their jobs.
They still have their agendas.
The more they hate America, the higher they seem to get in the media biz..
No one seems to be able to call them to account and make something change.
They continue to lie every day to America.
Nothing changes.
There are no Hero’s in the government to save the day.
The only Hero’s I see, are the fighting men and women of the Armed Services.
Where are our Churchill’s, our Roosevelts & Truman’s???
I fear for our survival
In his antiwar song “Waiting On The World To Change,” John Mayer sings:
Thankfully, “the information” is not “owned” by any one entity or bloc of organizations any more — it’s been freed by the New Media. The question is, who do you trust to disseminate it?
For those of us who distrust the MSM/DBM/Dinosaur Media, we’re on a winning streak: The “Betray Us” ad discount, the O’Reilly and Limbaugh smears, the deliberate muffling of news of reduced casualties in Iraq (video evidence here), and now the total context of Gen. Sanchez’s speech are just a few recent examples making it clear who is doing the majority of the ‘bending.’
Lies by omission, half truths and cherry picking ‘facts’ are all forms of lying. Lies are lies, not ‘Spin’.
Spin is lying. And about this “neocon” canard, I’m really tired of its use. It’s just another liberal’ pejorative concoction used to bludgeon the right. Note that there’s no left-wing version?
Meat,
Dem version is just “Con”
OMB-
If Patton was alive today and slapped a soldier he would face the same critisim from comrade murtha, kerry et al.
Abu Garib, Haditha, and a sitation (can’t remember where in Iraq or his name) where a LT Col. fired his weapon near a prisoner while interrogating him and the prisoner told him everything the Col wanted to know-Hence saving the lives of his troops. Sadly if I recall the LT Col. he retired soon after.
Its great we have men and women in uniform that can act like Patton, but can’t due to the current political climate from congress and the msm.
And by the same logic Lincoln should’ve reconciled with the Copperheads in 1864. Back then the Democrats in Congress were also largely ambivalent if not pro-Confederacy, and tried to undermine the war effort by attacking Lincoln and reflexively opposing everything he did and said.
And what would have been the outcome of the Civil War if Lincoln had listened to such advice?
If one is in a two-seater plane rolling down the runway but not off the ground yet, and Alphonse is in the back seat shouting, “It’s not working, I tell you! We have to slow down!” - what happens if his advice is followed?
You can’t win a war by “compromising” with people whose purpose is to lose it. If that was our policy during the Revolution, we wouldn’t have a country today.
Only fools would attempt a policy of “reconciliation” with opponents who show no such spirit in themselves, and whose negotiating position is, “When you understand what I want, then we’ll have a ‘Mutual Understanding.’”
My spirit of reconciliation toward bad faith actors - whose concept of that term is getting what they want at your expense by some other means - can be summed up in the KOS-ian, “Screw ‘em.”
I was able to find the entire transcript of the General’s speech a few days ago (I believe someone on Mudville Gazette reformatted it from all capital letters, sorry don’t have the link) and he slammed the media for their treason and sedition. I do not agree with his current take on the success of operations, but he and I are not privy to what classified material available to those making the on the ground decisions in Iraq today. Obviously our current strategy is working under the leadership of General Petraeus. Over on Drudge and Fox News it appears the Washington Post has declared victory in Iraq:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401245_pf.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301715,00.html
I believe it is victory when the commander on site says it is not some idiot in a news room. The Washington Post has to come a long way before I will trust much of what they spout anyway. I have very little faith in the MSM and am rapidly falling back on when working INF/START Treaty Inspections “Trust but Verify.” What the heck is the DOJ and FBI waiting for it is time to round up the reporters and editors responsible for endangering our troops?
How long will it take before a dem sites this speech as reason to pull out and what do you bet when that happens the MSM won’t bring up the fact that Sanchez said we can’t pull out, or that we need a “Grand Strategy” which requires the dems to actually support the war?
I happened to catch the rerun of this on CSPAN the other night. When he was speaking of the press they showed the audience a few times. A woman in a red shirt and glasses was very upset and making faces, another young man in a blue shirt with glasses looked like he was asleep. Funny thing though, they showed these seem people when he was yapping about the administration and they had perked up and were shaking their heads in agreement and with glee.
Boomer, have to agree with you 1000%. My husband got an email from one of the guys who replaced his unit in Feb. that he knew previously from Ft. Stewart (they deployed to Kosovo together twice and they’ve kept in touch as he was also in our wedding). Anywho, his wife had sent him the transcript of this speech by Sanchez. He was livid at the part about the success now and how Sanchez is clueless about what is going on now. He also said he felt that Sanchez had an ax to grind since he was not promoted as he probably should have been at least in Sanchez’s own mind.
Anyway, on a sadder note, I know on Friday we all spoke about Lt. Michael Murphy, USN, but I wanted everyone to remember another hero who died a year ago today. Cpt. Mark Paine, USA, was killed by an IED in the night of Oct. 15th. Mark was the kind of guy if you met once you’d never forget him.
Also, get on the phone and call your representatives and others in the House to stop this stupid Turkey Resolution from almost 100 years ago. If she wants to talk about massacres she can talk about Italy in WW2, or what’s going on in Darfur or Rwanda when Clinton was in office.
On October 15th, 2007 at 7:46 am, meatpieandtatters said:
Spin is lying. And about this “neocon” canard, I’m really tired of its use. It’s just another liberal’ pejorative concoction used to bludgeon the right. Note that there’s no left-wing version?
—————————–
How about neoSoviets for the left, and neoPRAVDA for the MSM?
I’ve said it once I’ll say it again. If you use the word neocon to describe someone/thing, then there is absolutely no reason for anyone to listen to your opinions.
I don’t mind the use of the term neocon. I find it aids me in skim reading articles. The moment I see neocon mentioned, I know there isn’t much (if any?) information contained in the text so I can safely skip it.
As others said: omitting the truth is lying. “They” must think wearing a liberal sign/ID will spare them from having their heads separated from their bodies.
God bless our troops wherever they may be. We’re on their side! The right side.
We have been very lucky were I am stationed. Only 2 fatalities in our Wing caused by this war, the first casualty was killed during a cargo loading procedure before going into Afghanistan and the second we lost last year to an IED. He was one of our Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) troops. Finally appears the sacrifice is paying off and we are really starting to win.
It seems to me, the only ones that can hold the press accountable for propaganda are the American people. But if most American people are being lied to, accountability will never occur. If our Generals don’t have the gumballs to speak their mind while in command, during retirement they should remain silent. The idea of putting our public officals up for a court marshall is an extremely dangerous idea. Rome fell because the generals took over civilian duties.
EDITORIAL NOTE:
It looks like you picked up a stray (the 3rd) sidebar paragraph in the WaPo editorial quote regarding WaPo’s commenting policy. New media is all about the details.
Seems like ther American people are holding the old media accountable. The NYT and LAT readership is falling, nobody watches Keith Overbite, and Foxnews has dominated the ratings since it first aired.
Typical democRATs! One half of the truth,is 100%lies! Their motus operandi.
terrig…
Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. To me, he is a hero and a man that I will never forget.
I have spoken to my congressman in the past and he is a strong supporter of our policy and our troops. But, I want to know why we aren’t bombing Syria’s airports to stop the flow of IED’s and suicide bombers. Why aren’t we taking direct action against Iran who we know is killing our troops with their advanced IED’s.
I support our President but on these issues and on immigration, I believe he has dropped the ball.
Yes, their ratings are down, however when you add them up, they still account for most of the news that’s put out there. Why aren’t leakers, blabbermouths and propagandist in court or in jail? It’s not a first amendment issue when you’re false reporting.
Michelle should ask Shep Smith about those cannibals and rapists in the Super Dome as well.