Top U.S. general in Iraq says conditions could get worse before improving

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: MSNBC

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, depicted the situation there as “exceedingly complex and very tough” Thursday and said the U.S. effort might become more difficult before before it gets easier.

The four-star general called the war there “the most complex and challenging I have ever seen.”

He said there have been some improvements in the two months since President Bush’s troop buildup began, but “there is vastly more work to be done across the board. ... We are just getting started with the new effort.”

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18329437/

---

Haven't we heard this before? Like a thousand times before?

[annabanana]

1. He also said that the walls are NOT designed to separate Sunni & Shia.

It's just to make it safer for Iraqis to go shopping and congregate... That they actually DO separate the Sunni & Shia neighborhoods is just a . . . coincidence, I guess.

[The Stranger]

2. We're "turning the corner" in the next six months again.

[chelsea0011]

3. Does he have a timetable on that comment. I'd like to know

if it is 2 days or 2 decades.

[acmavm]

4. Him being referred to as 'Top U.S. general' is very unsettling. Shows the

degree to which bushco has diminished our military.

[ShortnFiery]

8. He's not nicknamed "General Betray-Us" for nothing.

:wow: :thumbsdown: BTW he just pinned-on his 3rd star WHEN he accepted this fated mission. :(

[kineneb]

5. light at end of tunnel=oncomming train (see Vietnam) n/t

[maddezmom]

6. last throes again

:eyes:

[maddezmom]

7. Petraeus eyes long commitment in Iraq

Petraeus eyes long commitment in Iraq By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
12 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday that conditions in Iraq may get harder before they get easier and will require "an enormous commitment" over time by the United States.

Speaking as the Senate debated veto-threatened legislation to start bringing home U.S. forces in October, Petraeus called the war there "the most complex and challenging I have ever seen."

The four-star general, named by President Bush to oversee the recent buildup of American forces, cited some progress in the two months since the troop increase began. Still, he said, "there is vastly more work to be done across the board. ... We are just getting started with the new effort."

He avoided commenting directly on the legislation before the Senate, which passed the House Wednesday night. "I have tried to stay clear of the political minefields of various legislative proposals," he said.

But his comments made it clear that his war plan did not include a significant reduction of U.S. forces anytime soon.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_military;_ylt=AoOxdHl9DLG1LngNKhmkt5Ws0NUE

[bemildred]

9. Yep, war is "hard work".

These guys keep admitting they have no clue about what they are doing, and in the next breath they assert that we gotta stay and keep fumbling around.

[sutz12]

10. Pretty safe bet...it's been getting worse for four years now.

Last I looked, there is only one horse in that race, and he's lame.

[subterranean]

11. ...or it might get more difficult before it gets even worse.

In public he says, "This war is the most complex and challenging I have ever seen."

In private, he calls it an enormous clusterfuck.

[Bucky]

12. Wait! Let me guess!! The next six months will be crucial.

Just when you thought the insane hyperbole driving this war was in its last throes...

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. Six more months should do it...

:eyes:

[rodeodance]

14. Petraeus Cites Difficult Times in Iraq

Source: abcnews




Petraeus Cites Difficult Times in Iraq
U.S. Commander Petraeus Says Conditions in Iraq Likely to Get Harder Before Improving

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON Apr 26, 2007 (AP)— Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, depicted the situation there as "exceedingly complex and very tough" Thursday and said the U.S. effort might become more difficult before it gets easier.

........
Petraeus sidestepped a direct question on how long U.S. troops would have to remain in Iraq.

"I wouldn't try to truly anticipate what level might be some years down the road," he said...................

Asked whether higher-ups in the Iranian government were sanctioning sending weapons and technology to insurgents in Iraq, the U.S. general said it was hard to say. "We do not have a direct link of Iranian involvement," in attacks, he said.

Continued
1. 2. NEXT»

Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3083064

[ReadTomPaine]

15. Looks like David is discovering the difference between his tactical theories and reality

So much for his innovative new approach.

[whistle]

16. Petraeus appeared before the Senate yesterday, but I don't think

....he said this:

<snip>
He (Petraeus) said that was one reason why progress has been so slow on deciding how to divide up oil revenues and pass budget and emergency powers laws. <end>

The stopping block is how to divide up the oil revenue, the spending budget and the political power. Just how will the surge accomplish that?

[happygoluckytoyou]

17. GONNA BE TOUGH

damn!!! just when we was a'thinking that this was gonna be easy! good wars are easy wars--- kill a buncha people and move on... who the heck...what the who...when the DAMN!!! nobody told me war might include killing and wounded people!!! just when we was a'gettin those wounded VietNam vets out of the parking lots NOW we got the IRAQ vets...

sad america who today says the war is bad, NOT because it was wrong, NOT because it was immoral, NOT because it is based upon a lie...
BECAUSE IT ISN'T EASY

what a sad country (but it is okay, because it is the best in the world--- unless you count the medical systems of most developed countries, or the education system of many countries, or the free press in many countries...)

amazing how the american people have bought into the lies--- every other civilized country works less hard, vacations more, what a bunch of lacky fools

[yardwork]

19. Welcome to DU!

[truthisfreedom]

18. Once again, the commander in charge is being used as a political tool by the administration.

Faced with an impossible challenge, he spends his time carefully wording his pleas for patience from the American public instead of handling the war. And when he's completely burned out and can't deal with the enormity of the stress, he'll be removed quietly and replaced with yet another careful speaker who will shoulder the impossible burden until his legs give out as well.

[yardwork]

20. I think that this one is a tool all by himself, actually

[MasonJar]

21. Now where have we heard that kind of propaganda before?

[Jacobin]

22. Just a few more Friedman Units

Just a few more :eyes: