Video: Ron Paul Says The Surge Was an Absolute Failure
Posted on November 8, 2007
CHETRY: You’ve gotten a lot of support because of your anti-war stance, your belief that we should pull out of Iraq. But how would you do that in practicality and make that work at the point we’re in now?
PAUL: Well, one thing we know is what we’re doing now isn’t working. You know, this is our worst year for Americans killed in Iraq. So the surge was an absolute failure, and now, we’re no closer to a peaceful country.
CHETRY: We’ve seen for the past three months, those numbers actually dramatically decline. At the beginning of the year, we did have a spike in U.S. troops but since then it has declined.
PAUL: Yes. Yes, but the surge has been going on, you know, for more months than that and we have to look at, over the year. But the odds of all of a sudden, us coming up with a unified, Democratic country in Iraq is unbelievable.
Is it this pessimistic attitude of defeatism that makes so many moonbats magnetize towards Ron Paul? Thankfully, the facts on the ground don’t agree with Mr. Paul.
Amy Proctor, to whom I give a huge hat tip for this, points to a briefing last week from Baghdad with Multi-National Force-Iraq’s second in command LT GEN Ray Odierno (Pdf):
The surge allowed us to increase our combat brigades from 15 to 20 between January and June, as well as the establishment of joint security stations and combat outposts where the Iraqi people live.
We have been able to eliminate key safe havens, liberate portions of the population and hamper the enemy’s ability to conduct coordinated attacks. We have experienced a consistent and steady trend of increased security over the last four months….
Over the past four months, attacks and security incidents have continued to decline. This trend represents the longest continuous decline in attacks on record and illustrates how our operations have improved security since the surge was emplaced. Of note, this four-month decline includes Ramadan, a time during the previous three years when enemy activity has traditionally spiked.
Also total attack levels are back before their levels since the first Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006 — an event that ignited a wave of sectarian violence. For this same week last year, Al Anbar province experiences 303 attacks. That number has been reduced to less than 30 this past week. Within Baghdad, the weekly reduction from October 2006 to October 2007 was down from 143 attacks in 2006 to under 100 attacks in 2007.
IED explosions have been on a constant and steady downward trend for the past four months. They are also at their lowest level since October of 2004, when they were on an upward trend. One final note on this chart — in 2004, 2005 and 2006, IED explosions peaked during Ramadan. However that effect was noticeably absent in 2007.
Gateway Pundit notes the success trends of the surge with charts galore. U.S. death tolls in Iraq are down to 38, the lowest since March of 2006. Violent deaths are down dramatically as well. Iraqis are returning to Baghdad in droves because the streets are safer. Hope and religious freedom are blooming.
Mr. Paul should get his facts straight before opening his mouth. He should stick to talking the gold standard or something.
» Filed Under News, Politics As Usual, Video, War On Terror
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12 Responses to “Video: Ron Paul Says The Surge Was an Absolute Failure”
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Am I missing something? I only see two charts and they both measure roughly the same thing over the same time period. Surely there are other useful metrics as well. Surely a year-over-year comparison is useful as well. And I believe the totals for the past 12 months are right up there with any previous 12 month period notwithstanding the last two relatively peaceful months.
Having said that, I actually disagree slightly with Paul. I believed the surge was a waste when it was first announced and I’m still not terribly optimistic, but if the trends continue in the right direction, I have no problem staying a bit longer. My patience is finite, though. Any way you slice it, we should be out of there by Jan ‘09. If 20 months of surginess isn’t enough of for them to get their act in order, I’m done losing any sleep over their fate.
Let me be really blunt here: For a real conservative (not a neo-conservative interested in “nation building”), there really isn’t any possible good news from staying in Iraq. Even if you disagree w/ the true conservative position against the war in Iraq, (see this article written by conservatives before the war ever started in 2003: http://www.antiwar.com/orig/duncan1.html) you need to recognise that this is a philosophical disagreement about the proper role of the U.S. Military. It is not proper for American boys and girls to build bridges, schools, work-programs in Iraq because the citizens of Iraq have no incentive to take action and defend their own country. Please read the article posted above–you might not agree, but at least you’ll start to understand the depth of the issue…not to mention that clearly our very presence in Iraq encourages the terrorists to grow in numbers.
Oh, and among the things not mentioned in Odierno’s report:
- A large sectarian milita (based largely in al-anbar, I believe) decided to cease hostilities. They didn’t disarm, mind you, they just stopped shooting.
- Baghdad has been turned into a series of walled enclaves.
Both factors play a significant role in the present situation and neither have anything to do with the number of boots on the ground.
But once again, if the trends continue to stay positive and we can claim victory and split within the next year, I don’t really care why.
The surge hasn’t done a thing. Al-Sadr decided before the surge that his Madhi army was going to stop fighting at a certain point, regardless of the surge, and that’s what they did. They were still fighting months into the surge and the number of troop deaths went up. When they stopped fighting like they said they were going to do, then the attacks went down.
It has ABSOLUTELY ZERO to do with the surge.
My wife and I are heading for Dubai on December 24th. I visit the Middle East often (I’m a Christian, she’s a Jew), and I can tell you that my friends in Dubai tell me that the stuff they’re getting on shortband out of Iraq is comedy.
The troops have fewer deaths because they’re staying in their place and not even trying to expand their turf. This causes fewer Iraqi deaths, because it is our troops and subcontractors that do most of the killing, which is actually legally murder since a Declaration of War isn’t there to protect them.
Two kids from my church are in Iraq, right now, and they want to come home. One of my family’s best friends has a dad who is in Iraq, and he said it is going much worse, but he’s fearful for his pension to speak out.
It’s bad. It’s really bad. And you are taking money from my pocket, and my kids’ futures, to pay for your madness.
I hate to say it, but the conservatives have lost their way completely. The liberals, though, are even worse.
#6, you’ve got to be kidding! What do your Dubai friends know about U.S. military operations? Even if you’re not a military family, do you bother to follow the briefings? Do you realize these briefings are not political speeches but updates on progress and setbacks?
As one whose followed the briefings from MNF-I for a year and a half on a weekly to daily basis, I can tell you that the information dissemination has changed dramatically over the past 6 months.
You clearly don’t understand counterinsurgency. Cessation of violence doesn’t come by U.S. troops “staying in their place and not even trying to expand their turf.” First of all, Iraq isn’t our turf. Second of all, the exact opposite is true. This is why the mission is currently succeeding; we’re OUT of the FOBs (Forward Operating Bases or compounds) where we used to retreat to, allowing the bad guys time to terrorize the population and plant IEDs, etc., and we are integrated into the local population. Expanding our area of operations is exactly what we’ve done and the opposite of what you say your friends suppose about U.S. operations.
Please don’t give me the “poor troops in Iraq need to be rescued” bizz. I’m married to an OIF vet and have been an Army wife for 14+ years. These guys know exactly what they’re getting into when they sign on the dotted line and enlistments are for 2-4 years. Since 2001, enlistees knew what the deal was when they signed up. If a soldier enlisted to milk the federal gov. of college money or benefits and whine about deployments, most soldiers are completely unsympathetic to them. They get what they deserve.
Your cockeyed theory about Iraqi casualties decreasing is certainly creative, I have to hand you that. The U.S. is doing less killing, and it was the TERRORISTS not U.S.troops who killed Iraqi civilians. Why do you think Iraqis turned on terrorists and turned toward the U.S. in Iraq if WE were the ones doing the killing? Give me a break!
This war effort is succeeding and you libs are in total denial because you’d rather make foolish arguments than think you’re letting Bush get away with winning a war.
French Pres. Sarkozy is more American than American liberals.
“For a real conservative (not a neo-conservative interested in “nation buildingâ€), there really isn’t any possible good news from staying in Iraq.” Aaron
Ron Paul is not a real conservative. He is a libertarian with social conservative leanings. A real conservative would be more socially conservative than he is and I do not believe pro or con isolationist standing have anything to do with it. According to On the Issues most of the other Republican candidates with the exception of Giuliani are real conservatives but I have my doubts about a couple of others. Even the ones who are I disagree on Issues.
Ron Paul’s opinion about the surge not working does appear to me a mental delusion but that just goes to show some humans will believe whatever they choose to despite evidence to the contrary. He seems to have a lot of conspiracy nuts in his following which doesn’t speak well of him. They would probably turn on him if he actually became President.
As you can tell from above — from Ron Paul himself and the letters — there is a good reason Ron Paul supporters are seen as nutters. Denial of standard sanely-debated reality is there stock and trade.
Just read Michael Yon and Michael Totten’s long and extensive reports from Iraq and you a real pickture of what the Surge has done for the people of Iraq. Why do you think Muqtada al Sadr told his troops to stand down? He was afraid of being wiped out. They just want to lose — Cut off your nose to spite your face. What a way to partcipate in the world.
Jay…You’ve know me for awhile now. Am I a moonbat? Not at all. And yes, I do support Ron Paul.
Might not agree totally with him on the war, but his domestic policys are what I believe in.
Oh and for the people who think that Ron Paul isn’t a real Conservative, Go read his Voting record.And tell me he’s not a “Real” Conservative.
If wanting to get the USA out of the UN, getting rid of the Dept. of Education (Reagan wanted to do that, I know; Reagan is only used when needed by the quote on quote real conservatives) and to get the Federal Gov out of our lives, is not Conservative. Then you can call me the next Pope.
I think I am the twilight zone.
Regular Ron,
I am seen too much of his voting record. The libertarian can even read the plain language of the U.S. Constitution which gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce between states. He voted against the the ban on transporting minors across state borders to murder her child by abortion. I guess he got it confused with his war on the war on drugs.
Regan ran the national debt up so high I hardly view him as a fiscal conservative. He was a spend and borrow Republican instead of a spend and tax Democrat. Ron Paul is a fiscal conservative, it is his conservative credentials on social policies that are lacking.
The bottom line is Ron Paul is right & if you don’t elect him you will surely suffer.This empire MUST reverse course.Germany,France,New Zeland,Brazil,Canada &Japan are all fairly big countries with big economy’s.Rich countrys.Why are they not hated? Answer they mind their own buissness.Just like RON PAUL wants US to do.Listen to this man.Youv’e been listening to the wrong people since Reagan.Look where its put you.Your future is at stake & worse than that.The future of your children.You can’t afford to get it wrong.Gary