Comments on: Iraqi Army Begins Relieving U.S. Troops

By: Jim Henley

Jim Henley — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 23:47:49 +0000

zz: Thanks for an answer that goes beyond bluster.

By: zz

zz — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 20:15:44 +0000

All of those places were handed over to forces derived from the local population and in all cases had conflicted loyalties or could be compromised by threats against themselves or their families from the locally entrenched militants. In the areas in and around Baghdad, the insurgents are a lot weaker in terms of percentage supporting them. That plus the fact that troops protected the polling places and the large turnout in Baghdad despite the violence is a good sign and good motivation for Iraqi forces carrying their mission out and standing their ground.

By: Denis

Denis — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 20:14:54 +0000

In all seriousness, yes. Attacks against U.S. soldiers is dropping. At least February (post election) showed a marked drop. And Iraqiis are doing what they should, namely taking over security of their own country. There will be continued violence. That is a result of Hussein's rule and their terrorist comrades. It will take time as a result to purge this evil. The U.S. took on a dirty job, but a necessary one. The guys fighting over there are to be commended for a job well done under extremely difficult circumstances. Bush should be commended for doing the right thing against much opposition, including so-called allies (who owe this country a lot) and the Democrats who never have proposed a credible plan themselves.

By: Jim Henley

Jim Henley — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 16:26:30 +0000

In all seriousness, do we think this momentous handover will work better than previous momentous handovers in Fallujah, Samarra and probably other places I'm forgetting?