Well, he went accompanied by 100 infantry and 5 helicopter gunships, then made some weird claim about how there are areas in Baghdad where you can stroll freely. Then, just a few days ago, admitted it was a silly thing to say but also maintained that the situation in Baghdad is improving.
_________________ For your sake I hope heaven and hell are really there but I wouldn't hold my breath
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
Man in Black wrote:
Well, he went accompanied by 100 infantry and 5 helicopter gunships, then made some weird claim about how there are areas in Baghdad where you can stroll freely. Then, just a few days ago, admitted it was a silly thing to say but also maintained that the situation in Baghdad is improving.
Oh, and the market where he went for a stroll got hit by a car bomb two days after he was there, killing over a dozen people.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Well, he went accompanied by 100 infantry and 5 helicopter gunships, then made some weird claim about how there are areas in Baghdad where you can stroll freely. Then, just a few days ago, admitted it was a silly thing to say but also maintained that the situation in Baghdad is improving.
Oh, and the market where he went for a stroll got hit by a car bomb two days after he was there, killing over a dozen people.
Yeah, he made some off-the-wall comments that made him look pretty bad, and the whole market trip was clearly a publicity stunt. However, I think he was accurate when he said that if he had asked to do this a year ago, he would have been told it was out of the question. So while they have a long way to go in terms of bringing security to the city, there has been progress made. Whether that translates to long-term security that will aid in getting a political solution to the problem is still a question mark.
PD - you have a link to the story about this alleged "car bomb" that hit the market that McCain visited two days after he was there, because I don't think that's true.
I do know that it came under sniper fire a day or two later, but from interviews with the shop owners that's sadly rather common. But ever since the last car bombing they had there, they've kept vehicles away from the area by using concrete barriers to avoid a repeat attack.
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:52 pm Posts: 770 Location: New York City Via Buffalo NY
LeninFlux wrote:
punkdavid wrote:
Man in Black wrote:
Well, he went accompanied by 100 infantry and 5 helicopter gunships, then made some weird claim about how there are areas in Baghdad where you can stroll freely. Then, just a few days ago, admitted it was a silly thing to say but also maintained that the situation in Baghdad is improving.
Oh, and the market where he went for a stroll got hit by a car bomb two days after he was there, killing over a dozen people.
Yeah, he made some off-the-wall comments that made him look pretty bad, and the whole market trip was clearly a publicity stunt. However, I think he was accurate when he said that if he had asked to do this a year ago, he would have been told it was out of the question. So while they have a long way to go in terms of bringing security to the city, there has been progress made. Whether that translates to long-term security that will aid in getting a political solution to the problem is still a question mark.
PD - you have a link to the story about this alleged "car bomb" that hit the market that McCain visited two days after he was there, because I don't think that's true. I do know that it came under sniper fire a day or two later, but from interviews with the shop owners that's sadly rather common. But ever since the last car bombing they had there, they've kept vehicles away from the area by using concrete barriers to avoid a repeat attack.
how was the market working before we ever showed up, pre 2003? I'm guessing a whole lot better than marginal improvement on something we already fucked up.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
LeninFlux wrote:
PD - you have a link to the story about this alleged "car bomb" that hit the market that McCain visited two days after he was there, because I don't think that's true. I do know that it came under sniper fire a day or two later, but from interviews with the shop owners that's sadly rather common. But ever since the last car bombing they had there, they've kept vehicles away from the area by using concrete barriers to avoid a repeat attack.
Sorry, I was a little inaccurate. The people killed were from that market, but they were in Kirkuk when they were killed.
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