...from a strictly military perspective, Petraeus may make perfect sense. The only trouble is that Iraq is a political problem in desperate need of a political solution.

Can you write an equal dissertation on the meaning of the word "is"??? :^/

Your statements are so replete with bias and prejudice, it's hard to take anything you say seriously..

Michale.....

Except, when a literate person with an IQ at least room temperature actually reads the report cited by Gen. Petreaus, what you learn is that in 2006 the percentage of a unit that rated morale as "very high" was 7.4% compared to 13.1% in 2007 (pg 24, Fig. 2 of the MHAT). We also learn that compared to 2006, soldiers in 2007 "reported more difficulty accessing behavioral health services, but lower stigma associate with seeking care. Behavorial health personnel reported a shortage of behavioral health assets and higher burnout." (pg 4, 1.2.2 C) "Soldiers on their third or fourth deployment were at significantly higher risk than soldiers on their first or second deployment for mental health problems and work-related problems." (pg 4, 1.2.2 F) "Suicide rates continue to be elevated relative to historic Army rates. Most suicides involve failed relationshiops with spouses or intimate partners." (pg 5, 1.2.2 I) The MHAT recommends, among other items; Ensure adequate dwell-time between deployments.

It is also worth noting that even the figures cited in the MHAT have been "corrected" due to (1) gender, (2) rank and (3) months in theater. As the MHAT notes, "ratings of unit morale are influenced by gender (males report higher unit morale than females); rank (NCOs rate unit morale lower than the E1-E4 group, and Officers rate unit morale higher than the E1-E-4 group) and months in theater (a detailed analysis is provided in section 6.3.1). Each of these variables, however, differs from 2006 to 2007 (see Table 2). Therefore, to determine whether BCT Soldiers report changes in unit morale it is necessary to normalize the data on these key variables." (pg 25, 5.1.1)

In layman's terms, this means that women have lower morale than men (because it's the females who are being raped and/or sexually harrassed); NCOs rate unit morale lower (because they usually have deployed more often then the E1-E4 group and been stop-lossed), Officers rate unit morale higher (because it would be political/career suicide to speak the truth), and the E1-E4 group are simply glad to have the chance to go, as Sen. Graham put it, "kick some ass." And yet, unit morale for 2007 was still only 13.1% in the "very high" category?

In section 5.1.3, the MHAT states, "Using this breakdown, both individual and unit morale significantly increase from 2006 to 2007." (pg 25) Yet, the very next sentence states that for males in the E1-E4 group who spent 9 months deployed, the adjusted percentage of these surveyed who rated unit morale between "medium" and "very high" increased from 51.2% in 2006 to 55.4% in 2007. Significant increase indeed! In fact, on page 32 in Table 4, we are shown that 48.4% of the males in the E1-E4 group curse or insult NON-combatants in their presence (remember, these are innocent civilians), 19.1% reported destroying or damaging private property when it was not necessary, and 10.2% reported physically hitting/kicking NON-combatants when it was not necessary. Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi's because of high morale indeed!

In September 2007, Senate Republicans effectively stopped a vote in Congress on a bill that would have mandated dwell-time for our troops and President Bush declared he would veto any such bill if it passed Congress (one of the above key recommendations in the MHAT). In fact, even Sec. of Defense Gates recommended that the bill be voted by President Bush. Our own "esteemed" Senator Graham voted NAY on that bill in September 2007 (S.Amdt. 2909 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008). Such support for the troops from the GOP! The dwell-time bill was championed by Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat and veteran himself.

When MoveOn.Org published an add with the words "Gen. Betray-Us" in it, every Republican, every GOP shill, moved to immediately condemn them, going so far as to actually push a vote in Congress. Yet, Gen. Petreaus' citation of the MHAT as evidence that troop morale in Iraq is now significantly higher in 2007 than in 2006 when the statistics themselves do not support such a statement is proof positive that Gen. Petreaus has moved from being a Commander to a GOP political hack.

At least to those who have BTDT....

Michale.....

The US has lost control (if it ever really had it) in Iraq and can no longer act only react. There are no good options here - there is no "just right" course of action.

The consequences of the administration's policies will be with us for many years to come.

...Stan