Petraeus: Iraq Is 'Central Front' for Extremists

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Washington Post

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the departing commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said that the country remains "the central front" for al-Qaeda and other extremist groups but acknowledged that violence is rising in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- battlegrounds he will soon oversee as the next head of the U.S. military's Central Command.

In an interview Tuesday, hours before President Bush spoke about the need to send more troops to Afghanistan, Petraeus said, "Iraq is still viewed as the central front, if you will, for al-Qaeda and extremism of that flavor."

Petraeus oversaw the dramatic drop in violence in Iraq that began last summer as the Bush administration deployed 30,000 additional troops here. "We have gone from being on the brink to being on the mend," he said at his office in Baghdad's Green Zone.

Petraeus said the threats that al-Qaeda and the Taliban "pose to Pakistan and Afghanistan are obviously very serious, and needless to say that the rise in the level of violence in Afghanistan is cause for significant concern."

Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was not a haven for al-Qaeda, which found a footing in the country in the near-anarchy that followed the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq is an organization of mostly Iraqi foot soldiers that U.S. officials believe is led by Arabs from other countries.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090901662.html

[lapfog_1]

1. Hey, General Asshole... how many "extremists" where in Iraq BEFORE we invaded? Simple question - n/

[Tutonic]

7. Hahha!

[madeline_con]

2. I'm no military expert, but I'd hazard a guess

that a large number of those Iraqis firing on US and other trops would be called resistance fighters in any other occupation. I'm just saying.

[Newsjock]

3. I think he meant to say "Wasilla"

Wasilla, Iraq, so easy to get your extremists confused.

[ryanmuegge]

4. Stop interjecting yourself into politics, you murderous, unprofessional psychopath.

Fuck you, Betrayus.

[Hugabear]

5. Fuck you, Betrayus

Enjoy your command while it lasts. Once Obama is in office, you can kiss that Central Command goodbye. Just consider yourself lucky if you don't someday face a war crimes tribunal.

[clixtox]

6. Unmitigated HORSESHIT! The USA is the absolute hub of the real "Axis of Evil"!

Amerikkka is the terroristic bully of the world and there really is no competition out there.

We suck!

In every possible way!

We are killing the planet and everything on it in the name of greed, nothing else.

Me, you and every US citizen are individually and collectively responsible for the most heinous crimes imaginable literally all around the world.

Of course this fact pales in importance compared to B. Spears showing at the emptyV awards, or the summer "blockbuster" movies "box office", etc.

[varun]

8. He is saying this to save his job

Most of the worldwide terrorism is coming from Afghanistan / Pakistan - as Obama rightly pointed out.

That means, reduced role for Petrayus.

He does not want that, hence the lies.

[cstanleytech]

9. "and extremism of that flavor." I guess he missed the RNC convention on TV then.

[LynnTheDem]

10. It was the LAST front for extremists until George W. bUsh's war of aggression.

We are all going to be paying for Geoirge W. bUsh's immense fuck-ups for generations.

[KakistocracyHater]

11. I've said for years Pakistan is the Iraq

for the 2010s, the private weapons makers have sold their arms to Pakistan & now those weapons are being used against the U.S. military-seen The Dogs of War with Nic Cage? Good explaination of how it works; plus the fact that U.S. municipal military is being used to forcibly "open markets" for privately owned "U.S." businesses, just like the British & French did in their empire days. Now we have the tax-payers money being siphoned off to bail out bankers, s&l pt.2, bailing out automakers-so much for the 'free market'-how many cuts to veterans' benefits will it cost to bail out the Country Club Class, how deep a cut to Social Security, highway funds being diverted for wealthy bankers 'too big to be allowed to fail', & yet another bailout for the airlines?? Tax-payers pay for it-they should own it then.

[DCKit]

12. Still getting it wrong. How much of that $10B/mo. would we save with competent leaders? n/t

[crim son]

13. But surely, "victory is in sight."

:sarcasm: