from American media outlets? "The enemy is really good at disinformation and propaganda. We have to win the battleground of perception," he said. This is from an American soldier in Iraq. He understands what the mainstream media is all about!

Iraqis in former rebel stronghold now cheer American soldiers
By Oliver Poole in Tal Afar
(Filed: 19/12/2005)

In the low-slung concrete buildings of Tal Afar, a city built on dirty sand and mud, George W Bush sees the potential for military success in Iraq.

<!--MPU STOPPED BY MEDIA --> In recent weeks it has been one case study the American president has consistently cited in order to buttress the rhetoric that the insurgency, and the killing, can be ended.

<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="0" width="168"> <tbody><tr><td rowspan="1" width="8"> </td><td width="160"><center>http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2005/12/19/wirq19.gif</center></td></tr></tbody> </table> Tal Afar was the site of the largest military operation of 2005 (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/11/wirq11.xml), when 8,000 US and Iraqi troops reclaimed it from armed groups.

It has since been used to test a new strategy of "clear, hold, build", in which areas would be purged of insurgents and then rejuvenated to win support from local people, before being handed over to the Iraqi security forces. It is also called "ink spot" strategy, whereby one area of control would spread to another - like an ink spot spreading on blotting paper - until the entire country was covered, in a model similar to that adopted by the British in Malaya.

In Tal Afar, according to the president, military success had been followed by the restoration of law and order and the implementation of reconstruction projects to give "hope" to its citizens.

<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" hspace="0" width="148"> <tbody><tr><td rowspan="2" width="8"> </td><td width="140"><center>http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/essentials/iraq_fact_puff.gif (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/ffiraqhome.xml)</center></td></tr><tr><td class="caption"><center></center>
</td></tr></tbody> </table> Visiting the city, nestled near the Syrian border in the north-west of the country, there is no doubt that something has been achieved.

Unlike in Fallujah, another Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold, the storming of which by US marines was the defining campaign of 2004, there is actually large-scale rebuilding in progress.

While many of the citizens of Fallujah still eke out their existence in the ruins of their former homes, in Tal Afar the streets are full of building sites. New sewers have been dug and the fronts of shops, destroyed in the US assault, were replaced within weeks. Sunni police have been hired and 2,000 goats were even distributed to farmers.

More remarkably, the approach of an American military convoy brings people out to wave and even clap, something not seen since the invasion of spring 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.

But the success in Tal Afar only highlights the problems of replicating it elsewhere.

The strategy will require more troops, which is politically unacceptable right now in America, given growing public doubts about the war. Andrew Krepinevich, the academic who earlier this year outlined ink spot theory, said large numbers were needed to establish "safe zones".

The insurgents who used to control this city of 170,000 were amongst the most barbaric in Iraq. They beheaded, executed and shot locals who questioned their brand of fundamentalist Islam.

Compared to that reign of terror, it is little surprise that the sight of foreign troops on is more easily accepted.

But perhaps the key difference is that the American troops from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, based in Tal Afar, are different from the majority found in Iraq.

Their commander, Col H R McMaster, is a counter-insurgency specialist who wrote a book about the Vietnam War, in which he criticised the US military's failure to understand the enemy's culture.

Before deployment, his men were given extensive Arabic classes and intensive lessons on Iraqi history, customs and religion. Proper efforts were made to woo local tribal sheiks with banquets in which goats were slaughtered and concerns listened to.

"The enemy is really good at disinformation and propaganda. We have to win the battleground of perception," he said.

<li>A German woman abducted in Iraq three weeks ago is free and in good health. Susanne Osthoff, 43, an aid worker and archaeologist, disappeared with her driver on Nov 25.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td class="small">http://news.telegraph.co.uk/stylesheets/portal/images/bullet.gif11 September 2005: largest military operation of 2005 (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/11/wirq11.xml)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright (http://news.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?view=COPYRIGHT&grid=P9)

We are starting to hear about it. That's why we as a nation, are more upbeat and why the numbers are up for Bush. I would hope that this kind of reporting can become more mainstream and predominant. It has been a long bleak period with nothing but horror stories comijng out of Iraq. It is a horror story, war always is. We are winning though and the people of this country need to understand that fact instead of hearing constant berating of our effort and the defeatist attitude of futility. I thought this administration would nevewr fight back against it's detractors here at home but they finally have stood up and said "Enough."

But the success in Tal Afar only highlights the problems of replicating it elsewhere.

The strategy will require more troops, which is politically unacceptable right now in America, given growing public doubts about the war. Andrew Krepinevich, the academic who earlier this year outlined ink spot theory, said large numbers were needed to establish "safe zones".

The insurgents who used to control this city of 170,000 were amongst the most barbaric in Iraq. They beheaded, executed and shot locals who questioned their brand of fundamentalist Islam.

Compared to that reign of terror, it is little surprise that the sight of foreign troops on is more easily accepted.Is this an exception or a tipping point?

The commander sounds exceptional. If only he and his troops could be replicated.

Is this an exception or a tipping point?

The commander sounds exceptional. If only he and his troops could be replicated.

Without starting a flame battle, I would hope and believe that they are not exceptional, that they signal a more responsible couirse of action gained from a learning process here. Hopefully, as Iraqis train up and become more independent, they will be able to follow this process on their own. Until that time, it will be a slow process spearheaded by Amreicans in theater. I don't believe we are going to increase our presence there.

from American media outlets? "The enemy is really good at disinformation and propaganda. We have to win the battleground of perception," he said. This is from an American soldier in Iraq. He understands what the mainstream media is all about!


This type of story is what we have been waiting for and why do you ask? It signals a change in strategy. This is something that the administration would not previously do. They just said stay the course and kept doing exactly what they had done before. So now after all the "bad press" keeps coming out of Iraq they finally decide to try something different and what do you know, it looks like it is working. It was the "bad press" that made them see a need for change, something everyone else knew.

Also the point that the commander was trying to make with regard to battleground of perception had to do with training the troops to meet the people on common ground with a regard to their history and customs. This is also a change in strategy which before could be summorized as "who cares what they think, kill 'em all"

So it looks like the "bad press" got the adminstration to change strategy, put a guy in charge that understands how to deal with the native population on their terms, and resulted in actual good news and not just planted propaganda pieces. Wow, actual progress.

There is not change in that regard. The US military has been training troops and using interpretors and local delegates since the start of the war. I like the revisionist history. This is a DNC strategy to try to steal some of the political glory from the success that is inevitable. Your side has done nothing but kick chairs in the path of success. Now that it seems the tides are turning, they don't want to look like the asses they are.

Go sell that somewhere else. The libs are like used car salesmen. Totally disingenuous and willing to say anything to make a sale!

There is not change in that regard. The US military has been training troops and using interpretors and local delegates since the start of the war.Please provide other examples as this article argues this is an unusual success story that will be hard to replicate.

Go sell that somewhere else. The libs are like used car salesmen. Totally disingenuous and willing to say anything to make a sale!Speaking of salesmen, GWB in his shiny black undertaker's suit last night comes to mind.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/18/national/19bush.1845.jpg

This type of story is what we have been waiting for and why do you ask? It signals a change in strategy. This is something that the administration would not previously do. They just said stay the course and kept doing exactly what they had done before. So now after all the "bad press" keeps coming out of Iraq they finally decide to try something different and what do you know, it looks like it is working. It was the "bad press" that made them see a need for change, something everyone else knew.

Also the point that the commander was trying to make with regard to battleground of perception had to do with training the troops to meet the people on common ground with a regard to their history and customs. This is also a change in strategy which before could be summorized as "who cares what they think, kill 'em all"

So it looks like the "bad press" got the adminstration to change strategy, put a guy in charge that understands how to deal with the native population on their terms, and resulted in actual good news and not just planted propaganda pieces. Wow, actual progress.

That's the bigger question. Why is this commander the exception? Why hasn't this been going on from day one with all the troops???

"Their commander, Col H R McMaster, is a counter-insurgency specialist who wrote a book about the Vietnam War, in which he criticised the US military's failure to understand the enemy's culture.

Before deployment, his men were given extensive Arabic classes and intensive lessons on Iraqi history, customs and religion. Proper efforts were made to woo local tribal sheiks with banquets in which goats were slaughtered and concerns listened to."

Failure to understand the culture of Iraq, and the region, has led us into this problem from the beginning. We think every culture wants a McDonalds/Starbucks/Wal-Mart on every corner. And when they don't, Bush says things like "They hate freedom and democracy" and "You're either with us or against us."

There is not change in that regard. The US military has been training troops and using interpretors and local delegates since the start of the war. I like the revisionist history. This is a DNC strategy to try to steal some of the political glory from the success that is inevitable. Your side has done nothing but kick chairs in the path of success. Now that it seems the tides are turning, they don't want to look like the asses they are.

Go sell that somewhere else. The libs are like used car salesmen. Totally disingenuous and willing to say anything to make a sale!


What has the left done to impede success? The left is the minority party and had no input in shaping the strategy of this occupation. Where are the FACTS as you are so apt to say. If you think impeding progress is not joining the rest of you sheep and sticking your collective heads in the sand and chanting "it's all good, it's all good" then sign me up as a chair kicker. Face it, the war was not going as well as it could have if only this adminstration had paid any attention to a real stretegy to win the hearts and minds of the Iragis, instead of spouting about throwing flowers at our feet.

Also it looks like you didn't read your own article because you were too busy trying to make the left out to be the enemy. The article states that this is a NEW strategy! Finally a guy in command gets it and starts something positive, which I acknowledge, and you go off. So what do you want now? Progress is good but you seem to want or need, to still have an imagined enemy from the left.

Without starting a flame battle, I would hope and believe that they are not exceptional, that they signal a more responsible couirse of action gained from a learning process here. Hopefully, as Iraqis train up and become more independent, they will be able to follow this process on their own. Until that time, it will be a slow process spearheaded by Amreicans in theater. I don't believe we are going to increase our presence there.It would be good if, FINALLY, a learning process has begun. From reports I've read, counter-insurgency lessons learned from Vietnam were not featured in the training materials for commanders heading to Iraq. I wonder if they are now. This commander, though, appears to know what he's doing.


But perhaps the key difference is that the American troops from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, based in Tal Afar, are different from the majority found in Iraq.

Their commander, Col H R McMaster, is a counter-insurgency specialist who wrote a book about the Vietnam War, in which he criticised the US military's failure to understand the enemy's culture.

Before deployment, his men were given extensive Arabic classes and intensive lessons on Iraqi history, customs and religion. Proper efforts were made to woo local tribal sheiks with banquets in which goats were slaughtered and concerns listened to.

It doesn't sound to me as if this is an experiment that this particular commander initiated on his own, rather, he seems to be placed there to implement this new way of doing things. Sometimes it isn't so much a learning curve as a logistical problem. We have never had enough troops in theater to occupy every area we kick insurgents out of. We are now gaining ground in the training programs that were so slow to be successful. Hopefully there will be a growing Iraqi involvement in these programs and our people will have reduced responsibility for it. That is the only way it is going to work, we can't put enough people there and maintain them to do it, that has always been the problem. Rather than show our guys the way, this pilot program should serve to show the Iraqi's the possibilities.

"Their commander, Col H R McMaster, is a counter-insurgency specialist who wrote a book about the Vietnam War, in which he criticised the US military's failure to understand the enemy's culture.

Before deployment, his men were given extensive Arabic classes and intensive lessons on Iraqi history, customs and religion. Proper efforts were made to woo local tribal sheiks with banquets in which goats were slaughtered and concerns listened to."

Failure to understand the culture of Iraq, and the region, has led us into this problem from the beginning. We think every culture wants a McDonalds/Starbucks/Wal-Mart on every corner. And when they don't, Bush says things like "They hate freedom and democracy" and "You're either with us or against us."

know their culture and history.heck they sound like me,they must hate America

"Tal Afar was the site of the largest military operation of 2005, when 8,000 US and Iraqi troops reclaimed it from armed groups."

Steam, part of the problem is so many Libs feel that US Soldiers are simply standing over in Iraq, terrorizing the people (cough, John Kerry). Our men and women over there encountered and encounter real bullets, a real determined enemy.

I talk to Libs who feel the USA drove into Baghdad as if they were on vacation. This really irks me. I rememeber the first 6-8 weeks of this War very, very well. Do you remember after the first five days the media was trying so hard to portray the US as losing battles, losing ground and stuck in the mud/sand etc?

We won with the removal of Saddam. We will win the people of the country over when more balance is restored. I think that 80% Murtha number is pure used car salesman's bs. I think his math is backwards.

The people of Iraq were treated like animals for decades, this new freedom will grow.

America will leave Iraq and when we do it will be in full victory, flags and chins held high. America will leave and leave behind them the element of Peace. Is that not the goal?

There you guys go, villifying liberals again, like we want all of our soldiers to die and get maimed and killed over in Iraq. Umm, yeah, we do know that they encounter real bullets and real danger every single day that they're there. I have friends over there now as a matter of fact. I think I can speak for a fair amount of liberals when I say that we know what they're facing is real, and that's why we want them back here, out of harm's way. People do get terrorized, or are in fear when someone kicks in your door in the middle of the night, shines a bright light and a gun muzzle in your face. You wouldn't be $hitting in your pants? Yeah, I bet you would. But we also recognize that this is probably a necessary thing going on in order to collect information and bad guys, but let's not quibble about it. The people whose houses we are going into are scared and terrorized by it. That's what Kerry said.

You're nuts if you think that the media was trying to portray the first 6-8 weeks of this war as we were losing. Every report I remember seeing and reading was telling me that we were making steady progress, that we were running into some heavy resistance, but driving towards our goal, not unimpeded, but still moving well. Which news cast were you watching? The Iraqi information minister? http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/

Here is a link from CNN about the coverage it gave the war in 2003 before Bush declared "Mission Accomplished".

We didn't think that the boys and girls over there were having a good time, umm, they were getting killed and wounded, and hence why most of us didn't want them to go into Iraq in the first place. Remember? Anti war stance? Yeah, that was me. And other liberals.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/

So what do you consider "full victory" or are you just taking up the mantra of W again?

Yup, America is chasing them down, if they hide, if they sleep at night, wherever they are. We are hunting down the REAL terrorists!!!

You better believe it----We'll chase all them d@m turrists out of the PETA, if it's the last thing we do!!!!!

we're spying on. damn hippies are a threat to our security with all that peace n stuff.

uh I don't think there's a lib here who thinks bad of the military. the job they did on the invasion was great. now they've been screwed into an action by a gov with no real exit strategy nor plan for dealing with an insurgency the naively didn't expect.

I love our military,I dislike the chickenhawk C.I.C.

Funny how the US is now paying to place "positive" "war stories" in the Iraqi press...

...I struggle to end this post before completely editorializing things...