A Great Dispatch from Ramadi by Michael Totten

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about the Surge in Iraq. With the defeatist democrats shamelessly slamming Gen. David Patreaus calling him a mouthpiece for the President and their support and endorsement of Moveon.org's disgusting ad in the New York Times. And of course, the MSM totally ignoring the results and progress of the surge.

I listened to Hugh Hewitt (with total fascination) reading the latest dispatch from Michael Totten in Iraq, talking about the surge. I am posting the link below and you should go read it and see the pictures from Ramadi in the Anbar province. Of course you won't see or hear anything from the MSM or the democrats about this, but that is to be expected. This is a fascinating and compelling piece that everyone should read. I will post either a link or the audio from Hugh's show where he reads it.

But here is an excerpt;

Ramadi has changed so drastically from the terrorist-infested pit that it was as recently as April 2007 that I could hardly believe what I saw was real. The sheer joy on the faces of these Iraqis was unmistakable. They weren’t sullen in the least, and it was pretty obvious that they were not just pretending to be friendly or going through the hospitality motions.

“AQ will try to re-take the city,” Colonel Charlton said. “I am certain of it. They’ve already tried. They came in from Samarra, swung around, and approached from the south through the desert.” They did the same thing again even more recently. “It was an attack planned at the AQ national level and it erupted in a day-long fire fight. The whole province is a major failure and defeat for Al Qaeda. They need to ‘fix’ this, so to speak.”

"The city, and the rest of Anbar Province will continue to suffer the tragic consequences of its geography even if it manages to repair its politics and its culture. Will another insurgency erupt? Will the Sunnis of Anbar declare war on the Shias in Baghdad? Well I don’t know, this is Iraq. But whatever happens, and whether it’s good news or bad, never again will Al Qaeda find a warm home here."

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/.html