Mosul, one time U.S. success story, turns ugly

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC231153.htm

BAGHDAD, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Mosul, the city that once ranked as the U.S. military's greatest success story in Iraq, has become the scene of its heaviest setback following the death of 18 Americans in a mess hall explosion.

What began as a slow drift towards disorder, after months of stability immediately following the war to oust Saddam Hussein, has in the past two months turned into a spiral towards chaos as insurgents have unleashed a full-blooded offensive.

U.S. commanders have admitted they are concerned, but have found it difficult to pin down what has caused the slide away from prospects that looked so rosy 18 months ago.

Back then, Major General David Petraeus, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division, was hailed as a visionary for his handling of Mosul's transition from a bastion of support for Saddam's regime to a city of calm under U.S. occupation.

A visiting U.S. congressman was so impressed by Petraeus, who has since been promoted to lieutenant general and put in charge of building Iraq's security forces, that he said he should write the book on nation building.

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[shoelace414]

1. great

U.S. commanders have admitted they are concerned, but have found it difficult to pin down what has caused the slide away from prospects that looked so rosy 18 months ago.

we have greatest military in the world!

[rkc3]

5. But not the greatest military minds in the world.

[Jacobin]

2. Gee, I can't understand why they don't love us

after all we have done to, er, uh, for them.

I mean, what country wouldn't want to be 'shocked and awed', tortured, have their infrastructure destroyed, have their women raped, their mosques blown up, their citizens bombed, their natural resources stolen?

I guess they must just hate our freedoms.

[DireStrike]

4. I know! We give them beanie babies and everything!

And... small businesses are opening! :eyes:

[Robbien]

3. Mosul is also the place where the busload of Iraqi military was

blown up two weeks ago. And the site where there was a series of attacks on several mosques a month ago.

One by one, every city that succumbs to occupation reverts back due to rebel unrest.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. the sad thing is

we've broken it and can't fix it. The whole thing was lousily planned from the beginning-one argument I tried on freepers before the war started (and when the argument that a preemptive strike was immoral didn't work). They assured me that Rumsfeld knew what he was doing. Today the NY Times headline read that a majority of Americans think the war was a mistake but are afraid of what will happen if we just pull out. Guess what, folks? The longer we stay the worse it will get.

[Voltaire99]

7. The Vietnam effect will be setting in soon...

Pointless loss of life to "pacify" territory...

...which swiftly returns to enemy control...

...and in turn sours the troops...

...who realize their buddies are dying for nothing.

[Massachusetts]

9. Throw the draft in for a little spice.

[neuvocat]

8. Vaguely reminds me of the Baghdad Blogger

He was being hailed as some sort of literary hero in Iraq because he was documenting how things were going to change once the american troops were there. He went from a potential book deal to completely disappearing.

[anakie]

10. the Fallujah option cant be too far away now

flatten the city, declare it liberated and let the people go home to ruins.