Half of Baghdad now under control

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

Half of Baghdad now under control
By ROBERT BURNS

WASHINGTON - In the face of stiffening insurgent resistance, U.S. and Iraqi security forces now control about half of Baghdad, the American commander overseeing operations said Friday.

Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil, Jr., commander of Multi-National Division Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that progress in securing the capital has been steady and that while he could use more U.S. troops he believes he has enough — with the recent arrival of reinforcements — to complete his mission.

"Some wonder: Are we progressing fast enough? Are we ahead? Are we on track?" he said in a video teleconference from his headquarters in Baghdad.

"This is a fight against extremists. It's a fight to put power back into the hands of the average Iraqi citizens and to give them a vote and a voice in their own future, without intimidation or fear. I see progress, a steady progress, in every neighborhood that we've cleared and then established a full-time presence."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070630/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq

[TwilightGardener]

1. 30,000 extra troops for HALF of Baghdad? NOW what, guys?

[frogcycle]

2. easy

give that half back and go get the other half

[msongs]

3. 4 years and this is all the us military can do? we need a new commander in chief nt

[xultar]

4. I call bullshit. But either way it looks bad. On one hand...if all they needed

were more troops then our soldiers died for nothing.

On the other hand if they are lying again...well you know the drill.

[burrowowl]

5. Does the new U$ embassy occupy

50% of Baghdad!?
Bigger than the Vatican, bigger then Lichtenstein, bigger than ...?

[aquart]

10. My best guess is they're lying.

Of course, they haven't mentioned the rest of the country.

[0007]

29. .....'tis bigger than the castle that created Frankenstein

A new monster that created the new U$ embassy will be call Bushenstein Palace

[Purveyor]

6. Woo-hoo. Saddam had 100% of Baghdad under control with full electric/water utilities.

Yes, Saddam was a dictator but considering what we have witnessed with the battling religions...is it no wonder he had to rule in the manner that he did?

[Olney Blue]

7. We're half-way to freedom.

[theoldman]

8. 50 years from now the other half will be under control.

[Bitwit1234]

9. I didn't know that we were fighting for control of Baghdad I thought

we wanted to control the fighting in ALL OF IRAQ.

[roamer65]

11. What about the other half of Baghdad and the rest of Iraq?

Whack-a-mole!

[bullimiami]

12. is the mission now to secure one city?

[dysfunctional press]

25. That is exactly the plan.

get baghdad under control, declare glorious victory, go home.

problem is- they'll NEVER get baghdad fully under control. unless maybe they turn sadr city into a parking lot.

[BushOut06]

13. And it only took 3500 dead American soldiers to do it

Hell, all we need is another 5000 dead soldiers to secure all of Baghdad, and then another 50,000 dead to secure the entire country. :sarcasm:

[Warren Stupidity]

14. I see. 4+ years later and we still don't even control the capital.

I guess I'm just one of those glass half empty guys.

[Fire Walk With Me]

15. By "under control" do they mean "dead"?

[conspirator]

30. Yeap. Probably the only way to stop insurgency is to kill all iraqis nt

[uppityperson]

16. 2 yrs ago 75% of Baghdad under control.

Your chocolate rations are being increased again and we have always been at war with oceania.

[ckramer]

17. 6 months later probably only one third of it would be under control

and then a total collapse and giving up...

[Babsbrain]

18. Five years ago, 100% of Baghdad was under control

[NI4NI]

19. How hard is it to find an unheard of Maj. Gen.

to say that?
IMO, if it was half true someone further up the chain would be saying that.

[IndianaGreen]

20. There is little I can add to the excellent responses on this thread, except to say...

that I am having serious flashbacks to the Vietnam War when we heard the same "light at the end of the tunnel" pronouncements from MACV. Looks like "pacification" in Iraq is well on its way to the same success we had with pacification in Vietnam.

Our Congress will have to defund this war to end the carnage, anything less will only result in more deaths and suffering.

[daleo]

21. "About half"

"Well, 40% anyway."
"A third for sure."
"Definitely at least a quarter."
...

[noshenanigans]

22. Which half?

The west, or the east? They should build a big wall, because that's worked out so well before.

[xchrom]

23. so? -- where are the weapons of mass destruction?

[ContraBass Black]

24. Wasn't that the first major city we took?

[jpgray]

26. Hooray! Mediocre mission half-accomplished, and only three years too late.

[opihimoimoi]

27. Amazing...they say it like its was wonderful news...like it was VI Day,,,,

[Thor_MN]

28. I take it this is the half above 30,000 feet?