Iraqis Return To Baghdad As Violence Dissipates

[Parkbandit]

More than 3,000 Iraqi Families Return Home After Sectarian Violence Dips
BAGHDAD (AP) ― In a dramatic turnaround, more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped, the government said Saturday.

Saad al-Azawi, his wife and four children are among them. They fled to Syria six months ago, leaving behind what had become one of the capital's more dangerous districts — west Baghdad's largely Sunni Khadra region.

The family had been living inside a vicious and bloody turf battle between al Qaeda in Iraq and Mahdi Army militiamen. But Azawi said things began changing, becoming more peaceful, in August when radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army fighters to stand down nationwide.

About the same time, the Khadra neighborhood Awakening Council rose up against brutal al Qaeda control — the imposition of its austere interpretation of Islam, along with the murder and torture of those who would not comply.

The uprising originated in Iraq's west and flowed into the capital. Earlier this year, the Sunni tribes and clans in the vast Anbar province began their own revolt and have successfully rid the largely desert region of al Qaeda control.

http://cbs2chicago.com/national/baghdad.violence.decrease.2.481787.html
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This news does NOT bode well for the Democrat Party. Then again, this story won't get much air time, since it is good news out of Iraq.

[Warriorbird]

http://www.corkinthewater.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/461-mission_accomplished.jpg

[Gan]

This news does NOT bode well for the Democrat Party. Then again, this story won't get much air time, since it is good news out of Iraq.

Well, since the media is GOP bias, you're obviously not watching primetime news outlets... quit getting your news from moveon.org.

[Hulkein]

Regardless of the political ramifications I'm glad to see that the country is moving in the right direction.

I'm sure Bush is happy. Iraq will cement his legacy one way or the other.

[Daniel]

Considering i'm "pro war", I hate to start pissing in koolaid, but 3000 families is a pretty small drop in the bucket of about 4 million refugees and internally displaced people.

[Gan]

You have to start somewhere.

[Daniel]

2003 would have been an ideal time.

[Kembal]

I dunno if I'd count this as a success yet. It might be that some of those families have to return because they have no choice. From the article:


Part of the inflow can be attributed to stiffening of visa and residency procedures for Iraqis by the Syrian government.

Mahmoud al-Zubaidi, who runs the Iraqi Airways office in Damascus, the Syrian capital, the flow of Iraqis has almost reversed.

What were once full flights arriving from Baghdad now touch down virtually empty, he told Al-Sabah, the government funded Iraqi daily newspaper. Now the flights are leaving Damascus with more passengers but the volume of travel is off considerably.

Bottom line: This might signal a positive trend. But the underlying factors (armed Sunni and Shia militias, politicians not willing to reconcile, etc.) are still there to make this become even worse.

[Tsa`ah]

This news does NOT bode well for the Democrat Party. Then again, this story won't get much air time, since it is good news out of Iraq.

You're kidding right? CNN has reported more on this than Fox.

[Keller]

Here's what I don't get.

I've never thought Iraq was a good idea. In the pre-war run-up, I had a Russian History prof who gave a lecture about how destabilizing Iraq (eg, removing Sadam) would only lead to a vicious civil war similar to what was going on in the former Yugoslavia. I've never, ever thought Iraq was anything other than a terrible fucking idea.

But I have NO problem with success in Iraq. If we win, and establish Utopia in the middle east, that's awesome. Build a fucking Disney Land, I don't give a fuck.

Just stop insinuating that Democrats, or anyone else who is associated with the party because they want American troops out of Iraq, wish for failure in the Iraq War. They want Americans out of Iraq. If that means we win? Great!

[senorgordoburro]

I will tell you all exactly why fighting in Iraq is a good idea, and this is coming from a person who has been there a few times, and is there right now. As long as Americans are in this country they will remain the easy target for the Muslim Extremists and that will reduce the chance of more terrorist attacks on American soil. I know that I am trained and equipped well enough that I do not fear being killed, and I am in the Marine Infantry. This means that as long as I am in Iraq I don't have to worry about my Mom or Wife being killed by some dirt bag fucking terrorist while they are at work or shopping in the Mall. I don't give a shit if Bush invaded this country just because his Dad told him too, as long as we are here, the rest of America is safer.

[Warriorbird]

So...we never leave? Northern Ireland 2!

[Stanley Burrell]

I will tell you all exactly why fighting in Iraq is a good idea, and this is coming from a person who has been there a few times, and is there right now. As long as Americans are in this country they will remain the easy target for the Muslim Extremists and that will reduce the chance of more terrorist attacks on American soil. I know that I am trained and equipped well enough that I do not fear being killed, and I am in the Marine Infantry. This means that as long as I am in Iraq I don't have to worry about my Mom or Wife being killed by some dirt bag fucking terrorist while they are at work or shopping in the Mall. I don't give a shit if Bush invaded this country just because his Dad told him too, as long as we are here, the rest of America is safer.

If America supposedly policed the world based on the terrorist intentions of Islamic nations, do you believe that said intentions would pose a greater risk during... Or not during an American-occupied presence of a foreign nation? Do you believe that the probability/imminence of an Iraqi attack pre-war superseded the danger of the anti-American ideologies and the possibility of their concurrent action created by invading Iraq?

Do you think your wearing a uniform, toting a gun and having a drill instructor has anything to do with reducing the overall threat of terror against The United States? If so, do you think it deters it somehow?

[senorgordoburro]

I believe 100% that having troops deployed to Iraq makes it safer for America because they remain the easier targets, and they are the ones being attacked and not Americans on American soil. And there is not a person today in the Military that has not joined or re-signed a contract with Uncle Sam since 9/11/2001, so they have no room to bitch and moan when they got deployed, they know it is going to happen.

[TheEschaton]

I thought the point of the military in Iraq was to be getting rid of terrorism, instead of increasing it, even if it is offshore now?

-TheE-

[Celephais]

Man... can you imagine that kid that signed 9/10/2001 ... "Naw Mom it's okay, it'll probably be the safest 20k I ever make and maybe I can make one of those neat army of one commercials".

[senorgordoburro]

Heh, if you believe that religious extremists are going to ever go away then you have a great imagination.

[Warriorbird]

So...we're obligated to stay in Iraq forever.

[Keller]

I will tell you all exactly why fighting in Iraq is a good idea, and this is coming from a person who has been there a few times, and is there right now. As long as Americans are in this country they will remain the easy target for the Muslim Extremists and that will reduce the chance of more terrorist attacks on American soil. I know that I am trained and equipped well enough that I do not fear being killed, and I am in the Marine Infantry. This means that as long as I am in Iraq I don't have to worry about my Mom or Wife being killed by some dirt bag fucking terrorist while they are at work or shopping in the Mall. I don't give a shit if Bush invaded this country just because his Dad told him too, as long as we are here, the rest of America is safer.

Hmmm, interesting argument. I tend to agree, actually. Fuck.

The only thing is that I don't know the long term effects. How does this affect the number of young men joining the "cause" in the middle east? Especially considering how the Army will have a harder and harder time sustaining a long-term presence in Iraq -- either due to political pressure or plain lack of young American's willing to go.

[Daniel]

Man... can you imagine that kid that signed 9/10/2001 ... "Naw Mom it's okay, it'll probably be the safest 20k I ever make and maybe I can make one of those neat army of one commercials".

I can. I shipped out to Basic Training on August 15th 2001. It was an interesting period to be in basic training, that's for sure.

[Sean of the Thread]

There was a real douchebag column in the St Pete Times today that sort of pissed me off on this matter if anyone is interested in some BS.

And on the commitment comment.. when I signed up I fully expected to end up being deployed. It was shortly after the first Gulf War.

It annoys me to no end when I see people on the outside dropping the "Naw Mom it's okay, it'll probably be the safest 20k I ever make and maybe I can make one of those neat army of one commercials". because for the vast majority of people who commit it's no where near on target.

[Celephais]

It annoys me to no end when I see people on the outside dropping the "Naw Mom it's okay, it'll probably be the safest 20k I ever make and maybe I can make one of those neat army of one commercials". because for the vast majority of people who commit it's no where near on target.
I have the upmost respect for the armed service individuals, I just know that there are some people who honestly didn't respect the commitment they were making and assumed a free ride. I am sure that after they got chewed up a bit they aren't looking for the easy way out. The majority of those I know who've signed up have had a greater since of integrity than I.

[senorgordoburro]

I never said that we should stay in Iraq forever, but what I did say is that as long as we are here that America is safer, and that there will always be religious extremists, so for the time being, this is not as bad of a deal as everyone thinks.

[Parkbandit]

There was a real douchebag column in the St Pete Times today that sort of pissed me off on this matter if anyone is interested in some BS.

And on the commitment comment.. when I signed up I fully expected to end up being deployed. It was shortly after the first Gulf War.

It annoys me to no end when I see people on the outside dropping the "Naw Mom it's okay, it'll probably be the safest 20k I ever make and maybe I can make one of those neat army of one commercials". because for the vast majority of people who commit it's no where near on target.

HAHA, you read that rag?

So sad. It's not even worth the $.50 on Sundays.

[sst]

I believe 100% that having troops deployed to Iraq makes it safer for America because they remain the easier targets, and they are the ones being attacked and not Americans on American soil. And there is not a person today in the Military that has not joined or re-signed a contract with Uncle Sam since 9/11/2001, so they have no room to bitch and moan when they got deployed, they know it is going to happen.

:yeahthat:

[Sean of the Thread]

HAHA, you read that rag?

So sad. It's not even worth the $.50 on Sundays.

Sadly it's $1.00 on Sundays here.. and yes my wife buys it for the coupons at the very least and I the job section.

Over all it is a complete liberal piece of shit.

[Warriorbird]

We all have to deal with that kind of thing. I was stuck with bullshit conservative papers in VA for years.