"...You just take pictures"; Iraq Surge "is working".

Update:U.S. to set up security panel with Iran.

Scene from Hamburger Hill.


Some things never change. Soldier to a newsman: "I got more respect for those little bastards up there, at least they take a side, you just take pictures."

Iraq Update:
Commander discusses The Surge.

SMITH: Is morale still high among our troops?

LT. GEN. NORTH: When I go visit our wounded warriors in the hospitals, they don’t say, “Sir, I’m done. I want to go home.” I’ve talked to airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Marines; some without arms, legs, or eyes. They get up from their beds — and sometimes put their arms around me — and say, “Sir, how do I get back in the fight?”

SMITH: But the antiwar crowd will say, “Of course they do” because you are a three-star general.

LT. GEN. NORTH [shaking his head]: I don’t buy that at all. I’m looking in the eyes of these young Americans. I know them, and they know what’s at stake.

...
SMITH: The “surge” in Iraq: Is it working?

LT. GEN. NORTH: The surge is working. We’re seeing great progress. And look at western Iraq, out in Al Anbar Province — a huge success story — and as the enemy is seeing that they are not welcome in the west, they are bumping back up against the western sectors of Baghdad and meeting huge resistance.

SMITH: And Diyala?

LT. GEN. NORTH: Absolutely, many of the enemy have moved out into Diyala Province. There’s quite a lot of fighting going on there right now. Some major operations, and that’s working well for us also. But war takes patience. There are some of our world partners who have said to me, “You know, from your Revolutionary War through your Civil War, it took you about 100 years for you as a nation to gel.” So it takes time. We have to be forward looking. There is a lot of progress going on in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. And understand, that in this fight — militarily — we are doing fabulously.

SMITH: What about the broader war on terror?

LT. GEN. NORTH: The enemy is determined and deliberate and this is big stakes for him. He is patient and deliberate. Where he finds weakness, he probes. Where he finds strength, he draws back. We cannot be short-sighted about this. Our grandchildren are going to be fighting this war. It’ll be different. But we are going to fight this one way or another, around the world or here at home.