Snipped from alternet.org.

What do you really think is going to happen on September 15th when Gen. Petraeus is scheduled to give his recommendations on the Iraq war and how well we are doing with the surge? Do you think the learned general will say–things aren’t going too good, perhaps we should cut and run? Uh, no. He’s a military man. His job is to win, not establish policy. But here we are with an extremely incompetent Commander-in-Chief whose job is policy but who has relinquished his role to a military man. Since when do we let the generals call the policy shots? If you are in doubt once the reports of “measured success” start coming out, then you may want to read this article and educate yourself on what’s really going on in Iraq that’s not being reported.

If you have paid attention to any of the benchmarks that Bush and Co. have set for this disastrous war, then you realize that nearly none have been met and over all there is serious doubt as to even having a chance to be met. Why do you think that is? Maybe it’s because in order to succeed in an overthrow of a government, first you have to establish security. Then you have to restore basic services such as electricity and water. And, then you have to win the hearts and minds of people in order to establish a government supported by the people. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that a military occupation is counter to the last criteria? So, let’s be honest. Exactly where are we on all of these critical criteria?

Do we have security in Iraq? No, we can’t even protect ourselves in the highly fortified Green Zone. Do the Iraqi’s have services? No, they are worse off now than they ever were under Saddam. And, have we won the hearts and minds of the Iraqi’s. No, they don’t see a problem with killing an American soldier. Have we left Iraq so that the people of Iraq can determine their destiny? No, we are still an occupying force after five years.

And, there is one other minor detail. What about the number of casualties of Iraqi citizens? There are untold numbers which have been estimated in the high 100s of thousands. And, then there are the refugees which is another huge casualty of the war. The Iraq refugee situation has been determined to be the worst on the planet of refugee crisis. Why is it that we don’t hear about the untold massive suffering of the Iraqi people? Even Gen. Petraeus has admitted that the Iraq refugee crisis is of unimaginable proportion.

Here is a portion of the article that sheds a little light on how well we are doing in Iraq.

“80% of Iraqis lack access to sanitation, 70% lack regular access to clean water and 60% lack access to the public food distribution system… As a result of these multiple public health failings, diarrhea and respiratory infections now account for two-thirds of the deaths of children under 5… According to a 2006 national survey conducted by UNICEF, 21% of Iraqi children are chronically malnourished.”

And then there’s the poorly covered refugee crisis — probably the worst on the planet at this moment — gripping the country. Almost 4 million Iraqis have had to leave their homes, according to Refugees International. But don’t just rely on some impartial NGO for your information. Here’s a ball-park estimate quoted recently in an interview with David Petraeus, the general in charge of the President’s “surge plan” in Iraq:

“‘It’s a big competition right now among a variety of groups; and, again in an environment, in Baghdad in particular, [that is] very heavily colored by an influence of the sectarian violence.’ Neighborhoods have been depopulated and General Petraeus believes that ‘hundreds of thousands, maybe millions’ of Iraqis have been displaced.”

If you would like to read the full article click the image below.

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