I know, all of us have heard this dozens of times before, how is the coalition efforts going in Iraq?But many of us are aware of the negativity the media has been giving it. But, me, just minutes before making this thread, seeing a bridge, and a Government building attacks aftermath. I'm beginning to wonder again.

Even though in my opinion the media has gotten a little better at least mentioning the smaller coalition successes. I still feel blinded on what the men and women of the coalition think.

Thats basically what I am asking here. Because after asking some people when the war of Iraq may come up in conversation, "do you think we are going to prevail in Iraq?" I get usually no, and a short remark along the lines of, "its not going good over there" . Knowing a majority of the people I ask, are only looking at possible glimpse of the story.

So, understanding OP-SEC, I ask any coalition worker, or servicemen or women, who have spent time in Iraq, or Iraqi waters, the simple question, based on your time there, how do you think it is going?

If you look at the myriad of threads that touch on this issue you will clearly find that our members who have sand in their boots will ALL tell you that the media is giving you a false picture of the reality of the situation on the ground. It IS working but that doesn't fit into their agenda so you won't hear that coming out of Katie Couric's mouth any time soon.

"If it bleeds it leads, if it builds it's killed."

Baghdad is the only place where unrest is annoying. The rest of Iraq is calm and you don't hear much about them on MSM

Originally Posted by phoenix80

Baghdad is the only place where unrest is annoying. The rest of Iraq is calm and you don't hear much about them on MSM

Hence why the British and Australians will be pulling out soon, Basra and the surrounding province, which was the area the British were in charge of, has seen little violence since the start of the war so their mission is accomplished. A majority of the Iraqi provinces have seen very little bloodshed since March-April 2003.

Originally Posted by Damien435

Hence why the British and Australians will be pulling out soon

AKA combatus interruptus

Originally Posted by Damien435

Hence why the British and Australians will be pulling out soon, Basra and the surrounding province, which was the area the British were in charge of, has seen little violence since the start of the war so their mission is accomplished. A majority of the Iraqi provinces have seen very little bloodshed since March-April 2003.

And also add northern Kurdish provinces where the people enjoy a prosperous and healthy life style, thanks to American support since 1991.

Al-Anbar province and parts of Baghdad are still problematic and these problems won't go away until the regimes in Iran & Syria are dealt with and Saudis stop funding al-qaeda

At any time the insurgency could blow up again.

Here is a question for you..... If you were a thug.. criminal... and all of a sudden, your local police force doubled, would you continue or lay low until they left? These guys aren't stupid and we are getting a false sense of security.

Look at what happened yesterday at the Parliment Building. That was a warning that they can get to anyone in Iraq, anytime, any place.

Dont be fooled.

Ofcourse it´s working.

Could some things have been done better? Yes, but this is the hand dealt to the troops, they will eventually make it work.

As for TI,s comment above.
Yes the insurgency may very well blossom again if too much troops are pulled out too fast.
But we need to remember, there have been very few successful attacks inside the green zone while it is a highly prioritized target for the insurgents.
That I think speak volumes about how (relatively) safe it has actually gotten.

Some thoughts on the subject.

After the terror attack in Iraq Parliament and death of three lawmakers, the answer should be no. If Green Zone is not safe so coalition efforts are not working.

Originally Posted by Team Infidel

At any time the insurgency could blow up again.

Here is a question for you..... If you were a thug.. criminal... and all of a sudden, your local police force doubled, would you continue or lay low until they left? These guys aren't stupid and we are getting a false sense of security.

Look at what happened yesterday at the Parliment Building. That was a warning that they can get to anyone in Iraq, anytime, any place.

Dont be fooled.

You were there, right? Whats the solution to this?