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Michael delivers an incredible summation of the results of the surge and how there is no way that we can pull the troops out now. This is the clip that all the presidential candidates need to watch and address.
ANDERSON
COOPER: Some late news on the war tonight from
Capitol Hill. Senate Republicans have agreed to allow
debate on a Democratic bill to pull troops out of
Iraq.
Said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, he and his members oppose the bill, but
welcome the debate as a way of airing what he calls
the extraordinary progress in Iraq over the last six
months -- another sign, perhaps, that the war is no
longer universally viewed as political poison.
Some perspective now from Michael Ware, who is in
Baghdad tonight, as he has been since the war began.
Michael, in terms of long term, I mean, how do you
measure the progress, militarily and politically?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson,
clearly, there has been progress in this war. I mean,
the number of deaths of both American troops and
civilians are clearly down. In Baghdad alone,
comparing this month to the same month last year,
1,000 people died from terrorist attacks last year,
less than 200 this year, 800 from sectarian killings
last year, only about 40 this year.
There's a number of factors to consider. One is, what
is the price of this? Let's look at the surge. What
is the surge? I know it's taken on a phenomenon, this
phrase, in America, and in the political campaigns.
But, whilst it's been successful, there's none of the
triumphalism that we hear from the campaigns here on
the ground, nor is anyone setting benchmarks for
withdrawal. It's far too fragile for that.
The surge is much more than just 30,000 troops. It's
about cutting a deal with the Sunni insurgents, about
getting the Shia militias to back off and what that
takes. It's about the political surge forcing the
politicians to move, which is going much more slowly.
It's not just about American boots on the ground. And
there's long-term consequences for all of these
things that none of the candidates are talking about.
And how sustainable is this? There will be costs in
the future. Again, the American people need to hear
this, Anderson.
So, what's happening on the ground is indeed a
success in many ways. But you're not getting the full
picture on the campaign trail, and perhaps that
shouldn't surprise anyone -- Anderson.
COOPER: When you talk to soldiers -- and that's sort
of the perspective on most of the military leaders
you talk to probably on a daily basis -- what are
they saying about troop levels down the road? I mean,
in order to sustain the military side of this, in
order to sustain the military successes that
universally just everyone has said we have seen, what
kind of troop levels do you need down the road?
I read some report by Anthony Cordesman recently, and
I think they were talking about 100,000 troops well
into 2016, I think.
WARE: Well, that's certainly a number that members of
the Iraqi government are bandying about, 100,000 U.S.
troops, down from what we will soon have of just over
130,000.
And, certainly, there's an expectation that America
will hit that by the end of the year, an expectation
held by some Iraqis. That's not necessarily an
expectation held by American war commanders here on
the ground.
Now, after the surge troops -- the 30,000 extra
combat forces that were sent here to flush through
this war last year -- once they go home in July,
American force levels, American combat power will
have been reduced by 25 percent already. Nonetheless,
we're still going to have more Americans here after
the surge, just by a few thousand, than before. So,
in some ways, that's not a true indicator.
But I can tell you now, Anderson, Senator McCain
mentioned 100 years American troops will be here. No
one can speak to that. But I can tell you that
American commanders here on the ground know that
they're going to be here a lot longer than many
people would otherwise expect.
Certainly, this sense of, once people get into office
they will start pulling the troops home, is not a
view shared by many here on the ground. And many
believe that what's being said on the campaign will
not necessarily be the action that a new president
will take, no matter what party they're from. There's
realities here. You just can't pull out -- Anderson.
COOPER: Last January, when the president announce the
so-called surge, he laid out 15 political benchmarks
the Iraqi government needed to meet. Yesterday, John
McCain said that with almost of them, we're either
making progress or have succeeded.
Is that the view you hear from the political leaders
on the ground, Iraqi and American?
WARE: Well, certainly from the State Department. They
believe that what they call the political surge,
which has been an unsung success of all of this, has
been working.
And they're talking about the benchmarks. Absolutely,
there's been significant gains on the political
front. The deals that have been cut, the way Baghdad
has been segregated off with massive blast barriers,
so that it resembles a sectarian divided Sarajevo,
where people can't cross the lines, has brought
deaths down and bought some breathing room for
political progress.
But, again, there's a cost for that. Can you pull the
barriers down? No, or the bloodletting will resume.
But, on the benchmarks, there has been progress on
many of the fronts. But, again, remember, what are
the costs? How long can it last? And don't forget,
it's all completely underwritten by the presence of
more than 100,000 U.S. troops keeping everybody apart
-- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Michael Ware. Appreciate the
reporting, Michael. Thank you very much, from Baghdad
tonight.