Quantcast
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

sponsored by
News


Berkley upbeat about progress in Iraq

Las Vegas Democrat acknowledges troop 'surge' has paid off




WASHINGTON -- Visiting Iraq for the first time, Rep. Shelley Berkley said Monday the U.S. military and Iraqi police have made more progress than she expected in quelling violence that had beset portions of the country.

Berkley delivered a generally upbeat report on Iraq in the midst of a weeklong trip to the Middle East with a half-dozen other members of Congress.


Most Popular Stories
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • FATAL SHOOTING: Police again mourn comrade
  • NORM: Biden finds rank has its privileges
  • NORM: Walton: Coach deserved a punch
  • Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty
  • DEADLY HOME INVASION: Police suspect link to family
  • Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • UNLV sacks football coach Sanford
  • NORM: CityCenter seeks presidential visit




  • The Las Vegas Democrat has been a war critic and had disapproved of the troop "surge" when President Bush announced it early this year on the recommendation of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

    But on Monday she acknowledged the infusion of 28,500 U.S. soldiers had a positive impact. The visiting delegation was given a tour of Ramadi, a city about 70 miles west of Baghdad that largely has been cleansed of insurgents.

    "This is a difference from what I anticipated," Berkley said. "I did not anticipate the progress and the extraordinary morale of our troops.

    "They believe they are turning the corner," Berkley said. "Nobody is doing a victory lap at this point, but the reality is the military has done an extraordinary job."

    Berkley's praise extended to the Iraqi police who are assisting U.S. troops in patrolling neighborhoods.

    "For years we had heard they weren't ready to take over, but at this point there is such a significant difference," Berkley said. "The Iraqis are truly stepping up to the plate and that accounts for the lowering of violence.

    "Wherever you go, Iraqis and our American servicemen are telling us that the difference is dramatic," Berkley said. "The violence is down 60 percent from last year."

    Despite apparent progress, Iraq remains a "terrible" place still in the midst of war, Berkley emphasized.

    "I was wearing 40 pounds worth of armor," she said. "It is not a walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon."

    At a dinner Sunday night, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told the House members it may take another year or longer to determine if Iraq has truly stabilized.

    "The general and Ambassador Crocker believe the next 19 months would give us a good idea of the situation," Berkley said. "Whether they have really turned the corner, or whether this is just the insurgency biding its time," waiting for the United States to leave before resuming its activities.

    The House lawmakers, led by Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., Armed Services Committee chairman, are spending Christmas in Iraq. Berkley said she planned to have lunch with two sets of Nevada soldiers.

    The lawmakers then plan to fly to Turkey to meet with President Abdullah Gul before returning to the United States this weekend.

    Berkley said she could not say how this week's trip would affect her position on the war. She said Congress is unlikely to take any votes before Petraeus delivers a progress report in March.

    Berkley said Monday that military progress will be only part of what Congress considers in debating the U.S. commitment to Iraq.

    Congressional votes also will consider whether Iraqi leaders have made progress in building a consensus for how post-war Iraq will be governed among the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurdish groups.

    And, Berkley said, "nobody is putting any hard money on that."

    In the year coming to an end, Berkley voted against the surge and generally in favor of speeding redeployment of U.S. troops.

    Berkley voted in November for a bill that would have tied $50 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to a troop redeployment beginning within 30 days and continuing to completion by Dec. 15, 2008. The anti-war effort failed in the Senate.

    In October, Berkley voted to require Bush to report to Congress every 90 days on his planning for withdrawing U.S. forces, a strategy bill sponsors said was aimed at pressuring the president.

    In May, the Nevadan voted for a bill that released a portion of Bush's funding request for Iraq and withheld the remainder until generals delivered a progress report on the surge.

    But on what was considered the most stringent anti-war measure of the year, Berkley voted in May against a bill that called for U.S. withdrawals to begin within 90 days, and to be completed in 180 days.

    Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or (202) 783-1760.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 31 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    Ozark_Sunshine wrote on December 27, 2007 08:13 PM: Tenant you are a liar and a phony. Even if you are who you claim to be, then you are mentally ill, because your rambling shows a very disturbed individual. Get yourself to a VA hospital and shut yourself off from the world until you can recognize the difference between the re=adical lies you spew and the well documented truth. This retired disabled SGT wouldn't even give you a courtesy salute because you are so disturbed. You must be one of John Kerry's and Billary's buddiesw to spout their lines.


    TO Ms SHELLEY BERKLEY wrote on December 27, 2007 06:15 AM: PERHAPS YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE WRONG PARTY IN AMERICA.... IF YOU READ THIS...JUST IMAGINE HOW LIFE WOULD BE IF YOU BECAME A PART OF THE SOLUTION INSTEAD A PART OF THE PROBLEM... LYING,MENTALLY ILL SOCIALIST LIBERALS AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.... HAVE SOME PERSONAL SELF RESPECT...JOIN US IN THE
    REPUBLICAN PARTY IN CONGRESS AND YOUR LIFE...STARTING JANUARY 08 ..WE WELCOME YOU!


    Mike May wrote on December 25, 2007 09:48 PM: Hey, it's a good thing Berkley and the other democrats were not successful with their votes in May to remove the troops in defeat. Of course, their intent with that vote was to defeat Bush in the process....and they failed. America, George W and our brave volunteer troops will be successful, no thanks to Berkley and the Democrats like here.

    I hope that is not forgotten by America when we vote in 2008. Too bad Harry Reed is not up for re-election then.


    Mike wrote on December 25, 2007 08:04 PM: Berkley is about as corupt as they come in my opinion...


    John O'Neill wrote on December 25, 2007 04:48 PM: Berkley is a carpet bagger from somewhere else...trying to tell us how "they" do it...but...as much as I think she stinks of used car saleman, I cannot think of any policy other than illegal imigration she is wrong on:
    Too bad that illegal imigration is the basis for the destruction of our country...


    James J. Tenant, LCDR, USN, Ret. wrote on December 25, 2007 04:24 PM: Middle East Plantation-IRAQ-NAM (putting lipstick on a pig). Americans haven't learned a sigle thing from Brits, French, Dutch, and Italians, all who dabbered in colonizing the Mid-East in the past 150 years, and failed. This war is based on WMD lies, Arab extermination(100K), oil grab, genocide, religious persecution. I served in 3 deplyments to Vietnam and my forefathers (slaves)were indoctrinated Christians. Hitler (copy-cat)learned his lessons from Americans.

    Additionally, Bush is a 40+ years UCMJ-felon; AWOL, deserter and guilty of illegal separation and discharge. Bush is also guilty of Iraq-NAM war crimes, where he unleashed Rx drugged (mind altering PTSD suppressors)on innocent Iraqis, then our troops murdered Iraqis, Bush rewarded them with court martials where they faced the death penalty. Next was chemical weapons (WILLY PETER). Bush orderd the use of white phosphrous munitions in Iraqi residentail neighborhoods, for the purpose of eradicating insurgents. The WILLY PETER we used in NAM, burned through Vietnamese skin and bones (LBJ). FDR used them on Japanese. As a person of color, colored's skin burns just like that of white's.


    josh penso wrote on December 25, 2007 03:52 PM: Shelley Berkley is a political opportunist, as are most politicians in Congress. She sways slightly with the political winds just to make sure she doesn't face any major reelection hurdles. It is hard now for anyone, except those devoid of reality such as Pelosi, Barbara Lee and Barbara Boxer, to not concede that the war in Iraq is going well. This will be a serious problem for the Democrats in the presidential election. Incidentally, where is Cindy Sheehan? Probably crawling under a rug somewhere.


    Rian Flanagan wrote on December 25, 2007 02:40 PM: It's amazing that these Democrats who have been critizing the war and demonizing our troops with false allegations of "widespread" torture can reverse so quickly(without whiplash) when faced with "reality" (Rep. Berkley's favorite word) The Hyprocrisy continues unabated and unchallenged by our liberal media(the Sun). Yes Bush has made mistakes but who hasn't. It's funny that if he is such a bad leader that we haven't seen almost 3000 people crushed to death since he began the war on terror and all of our civilian airlines grounded for fear of more attacks. Rep. Berkley should have been in New York where she came from and witnessed the smoke and ashes of thousands of innocents rising in the air on 9/11.


    nevada wrote on December 25, 2007 11:59 AM: The pathetic state of THIS state, the problem with corruption, education, courts, infustructure, mis-management, low social rankings, violence, and all that we complain about year after year; is not the Shelly Berkley is for Israel, or George Bush is that, orthat its about Reid or Kennedy or Abdullah Gul...

    It about nevada voters and whether they want to continue with the status quo or vote out the status quo.

    You'll be saying the same things next week, or next election and blaming everyone but who's really at fault here.

    This is not to bash or criticize good honest people who want to see more from their state and elected for best interst of their families and future. Rather its a challenge to make a difference and vote out the status quo that year after year serves only their special interests.

    Democrat, republican, commissioner, judge, supreme court justice, the governor..up and down both sides of the isle.

    What have present nevada officials really done for the people of nevada?

    There will be peace on Earth, but none by these.


    NVMojo wrote on December 25, 2007 11:41 AM: I'd feel better about this assessment if it wasn't coming from a politician on the dole of those in Israel who want the whole region bombed to kingdom come. You know, the same people who are supported by the neocons / PNAC.

    Let there be Peace on Earth.


    Read All Comments