We need to let our Armed Forces do what they're in Iraq to do ...

... and quit second-guessing about it.


From RNC:

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow: "[W]hat is interesting is we are now two weeks into having the surge operational. The first thing we want to see is whether it is working. Just a couple of months ago, Congress passed a law and said okay we are going to approve of the surge. In July we want a snap shot at the starting line. We are at the starting line right now ... And in September, we want another snap shot that gives us a sense of whether we are succeeding, how we are succeeding and asks for recommendations on what to do next. ..."

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow: "[Sen.] Richard Lugar [R-IN] first says to the idea of withdrawing right away, no. The idea of withdrawing finances, he says no. He talks about the importance of getting into the position that we have been talking about since January. I think what is frustrating for us ... is we have been talking since January of trying to get American forces into a position that is a lot like what Andrea Mitchell is describing. And all of a sudden people are saying, it's a new and different way of looking at things. No, it's not. It's what we have been talking about for a very long time. ... We need to give our forces time to show what they have done. ..."

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow: "[I] encourage people also to listen to the briefings that come out of Baghdad because what you are hearing is, for instance, Sunni tribal chiefs have decided they had it with al-Qaeda in Iraq and they have been fighting effectively against them. That is now beginning to happen in other provinces as well. We are starting to see within Baghdad, the government asserting its own might and leverage against Shia militias. In other words, the kinds of stuff we have been talking about is beginning to take place. Is it perfect? Of course not. We are at the very beginning stages of an effort to try to create the space so the Iraqis can stand up for themselves. ..."

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow: "[T]he Iraqis and the U.S. forces have met some benchmarks and they haven't met others at the starting point here. I think what Ambassador Crocker is saying he is going to try to find even more nuanced ways of trying to measure success. But on the other hand, the impression from the AP story is all is doom and failure. That is not the case. ..." (NBC's "The Today Show," 7/10/07)