I was wondering what was going on as I was reading this new report from the Washington Post.
The Marines' August memo, a copy of which was shared with The Washington Post, is far bleaker than some officials suggested when they described it in late summer.
So, the Washington Post was leaked yet another classified report ... from August. Here's the lede, notice what it doesn't say.
The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda's rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent months about the military's mission in Anbar province.
The Marines recently filed an updated version of that assessment that stood by its conclusions and stated that as of mid-November, the problems in troubled Anbar province have not improved, a senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday. "The fundamental questions of lack of control, growth of the insurgency and criminality" remain the same, the official said.
The Washington Post doesn't appear to have been leaked an updated version, they are relying on an anonymous source, presumably the original one. I didn't realize the Washington Post had an Iraq Bureau. So, the first question should be, who is leaking classified documents. But there's much more.
The five-page report -- written by Col. Peter Devlin, a senior and seasoned military intelligence officer with the Marine Expeditionary Force -- is marked secret, for dissemination to U.S. and allied troops in Iraq only. It does not appear to have been made available to Iraqi national forces fighting alongside Americans.
The report clearly leaves off in mid-year - August. Now see what has been happening recently in Anbar Province.
Anbar tribes and US have big day against al Qaeda
Al Qaeda loses its base in Anbar
Al Qaeda's Anbar leader captured
Al Qaeda's cleric in Anbar
Marines dispute gloomy Anbar report
25 of 31 Anbar tribes join forces against al Qaeda
Why do I have a strange feeling that the WaPo is going to dig up some very old copy about the Ardennes Offensive of December 16th, 1944 and declare that WWII is not winnable?
Posted by: Buzzy | Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 08:54 AM