Radio France – Chaos in Iraq:
RFI: US defense secretary Robert Gates has traveled to Falluja even as criticism of the US troop escalation continue in Washington. Grant Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy affirms the surge plan is a disaster.
Grant Smith: With the latest massive bombing attacking against Shiites, we can see that the escalation and presence of the United States, even with additional troops, have not been able to achieve the Bush administration’s latest stated objectives: creating security and a new atmosphere of hope.
Meanwhile, we have a debate in Congress in which Democrats are insisting on milestones and measurable progress instead of providing funding entirely free of restrictions.
We see the two as running in parallel: a battle here in Congress over funding, and there against an escalation which is revealing that both the number of troops and strategy are not going to stem the violence.
Full Broadcast (MP3) in Spanish