Lt. Col. James Lechner on Your World with Neil Cavuto reported today on the progress in Iraq. He also discussed the dangers of the democratic plan to cut funding and run from the battle.
Lechner ought to know…
He was one of the servicemen depicted in “Black Hawk Down” and saw first hand what happened when the US announced plans to leave Mogadishu:
(Video 1 minute 32 seconds)
Lt. Col. Lechner also says the troops in Iraq are fatigued but totally dedicated to their mission.
Lt. Col. Lechner was also interviewed in January about the successes in Ramadi for CBS News:
The key to the turnaround was the enlistment of Sunni tribal leaders, like Sheikh Abdel Sittar. He and a dozen others urged local men to sign up for service after two sheiks were attacked by al Qaeda forces that are believed to make up 70 percent of the insurgency here. The other 30 percent is termed “local resistance.”
“It’s a black and white fight between us and al Qaeda, and when I say ‘us’, I mean the local people, the Sunnis of al Anbar and us,” said Lt. Col. James Lechner, deputy commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army. “They feel like victims of terrorism as well and that’s why they joined us.”
The sheikhs only asked that any recruits they got to enlist be allowed to return to work in their own neighborhoods.
Police recruitment remains high in Ramadi since record setting numbers in late 2006.
