more:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/02/ware-drudgeMilitary Analyst’s Firsthand Experience in Iraq Contradicts Right-Wing Rhetoric on Escalation
Center for American Progress senior fellow and former Reagan Pentagon official Lawrence Korb recently returned from a 10-day visit to Baghdad to “assist the government of Iraq’s efforts to strengthen public administration in its civilian ministries” and uncovered results that only affirm that “the surge is not working.”
Korb noted that U.S. defense contractors, who have benefited heavily from the Iraq war, were curiously restrained about talking about the situation on the ground on the record. Major defense contractors, including those from Blackwater and Halliburton, were mum about the troop escalation only until Korb emphasized that he was not affiliated with the media:
The long wait did allow me to speak to some of the contractors about the situation on the ground. When I assured them I was not a member of the press, they were unanimous that the surge was not working.