<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Dish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/author/sullydish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Training The Enemy]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[
<p>A soldier, unlike the president, looks at <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/world/middleeast/28cnd-delta.html?_r=2&amp;hp=&amp;pagewanted=print">reality in Iraq</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The pivotal moment came, he says, this past February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb. When they searched the bomber’s body, they found identification showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s truly rare that a president spends taxpayers&#8217; money to train the enemy to kill U.S. troops. But Bush has pulled it off. The troops interviewd are from Delta Company, one of the toughest and amazing professionals:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Before that fight, there were a few true believers,&quot; Captain Rogers said. &quot;After the 29th, I don&#8217;t think you&#8217;ll find a true believer in this unit. They&#8217;re paratroopers. There&#8217;s no question they&#8217;ll fulfill their mission. But they&#8217;re fighting now for pride in their unit, professionalism, loyalty to their fellow soldier and chain of command.&quot;</p>
<p>To Sergeant O&#8217;Flarity, the Iraqi security forces are militias beholden to local leaders, not the Iraqi government. &quot;Half of the Iraqi security forces are insurgents,&quot; he said. As for his views on the war, Sergeant O’Flarity said, &quot;I don&#8217;t believe we should be here in the middle of a civil war.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I await the usual suspects to call Sergeant O&#8217;Flarity a supporter of terrorists. He&#8217;s not, of course. He&#8217;s one of the soldiers we honor today &#8211; left in the lurch by his incompetent commander-in-chief. (Matt has <a href="http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/05/politics_first.php">more</a>.)</p>
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