Michael Yon, Live from Mosul Iraq, on Pundit Review Radio
Welcome Instapundit readers. If you want to take a look around, we bring the best of the blogs to Boston’s Talk Station WRKO every Sunday evening from 7-10pm est. You will find the radio archives here, the blog is here and more about us here.
Former Green Beret, embedded citizen journalist and our friend Michael Yon joined us live from Mosul Iraq on Pundit Review Radio this weekend.
Michael had a surprisingly upbeat assessment of what's he's seen in the three weeks since he returned to Iraq as an embed. This was a much different view than what he shared with us last spring when he gave us a rather grim assessment. Michael discussed the improvement in the spirit and capabilities of the Iraqi security forces. He talked about the stark difference between the high spirits of the military men and women in Iraq with those who they are serving back at home. It is nothing short of amazing. He also laid to rest on of the most bothersome, dangerous myths of this war, that the people of Iraq "aren't doing enough". Finally, he told us about the type of man Gen. Petraeus is and we discussed the so-called surge plan.
Bottom line from a guy known for telling us the good, the bad and the ugly, Iraq is very winnable.
Correction: I have edited this to remove the box that infers quote from Michael. That was in my notes, right next to “Iraq can make it.” After re-listening to the interview, he only said the latter. I regret the error.
Michael relies solely on the contributions of his readers to funds his embed trips. The costs are staggering, and so are the risks. If you find his reporting to be a breath of fresh air, unfiltered and free of MSM and political bias, and you can afford to do so, please support his work by hitting the Support The Next Dispatch button on his website.
To listen to the second half of the interview with Michael, click here.
If you appreciate this kind of independent, trustworthy reporting from the world’s hot spots, you can support Michael via Pay Pal at his website or by sending a check to,
Michael Yon
PO Box 5553
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What is Pundit Review Radio?
Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Leader.
Like all of our interviews, this is available for download at iTunes,Podcast Ready or WRKO.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Mike Yon in Iraq about Iraq…
Mike was on Pundit Review yesterday night and had many interesting things to say about what he is seeing everyday in Iraq. You can listen to the interview at Pundit Review or download it at iTunes. It’s worth your time….
January 16th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
“Winning” refers to stabilizing Iraq for the purpose of furthering world domination and globalization efforts. “Winning” does not refer to establishing a stable democracy for the betterment of the Iraqi people.
The reasons for this war are not virtuous and never have been.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
[...] Point is, Camposâ?? entire piece is nothing but a showy attack on war supporters like Bill Kristol and Glenn Reynolds (and to even a lesser extent, unmentioned nobodies like me), and a paeon to himself for his own presumed sagacity. Never mind that Iraq hasnâ??t been decided, that Michael Yon is calling it winnable, that the US has not lost a single ground battle, etc. Campos canâ??t wait for such things. He appears correct, to the untrained eye, right now, and so, like an excitable puppy proud of defeating his first slipper, he has laid his tattered argument at our feetâ??while simultaneously pissing all over the rug. [...]
January 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I would like to download your podcast for my (non-apple) MP3 player without installing iTunes. Is there any way to do that?
January 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Robert,
Try this,
http://feeds.feedburner.com/PunditReviewRadio
Kevin
January 16th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Michael Yon: ‘Iraq is very winnable’…
The guys at Pundit Review interviewed Michael Yon live from Mosul, Iraq and have posted the interview on their site: Former Green Beret, embedded citizen journalist and our friend Michael……
January 16th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Thank you very much. P.S. for those who would like to do likewise, the trick is to right click and select “save link target as”.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Dear John,
Seems to me we’re here talking about what’s being done to wrap this thing up. We are here in early 2007, in the 674th war in history*, and by now it should be obvious that:
War happens, and will keep happening as part of the human condition. Wishing it wouldn’t is worthy; knowing it will is wise. The fact that a new one doesn’t start up every week or so is an achievement.
When war happens, (it is Hell, gotta say that) it is often for the wrong reason(s), but almost always has roots in imperfect understanding and communication, righteousness, and underlying differences in world views. Oh, and egos and testosterone. If you oppose this war and all the rest of them, work on those things when and how you can.
When war happens, it is best to be on the side that dominates it. If your side wins and then goes on about its business and tries to prevent the next one from happening — that’s about as good as it’s gonna get.
Developing ways to have war be less and less ravaging to those who find themselves in the middle of one, that is noble. It is also noble to work toward preventing war.
“…world domination”…, blah blah. Whatever.
*I made that number up.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Well said, and the honest-to-God truth, Jess. I wish more people would pull their heads out of their utopian fantasies, get REAL, and understand those basic facts.
(And 674 sounds low, if you ask me!)
January 16th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
John,
If you live in the US, please do us all “non-virtuous” US citizens a favor and move to a country that is supposedly more “virtuous”. You should be happier there (go ahead … just do it … you know you want to).
January 17th, 2007 at 1:30 am
â??Winningâ?ť refers to stabilizing Iraq for the purpose of furthering world domination and globalization efforts. â??Winningâ?ť does not refer to establishing a stable democracy for the betterment of the Iraqi people. “
I wish! That would certainly make it a lot easier.
January 17th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Back from Baghdad…
The digs at FOB Justice My HotAir.com colleague Bryan Preston and I are back from Iraq. Thanks to Allah and Ian for holding down the fort at HA and thanks much to guest-bloggers Mary Katharine Ham, See-Dubya, and the……
January 17th, 2007 at 9:51 am
[...] Via Insty, we see that people actually reporting from Iraq, like Bryan Preston and Michael Yon believe that this war is winnable. Contrast that with the uniformly negative coverage of the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Defeatocratic Party CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS, none of which have anyone actually on the ground in Iraq, to the best of my knowledge. In fact, as far as I know, these “people” are relying solely on foreign stringers and Al Jazeera talent for their coverage. [...]
January 17th, 2007 at 9:51 am
[...] Via Insty, we see that people actually reporting from Iraq, like Bryan Preston and Michael Yon believe that this war is winnable. Contrast that with the uniformly negative coverage of the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Defeatocratic Party CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS, none of which have anyone actually on the ground in Iraq, to the best of my knowledge. In fact, as far as I know, these “people” are relying solely on foreign stringers and Al Jazeera talent for their coverage. [...]
January 17th, 2007 at 11:44 am
From page A14 of today’s WSJ:
“The outlook for the defense industry in 2007, and probably 2008, is quite good,” says Steven Kosiak, director of budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments…weapons purchases will be “about $135 billion in 2007, the highest level since the late ’80s,” he says, even when adjusted for inflation.
Howard Rubel, a Jeffries & Co. analyst, etsimates that average operating margins at the 20 aerospace and defense companies he covers rose to 9.5% in 2006, compared with 8.7% in 2005, and he believes there is room to grow. Per-share earnings grew 16% last year, he predicts, compared with estimates of about 12% for the full Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.
Now we see who the true “winners” are in Iraq. Not the soldiers, not ordinary Americans, and certainly not Iraqis…no, the true “winners” are the ones who are profiting handsomely from death and destruction. That was the design all along.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:45 am
[...] From Mosul, Michael Yon has given a two-part interview to Pundit Review Radio. Selected quotes: “I’ve seen a tremendous difference between the capabilities they [the ISF, Iraqi Security Forces in Anbar Province] have today and what they had in 2005. … Their confidence level is much, much higher. … It’s definitely in a bad situation, there’s no question about it … I will call it as it lands regardless of politics … Iraq is very winnable.” Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here (via Power Line). [...]
May 28th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
[...] Michael has been very negative on Iraq at times, including this grim assessment in January, so it was very encouraging to hear his report. [...]
May 11th, 2008 at 8:06 am
old jiggling tits…
old jiggling tits…