State Deptartment: "you can buy an ice cream cone" on the street of Ramadi,Iraq

[sabra]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/24/332078.aspx

<snip>

As part of an administration-wide public relations effort to show progress in Iraq since the surge of U.S. troops in January, the State Department today organized a briefing for reporters to highlight what they believe is a success story in Anbar province.

...

State Department official Kristin Hagerstrom reported that she is now able to walk on the streets and, for example, "you can buy an ice cream cone."

Despite the successes, the officials did admit that the return of al Qaeda remains a serious concern. Hagerstrom said, "It's always a worry. It's something ... everyone's alert about at all times."

Their hope is that that local leaders and police will continue to fight back. "...The tribal leaders and the people of Ramadi, by joining with coalition forces, have basically signed a death warrant, all of them. If al Qaeda comes back, they will kill them all, and they know that. So they're all in it together," she said.

[Ezlivin]

1. You can "buy it" alright

[TwilightGardener]

2. Ramadi = DQ. Blizzards, Braziers, Dilly bars...the occasional bomb...Freedom is on the march!

[angstlessk]

3. Quick, move baghdad to ramadi and all will be over! WTF? now ice cream is our goal?

what happened to democracy?

[havocmom]

4. You can also buy the farm there -

probably quicker too.

[Skidmore]

5. And eat it while sitting on your $5 rug with your sunglasses on.

[HereSince1628]

7. Cool cone is a great relief when your in all the body armor, too!

[DemKR]

6. At least there will be a childhood obesity epidemic

before our soldiers are continually killed in this ridiculous war!

[WinkyDink]

8. So~~~IRAQ is safe, but the U.S. still is in danger? WHATEVAH.

[smokey nj]

9. I'd like two scoops of Iraqi Road, please!

[Jim__]

10. How do they keep the ice cream from melting when the electricity goes out?

[shain from kane]

11. Made from genuine goat's milk. Yummy. n/t

[SoCalDem]

12. Ahhhh, there it IS! The '07 version of the "yellow pencils for the girls" story.

How magnificent the republicans are at honing it all down to one small thing..

Afghanistan is AOK because the girls have those pencils..(never mind that the Taliban is burning schools down and beheading teachers in front of the students who dare to attend school)


and

of course ice cream in Ramadi is the epitome of a successful surge :eyes:

State Deptartment: "you can buy an ice cream cone" on the street ...
Quick, move baghdad to ramadi and all will be over! WTF? now ice cream is our goal? angstlessk, Aug-24-07 04:51 PM, #3 ...
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1657035 - 30 minutes ago -

Iraqi Mojo: Car Bomb Kills 18 Kids in Ramadi
The soccer field is in western Ramadi -- capital of the Sunni-dominated ... Tuesday's deadliest reported bombing took place in a popular ice cream shop in ...
iraqimojo.blogspot.com/2007/02/car-bomb-kills-18-kids-in-ramadi.html - 25k - Cached -

THE IRAQ SURGE:WHY IT'S WORKING ... | By GORDON CUCULLU | Opinions ...
March 20, 2007 -- 'I WALKED down the streets of Ramadi a few days ago, in a soft cap eating an ice cream with the mayor on one side of me and the police ...
www.nypost.com/.../postopinion/opedcolumnists/why_its_working_____opedcolumnists_gordon_cucullu.htm?page=0 - 45k - Cached -

Ramadi: Open for Business
When 1st Battalion, 6th Marines left Ramadi in June, they’d successfully .... at the same time,” that lets the ice cream shops and school-children co-exist ...
www.military.com/forums/0,15240,145080,00.html - 33k - Cached -

FOXNews.com - Rebuilding Ramadi, Iraq - FOX Fan
Rebuilding Ramadi, Iraq, The military hopes for a trickle-down and ... One senior commander is even very keen for me to go and eat ice cream at the market ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287192,00.html - 51k - Cached -

Accounts differ on Iraq soccer field blast - CNN.com
An explosion at a makeshift soccer field near Ramadi, injured at least 25 ... In the ice cream shop attack, a suicide car bomber slammed into the store in ...
www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/27/iraq.main/index.html - 54k - Cached -

U.S. Will Reinforce Troops in West Iraq - washingtonpost.com
"The city has become an unburnable hell," said Abdul Salam Ahmed al-Rawi, owner of a now-shuttered ice cream shop in Ramadi. "We hope this will end soon, ...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/29/AR2006052901172_pf.html -

Townhall.com::Blog
My pal in Ramadi, Colonel Don of the USMC, cc'd me on his note to my pal Dennis ... I'm thankful for air conditioning and ice cream when it's 120F outside. ...
www.townhall.com/blog/g/04e2d1ef-0270-4e1b-842e-7a378ff94c34 - 176k - Cached -

Conservatism With Heart
To beat the heat of global...err summer, I invested in an ice cream maker and have ... The Iraq war came within a hair of returning to Ramadi in early July. ...
chatterboxchronicles.blogspot.com/ - 124k - Cached -

Surge tactics to tame Ramadi, city of anarchy - Times Online
According to defence sources, the battle for Ramadi is likely to begin around .... The best pub gardens, moonlit walks, ice cream, boat rides, festivals, ...
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434544.ece

[stray cat]

13. And be shot before it melts!

[hatrack]

14. True! And did you know that Shrapnel Brickle is the most popular flavor?

These people are fucking PATHETIC.

[sakabatou]

15. Apparently and ice-cream cone = democracy

:puke: