At the onset of the WoT, the US faced an almost insurmountable problem. The enemy were dispersed in a dozen countries, indistinguishable from civilians, and not in violation of local laws. Their best and brightest would gather the resources they needed to travel, get training, and move to their target country, to plan and carry out acts of terrorism.
With the invasion of Afghanistan, we soon learned that the enemy was concentrating in Pakistan, from where they would travel to Afghanistan. And while this created a similar problem to Vietnam, that is, then enemy acting from bases in Laos and Cambodia, but it also presented an opportunity.
Why not intentionally use Iraq, a far more desirable terrorist destination, as a “roach motel”, where the enemy would concentrate to fight our soldiers, instead of fomenting civil war at home, or traveling to western nations to commit terrorist acts against our civilians?
From hither and yon, the finest of al-Qaeda’s recruits came streaming into Iraq, into many situations that could easily be described as “death traps”.
For example, our large but isolated bases were surrounded by kill zones of perhaps five miles depth. Usually, on entry from Syria, the bold new recruits would make a beeline for the first US base they could find, and disappear, never to be heard from again.
This technique was enlarged upon, so that prior to major battles, such as Fallujah, terrorists would stream into the city, thinking it a safe harbor, from which their Caliphate would grow. In turn, much planning insured a similar result, with very high enemy casualties.
Importantly, once al-Qaeda’s best and brightest were eliminated, those that remained had far less chutzpah. That is, they didn’t have enough fortitude to leave their neighborhood and country in search of training, then travel to a foreign nation to commit terrorist acts.
Ironically, by their sheer vicious brutality against Iraqis, al-Qaeda did much to put itself out of business. The Iraqis soon hated the “Arabs”, in this case meaning foreigners, and eventually took up arms against them, unmercifully.
But the end result is that the effectiveness of al-Qaeda was terribly diminished by Iraq, and their considerable losses there did much to neutralize their ongoing threat. And while this reduction continues unabated in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq should be given full and fair credit for its part in the overall War on Terror.
U.S. removed nuclear material from Iraq
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/07/iraq.nuclear/
November 08, 2005
Disinformation: Richard Miniter
Did you know that Weapons of Mass Destruction Have Been Found in IRAQ?
http://qandablog.typepad.com/questions_and_answers/2005/11/disinformation_.html
Saddam And WMD: Russia’s Role
Investor’s Business Daily, 3/7/2006
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1591648/posts
Saddam’s WMD have been found
New evidence unveils chemical, biological, nuclear, ballistic arms
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38213
UN Says: WMDs Smuggled From Iraq; Canadian PM Says in Terrorist Hands {Re-posting}
The Vanguard, 6-24-04
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1159339/posts
Saddam’s Terror Training Camps
weekly standard, 01/16/2006
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1553358/posts
Clearly yes - it reduced terrorism - if nothing else it got rid of Saddam, who was paying the equivalent of $25,000. to the family of every suicide bomber in the region.....
I would recommend that your teacher actually take the time to read the Authorization for Use of Force in Iraq. Then perhaps he/she could offer an assignment based upon something other than ignorance.
I see you are gone but I’ll answer you anyway. Libya gave up its WMD program as a direct reaction to the invasion of Iraq. That is certainly not the only thing but it was one good thing.
Ask for help and you shall get it. Here is a big tip. Make sure your grammer and spelling is up to par and what ever you do, capitalize those Is. There you go, now go do some research on the Internet, try one of the search engines and you should find out what you need to know.
Good thread. Very good replies. Lots of good info & ideas. Thanks.
It certainly scared the hell out terrorists, knowing that we would kill them if we found them. It was also a display of our military strength. It also showed that we were not afraid to literally hold terrorists like Saddam Hussein accountable when he violated the terms of his UN peace treaty.
Obama’s behavior, bowing to the Saudi king, repeatedly going against common sense and pushing closing Gitmo, has made us LESS secure and more likely to be attacked.
The Yemen murders of the nurses?
Al Qaida.
Geuss who by?
A guy released from Gitmo.
Best thing to do with the Gitmo detainees?
Summary executions, quielty.
That way they can’t be used as propaganda by EITHER Al Qaida OR the Dems.
Whatever the topic, whatever the content.. you will FAIL due to lack of proper capitalization.
Focus your paper on these particulars and you're sure to get an 'A.'
Devoured by Viking kitties.
