Posted on 07/10/2007 3:27:42 AM PDT by Kaslin
"America good! Al-Qaida bad!" -- A trader in the Qatana bazaar, Ramadi, Iraq
This is a sentiment that the Iraqi trader felt safe to utter as a visiting U.S. general passed by, according to John Burns of The New York Times, only after a furtive glance "up and down the narrow refuse-strewn street to check who might be listening." In a microcosm, this is the reason why we are finally making progress against al-Qaida in Iraq. The protection afforded by American combat power has made it possible for Iraqis in Sunni areas to turn against the terror group.
In a global struggle against Islamic extremism, it is an incontestably welcome development that ordinary Sunnis in the Arab heartland are spurning al-Qaida. The extremist group has been on a campaign of savagery in Iraq that has discredited its own cause. The grassroots revolt against it means that it is within our reach to deny al-Qaida its most important current geopolitical objective, which is plunging Iraq into a bloody chaos in which it can thrive.
But a group of Republican senators have picked precisely this moment to call for deconstructing the troop surge that has begun to give us the upper hand against al-Qaida. They thus reveal a key dishonesty in the debate over the war. Everyone professes to want to fight al-Qaida in Iraq -- as opposed to policing the sectarian war -- but the number of politicians willing to support the means to that end is ever-dwindling.
Al-Qaida relies on intimidation to impose itself on the Sunni community, and succeeds unless driven back by a stronger force, i.e. the U.S. military. In his report from Anbar province, John Burns notes that the Sunni "sheiks turned only after a prolonged offensive by American and Iraqi forces, starting in November, that put al-Qaida groups on the run." He continues, "Iraqis, bludgeoned for 24 years by Saddam Hussein's terror, are wary of rising against any force however brutal, until it is in retreat."
This experience has been replicated in precincts of Baghdad, Diyala province and other Sunni parts of Iraq, but the Republican senators want American forces, rather than al-Qaida, to do the retreating. Advocates of various forms of withdrawal argue that we can fight al-Qaida from our large bases or from Kurdistan. This is a fantasy that ignores that we are waging a counterinsurgency war against al-Qaida that requires on-the-ground relationships with key players and knowledge of the terrain.
And the main "compromise" proposal -- adopting the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group -- would have all American combat troops out of Iraq by the end of March 2008. It is self-evidently impossible to fight al-Qaida in Iraq without any combat troops to do it. What all those abandoning the surge essentially want is a return to the old failed Rumsfeld strategy of prematurely drawing down and handing over to unprepared Iraqi forces.
The surge has succeeded in reducing sectarian killings in Baghdad and civilian casualties overall, but at the cost of increased U.S. casualties and without the Iraqi legislative accomplishments that were established as "political benchmarks." Those benchmarks shouldn't be fetishized. The reason that they were considered so important is that they were thought necessary to entice Sunnis away from the insurgency. Instead, the Sunnis have swung our way anyway, in reaction to al-Qaida brutality and to our strength.
By any measure, this is significant political progress -- so significant, in fact, that no one even considered making it a "benchmark" at the beginning of the year. The U.S. political argument over benchmarks is shot through with bad faith anyway. Would the advocates of retreat really have a different position if the Iraqi parliament had managed to pass an oil-revenue-sharing law already? Unlikely.
Once again, all depends on President Bush. Senators of his party are ready to quit Iraq with al-Qaida undefeated. Is he?
And frankly, that's what sucks the MOST about the BS that the media is consistently laying out. GRRRRR!
No, President Bush will not quit. He did not quit before, he will not quit now, and he will never quit as long as he is the Commander in Chief.
God bless our brave troops and President Bush.
Good grief.
You’re kidding me!! Surely she’s being sarcastic?
Jim
I hope that you write a thread and post it in the breaking news section stating that Free Republic fully supports the war, the troops, and the Commander in Chief. So many defeatists are going from one thread to another spreading their defeatism and their hate against the President. I am not calling for those folks to be banned but words from you will go a long way into greatly reducing this tide of defeatism that is invading Free Republic.
She is encouraging callers to let her know if they can trust the President on Iraq, since they don’t like his policy stance on immigration, lol, I kid you not!
But BDS does cause one to believe that blowing up women and children in the marketplace is “winning”.
You got that right. He will never cut and run
Good freaking grief. I feel like calling her, but she won’t like what I’d say. Thanks for bailing on the folks doing the hard work, Laura. Ya lost me as a listener. Done.
I will be calling Senator Alexander's Office as he is about to wobble
You know, I have my issues with Bush, but I do NOT question his stand in Iraq. Not even for a moment.
Replaying “heck of a job Brownie”, interviewing a Corp engineer on how much there is to do.
Wow, not to subtle in her campaign against the President is she?
Hilarious!
I seriously hope she’s pulling a Rush Limbaugh trick to see how folks respond. Her show is over here so I can’t hear what she’s saying.
Oh, I was going off of what you said in your earlier post. I was just adding my two cents. ;-)
I just read that blog entry and several others. I've bookmarked it and will check it out regularly. I enjoy your writing and of course, your views.
(I love daytime Black Hawk rides. But then again, I'm warped and love wild roller-coasters, combat landings in C-130s and stuff like that. LOL)
Anybody have Laura's e-mail address handy? I have a few things I'd like to say to her.
I'll be happy to explain why I'm not calling.
Being able to check some real Press Releases helps to remain positive;
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=4&Itemid=21
Some of my Democrat supporting aquaintances can’t believe I know so much about what is actually going on.
It is sad Politicians can’t support the
Troops who are currently going into these neighborhoods and developing relationships with Iraqi’s, to purge the enemy.
http://www.lauraingraham.com/asklaura
Don’t ask Allegra, TELL her!
(stay safe, you all are in my prayers everyday)
Thanks! :-)
“...Here’s one source to use in order to do it...”
Thanks for the link, sweetie. Stay well ......................... FRegards
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