Good points arderkrag. I discussed them with them and pretty much told them as much. I said they should put all the specifics out there and let readers decide instead of just making that decision for them.
Joseph,
Thanks. Still gonna do something on al Qaeda being in Iraq prewar using your work. There is a lot on that topic from al Qaeda docs and Saddam’s docs.
This will be great.
A wonderful "thing happened on the way to the Forum"...
Operation Iraqi Freedom has not only removed the Middle East tyrant and most prolific butcher of Muslims in the world, but also removed the Financier-and-Launderer-in-Chief and dismantled big part of financing network of the worldwide jihadist / mujahid terrorist activity...
At the same time, all the while we are (and need to "stay the course") in Iraq, we have effectively restricted the originally planned and still preached by al-Qaeda "Worldwide Jihad and Caliphate" to much more limited " 'Worldwide' Jihad in Iraq" and reduced the initial bragging and demands by leadership of al-Qaeda to whining about their losses and trying to generate some semblance of support for their activities in hot spots elsewhere in the world.
Whether by original design (President Bush stated early on that "Iraq is a central front in the War on Terror") or not, this transformed "the war" militarily into relatively limited regional engagement which we could win with limited resources and are winning brilliantly, along with the "hearts and minds" in the region. We came in as liberators and protectors and our presence is and should be continued there in this role (Murthas, Kerrys, Reids and Pelosis notwithstanding).
Your work on prewar docs and follow-up materials is essential to understanding and justification not only of current efforts and events but also for possible future "preemptive" actions, if necessary, even if "unilateral".