Sep 07 2006
More Progress In Iraq
Iraq is taking control of its armed forces this week (can’t tell if it is today or next week). It’s a good thing Bush did not listen to the ‘Runawa” crowd [think Monty Python when you read ‘Runaway’), or else we [America] wouldn’t have been invited to the ceremony to honor are fallen heroes. The three year call by the left to surrender becomes more and more idiotic, and is about to be juxtaposed with our national memorial to all the heroes of 9-11. We will here “Let’s Roll!” while the dems scream “Let’s Skidaddle!”. We will see firemen and police rushing into the maelstrom while the dems cry for us to run from Iraq. We will remember the people of Flight 93 as they fought the first battle in this struggle, dying in effort. And we will hear the left beg and scream and plead and accuse and wail that we need to surrender Iraq to Bin Laden’s horde.
Yeah, that’ll work wonders this November.
And the democrats tried so hard to get the “No Confidence” against Rummy resolution passed after their claims that no progress has been made?
Anyone notice how quiet Murtha has been? The lawsuit shut him up?
With spokesmen such as Murtha and McDermott, the screeching of the Dems are getting intolerable. There is even some, albeit slight, evidence that even some of the MSM are beginning to not be 100% favorable to them.. An example of this is the ABC series that Clinton is squirming around about.
Anybody that wants some real ‘entertainment’ should watch the Dems make their one minute speeches in the House each morning. They are miserable, their world appears to be crumbling around them.
But in the Senate, they continue to be successful in obstructing movement. Reps need to be as stubborn in proposing movement (maybe in small increments) and build easily understandable rationale for public outrage at that obstruction. Earmarks, secret holds, terror tools, reduced spending, immigration enforcement and judicial appointments are all good areas for energizing the base and independents.
Enforcement
Repeat after me this mantra
The Polls , DA Polls.
Observation
Dems propose primary date shifting, Hillary annointed faster than Kerry, disenfraschisment of dem voter in the other 36 primaries discounted, film available on some obscure visited twice a day site.
There is no major military strategist anywhere in the world whom
believes bin Laden and/or any related branch of foreign jihadist
could take over Iraq if the US left, or had left in 2004 ,for that
matter. Bush has exagerrated the Iraqi percentage of foreign insurgents for propaganda purposes for several years and it is
disheartening to read Strata’s gullibility or will to cooperate in this charade.
In truth, Baathist insurgents, native Sunni nationalists, native Shia
nationalists could and would wipe out any attempt to build an
international caliphate in Iraq easily-and more effeciently
than US forces are capalbe of.
The vaunted turnover has as little substance as the clumsy
series of elections, which,however ,were forced on Bush by
Sistani but which,due to the government’s failure
to quell the violence, have left the average Iraqi pessimistic
about the value of exercising vote options while under
occupation.
Ken,
• How can you presume to speak for all military strategists in the world?
• When Did Bush assign a number to the percentage of foreigners among the terrorists in Iraq?
• And it is sophistry to speculate what the native Iraqis might do in a free-for-all situation. A democracy is being built. It may be messy, but democratic precedents are being laid down.
• The “pessimism” of the Iraqi voters was expressed in a higher turnout than we get in the US!
• The glass is half full, not half empty!
In fact the Iraqis have shown in their own polls that they have confidence in their government and faith in their future. They do not want to be abandoned. After all the last time the United States ran out on them about 300,000 died. I think running out now would be criminal.
Look at a map. See where Afganistan and Iraq are and what is in between them.
And you know what? Most people did not think that after the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan groups like AlQaida would take over and plan out 9/11 either.
On Ken’s post:
“There is no major military strategist anywhere in the world whom
believes bin Laden and/or any related branch of foreign jihadist
could take over Iraq if the US left”… he said.
Some others have pointed this out, due to Bush’s recent speech. They distort his words to do this, making him out to say Al Qaeda would actually literally take over Iraq. No, if we left, Al Qaeda and the chaos they represent would take over Iraq. And, we all know that.
We all know we are fighting a front in Iraq against Islamo-Fascists.
We need more fronts, not less.
We do not need to be cowards and turn tail and run.
We did this in Vietnam. We did this with Korea. We did this in Lebanon. We did this with Somalia. We started to do this with Hitler.
Running away is a sign of weakness. It sends a clear message.
Terrorists take this message and learn from it. They claim we are a “paper tiger”. They show these examples as proof “terrorism works”.
It is good we are saying today that terrorism does not work.
Otherwise, what would we see today, had we not taken Iraq and Afghanistan? What would we see today if we submitted to the demands of the terrorist? More terrorism.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/09/08/iraqs_reality_sinks_in.php
I believe the tompaine writer is correct in the above link :the US political class realizes Iraq is LOST-and you optimists who have looked the other way after each Bush administration of assurance of an Iraqi turnaround (assurances ongoing for three years) are willfully blinded.
Latest Iraqi polls reflect pessimism,and even Iraqi bloggers known for rosy eyes (Iraq the Model) who have even been called
in the past US false psy-ops, have long since abandoned optimism.
I ask Strata readers to read this tompaine entry then read
conservative Anthony Cordesman’s blistering of the somber Pentagon Report’s relative sugarcoating of actual Iraqi conditions.
Perhaps AJ Strata will tell us why he, rather than intelligence
expert Cordesman has a better handle on Iraq.
Ken, Your doom and gloom desparation for us to fail in Iraq will only result in the lefties getting drubbed again at the polls. All I can say to you folks on the left see if you can learn your lessons this time. Iraqi’s just took over military control of the nation yesterday. Sorry, no surrender appears imminent. Keep dreaming.
I’ll say this for you, AJ. You glory in the “doom and gloom”desperation” of George Will and William Buckley and Chuck Hagel….ooops, sorry, I drifted!
What I meant was, you glory in “doom and gloom” of the
Left, whereas the typical neo-con blogger curses it as a
faith-undermining phenomenon, which will bring DOWN the
GOP (and the country.)
Since they leave themselves in a position to utilize (dishonestly)
the “stab in the back” after the collapse….(like Michael
Savage who occasionally blames Ted Kennedy for a possible
defeat in Iraq)…I prefer your unrealistic naeivete’ to
the prototype neocon blogger’s chess game.
Ken,
What is so funny about you is your are so consistently wrong! I can\’t stand George Will, Buckley doesn\’t write much and I could care less what he writes and I do not respect Hagle one bit. All of them are quitters.
Maybe it escaped you but I am an ex-Democrat Independent. I am much harder on my old party than one I have never held much allegiance to. The far right pilloried Reagand and Bush and looked foolish doing it. I cross swords with Malking regularly and have disparaged the House Reps for being way too radical on immigration. I refuse to join the Reps. They happen to be the one\’s farthes away from the Stupidity Cliff. Liberals are not only stuck on stupid, the wallow in it. It is really the least of two evils when I stand with the Reps some days, and some issues. At least the right is open to a range of voices and will reach common ground with us indies when we do agree and do not require 100% compliance.
I barely listen to Rush, have never been impressed with Hannity (though he seems like a likable person). Your just flailing at a caricature in your head my friend! Maybe you two should just keep this to yourself. You really need to pay closer attention. Search for Savage on this site and learn something.
Thanks for filling me in on some of your history and putting
yourself in broader political perspective, AJ, but when it comes
to Iraq and general foreign policy vis a vis the Islamic World
I have yet to see anything which puts you at odds with the bulk of (also usually former Democrat) neocons. If so,please enlighten.And William Kristol is among the neocons who are liberal on immigration.
Ken,
No one even knows what neo-con means. It has nothing to do with what is going on in Iraq. It is a made up lable. Enlightened now?