Aug 20 2007
Where Next After Iraq?
Yes, I am bullish on Iraq turning into a reasonable success. I am confident the turn of the tide with Iraqis aligning against al-Qaeda is going to make the difference. The levels of violence are dropping where al-Qaeda has been pushed out of the region, and the Muslim street is starting to oppose the random bombings, carnage and death which seems to kill Muslims ten fold over any American casualties. I once thought Iran would be the next target to look at, but Sen Joseph Lieberman makes a good case that Syria should be our next focus:
Recently declassified American intelligence reveals just how much al Qaeda in Iraq is dependent for its survival on the support it receives from the broader, global al Qaeda network, and how most of that support flows into Iraq through one country–Syria. Al Qaeda in Iraq is sustained by a transnational network of facilitators and human smugglers, who replenish its supply of suicide bombers–approximately 60 to 80 Islamist extremists, recruited every month from across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, and sent to meet their al Qaeda handlers in Syria, from where they are taken to Iraq to blow themselves up to kill countless others.
Although small in number, these foreign fighters are a vital strategic asset to al Qaeda in Iraq, providing it with the essential human ammunition it needs to conduct high-visibility, mass-casualty suicide bombings, such as we saw last week in northern Iraq. In fact, the U.S. military estimates that between 80% and 90% of suicide attacks in Iraq are perpetrated by foreign fighters, making them the deadliest weapon in al Qaeda’s war arsenal. Without them, al Qaeda in Iraq would be critically, perhaps even fatally, weakened.
Japan’s Kamikazi suicide bombing pilots in WW II were also a threat to our Navy – until we learned to destroy them before they could get to our ships. Some got through, but not enough to change the dynamics of the war. The Kamikazi’s delayed the end of the war, they did not change its outcome.
So too now with Syria, which is also causing troubles in Lebanon by providing passage and support to al-Qaeda in that democracy. And the threat to Israel is always present from Syria. There is an opposition to the Assad insanity starting to take shape:
Khaddam, who stepped down as Syrian vice president in 2005 to join the opposition, stated that the Syrian regime’s “campaign against Saudi Arabia” should be seen in the context of Iran’s regional strategy and Syria’s role in it. This is because Saudi Arabia “constitutes one of the main obstacles to Iranian hegemony in the region, be it in the Gulf, Iraq, Palestine or Lebanon,” he said, according to the newspaper.
Khaddam was commenting on the row sparked by Shara’s criticizm of the Saudi kingdom. On its part, Riyadh has reacted with a fierce attack on the Syrian official, accusing him of making false statements and seeking to “stoke disorder in the region” after he claimed that Riyadh’s regional role has become paralyzed.
From what I have been reading here and there Bashir Assad is a weak leader under constant threat of losing his job (and most likely his head). It would make sense to try and push Syria into a more moderate position if possible. At the minimum it should be seeing the same economic sanctions as Iran – if not worse. We need to keep pushing these dominoes over so as to roll back al-Qaeda’s support in the Arab and Muslim world and isolate that support as much as possible. After Iraq the next two big concerns are Syria and Iran. It seems just a choice of which order would be best sequence to deal with them in terms of curtailing their ability to cause international terrorism.
Syria! Whee! Yes, let’s start bombing Syria, and destroy another country with thousands of years of rich cultural history and world-class artistic and historic monuments. Who cares, since they’re not Disneyland? There’s another archaeological museum in Damascus to be looted, so that we can laugh and say we don’t care about it. But best of all, there’s an entire country to turn into virulent America-haters, and send straight into the welcoming arms of Al Qaeda, just as we did for Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. All we need to do is require a 20 or 24 month tour of duty from our troops, send a few guys back for a fifth or sixth tour, and it’ll be a cakewalk.
I traveled in Syria some years ago, and found that no matter what political differences our countries had, the Syrian people were very friendly, welcoming, and not at all anti-American. But I’m sure we can fix that right quick.
I say we put our military and Iraqi’s on the border with Iran and Syria and shut it down.
Hmm….
I think a stronger case can be made for making Iran the next front. Syria is far farther from acquiring nuclear weapons and associated delivery systems. Not to mention that if we are operating in Iran, our forces are in a good position to reinforce Afghanistan or Pakistan if necessary.
An event that is largley unnoticed by MSM is the recent labeling by the Bush Admin. of the IIRGC as a “Terrorist Organization”. A carefull recollection of the Bush Doctrine would reveal that that designation is the sign that things will soon be going “boom”.
I am wondering if the Iraqi civilians are giving tips to our military about the Iranians working against them.
If I remember correctly the Syrians and Iranians signed a pact of cooperation against the US. An attack on one is an attack on both. And of course the mullahs have been pandering to Chavez. So much for that stuff about how militant Muslims can not make alliances with infidels.
Glad to see that during my week of kayaking in the upper reaches of the State of Maine no such thing as reality has crept in to mar the delusions abounding in the Strata-sphere:
bullish on Iraq turning into a reasonable success
Don’t you guys ever have to take drug tests? Clearly, the crack you’re smokin’ has impaired your ability to perceive reality:
1. The Brits have lost Basra. The Sunday Times quotes a senior British officer as saying that British troops have lost control of the main southern city of Basra.
“I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history,” the officer was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “The insurgents are calling the shots … and in a worst-case scenario will chase us out of southern Iraq.”
Meanwhile, while next month’s White House-produced progress report on Iraq will beg for a continuation to President Bush’s troop surge, the Associated Press reports the military simply does not have enough troops to maintain its current levels in Iraq much longer.
.
Without enough troops to sustain current troop levels, the Pentagon will face painful decisions: I=it can accelerate deployments of National Guard units, break the military’s pledge to keep soldiers in Iraq for 15 months or less or reverse its commitment to give troops a year at home with their families before returning them to a war zone.
THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TROOPS FOR IRAQ. Let alone Iran and Syria. Or any other troubles that crop up – including the brewing hurricane season in the Caribbean. The Bushites have broken the military and nearly bankrupted the country . . . and you guys want to seek out further global conflict we don’t need to get involved in.
Hehehehe. Enjoy your “rafting” ?
Yes, the leftists are hard at work…trying to downplay, discredit and redirect news out of Iraq in preperation for Patreous report. Of course..well..the Brits have been “withdrawing” from Iraq for a while now. As they have reached critical mass now…every jihadi or insurgent or mookie milita from miles..has gone there to act like they are driving them out. It’s good PR for people like you.
This is the Brits unilateral withdrawal plan to disengage from Iraq…you know..the one the democrats have a hard on to impliment at once.
Susan:
I don’t think anyone is talking about destroying any country. I think it is interesting that the knee jerk reaction of the left is that if some Syrian dictator wants to kill Americans, kill Iraqis, kill Lebanese, kill Isrealis, that is ok fine…but ask them to cut that out? Well that is just down right unfriendly.
soothie, it appears that Levin has begun to think there is some progress in Iraq…has he gone over to the dark side?
And have the Brits lost Basra? Well what do you care? I don’t really think they have, but if they have it is because the anti war element in that country did everything they could to limit the mission and get people out of there…so failure was the plan wasn’t it? That is what you wanted right?
People like soothie just amaze me, they demand we leave, say everything will be better if we just back off and then when the Brits do just that, they complain there are not enough people. Morons.
Guess soothie values money over human life and freedom – just like Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda values death over human life.
Our lives, future of our children and grandkids are far worth the costs of this war.
And the surge remains successful and it will continue to be successful over the next few months.
The Democrats are going to have a hard time justifying their votes of hard timelines.
So let me get this straight, Lurker: the 1 trillion dollars flushed down the rathole of Iraq has been such a good investment that we should flush another trillion down a rathole in Iran/Syria with the same results: destabilization and infliction of agony upon the civilian population. How friggin’ humanitarian of you.
The only result is the stabilization, peace, harmony, freedom and civil liberties upon the civil population plus guaranteed future of our kids and grandkids. That’s all I care about. Yup, well worth the costs and very humanitarian of me.
A trillion? It has not been a trillion, but a trillion was just about the cost of 9/11 and what would the cost of 40% of the world’s oil in the hands of terrorists, mullahs and dictators be? It is not as if they care about the poor or the world economy or stability or any of that.
Susan
Don’t put it to far in and don’t put the speed setting up to high. It could cause heart issues.
Sooth
It’s really nice to see that all that medical research into Plexiglas belly buttons paid of. But it really had to be a hard row to hoe with you head stuck in that position..
Tell me how does it feel being the most disingenuous fool this side of maybe the Du underground.
You have already been slammed dammed and maamed here and thats only the start of your tribulations girl.
Beside that Sooth your concept of one week really needs work.
It is a weak as all your other points.
Beside that Sooth your concept of one week really needs work.
You know – I cannot ascertain the point of your post. Rather than puzzle it out, I’d rather think about the amazing wildlife I interacted with in the wilds of Maine: bald eagles, ospreys, loons, great blue herons . . . ah, well . . . so, Merlin, tell me – how does it feel to present with – in addition to irrelevant old fart-hood – a classic case of hebephrenia. Let me explicate:
By law you should be required to place a hebephreniac warning label on all posts from MerlinOS2.
Ah, I was wondering where our resident Anti-American, Pro-Jihadi, Leftist Nutbag has been?
Of course, if you were kayaking up in Maine, I was skiing down Mt. Everest at the same time, yep, that’s it, that’s the ticket!
Of course, I was also named after Sir. Edmund Hillary, even though I was born 9 years BEFORE he climed Everest; yeah, that’s it…
Freaking nutbag….
There were posts from a soothsayer all last week on other sites.
The last I heard Iran’s economy is imploding. I think this was Bush’s plan all along. He knows the muslims will rise up if we bomb or invade now. Iran is not keeping their oil equipment in good repaid and have few refineries. Most of their gasoline has to be imported.
And they really are clamping down on dissidents. Maybe the number of dissidents are increasing and the mullahs have to clamp down on them in order to survive. The Iranian people will eventually get tired of this crap and there will be an uprising hopefully. That might be what the sanctions are all about.