Posted by
arandomguy on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 12:16:40 AM
Bush has hit the offensive today, with his press conference, where he addressed Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, the war on terror, and even a bit about the economy - even while being heckled by that annoying Helen (what does she do besides haggle anyway?)
He admitted that it is a strain on the country, but says that leaving now would be a disaster. He also attacks Democrats who want to cut and run, or set a timetable for withdrawl, saying that as long as he is president, there will be no early withdrawls.
It is good to see the president out on the offensive right before critical elections for the conservative agenda. If we lose now, I fear the future of the conservative movement. I do not think it will die, but it will suffer a damaging blow to be sure.
Almost immediately after the speech, house and senate democrat leaders began attacking the president. Says Nancy Pelosi:
"Our soldiers in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, force protection of U.S. personnel and training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces."
Perhaps Ms. Pelosi hasn't noticed, but this is precisely what our soldiers are already doing. We are working on counterterrorism - catching both terrorists who carry out attacks against the US and coalition forces, and those who harbor them - and we are certainly working to train the Iraqi army.
There's just the problem of some bad men with beards who blow us up at every turn. They make the job increasingly difficult. While they exist, there is less time for training because we must be on the lookout for potential attacks. It stinks, but that is the reality. The simple fact is, US forces are making progress in Iraq. Lots of progress.
But progress during a war is slow. Especially when the initial aspects of the war were so botched, as with this one (read some of my other editorials for my take on US warmaking policies). Simply put, staying the course is the only viable option in Iraq. If we leave now, the terrorists will follow us. These are no longer just homegrown insurgents. They largely left us alone after the elections started. These are terrorists from outside Iraq, funded by Al Qaeda and other such organizations, finding sympathetic Iraqi's and using them for their destructive aims.
Take what Harry Reid said on the subject:
"Far from spreading freedom and democracy in the Middle East, the Bush administration has watched while extremists grow stronger, Iran goes nuclear, Iraq falls into civil war and oil and gas prices skyrocket. Simply staying the course is unacceptable."
What Harry Reid has failed to realize, is that he is entirely wrong. Prior to 9/11, the largest terrorist threat from the Islamic world was Sunni. That is, the Sunni's were the ones causing all the problems. Al Qaeda is Sunni. Saddam was Sunni. The Taliban was Sunni. These three, in the pre-9/11 world, were the three greatest outside threats to the United States.
By comparison, Iran at this time, though a threat, was nowhere near the danger that Iraq or Afghanistan were, with their state sponsor of terrorism, their mass murder, and their insistence on developing WMD.
Now, 6 years later, the tables have turned completely. Robbed of state sponsors, Sunni terrorists have largely either given up, or gone into hiding, such as Bin Laden and the remainder of the Taliban, and those few Republican Guard left loyal to Saddam in Iraq. It is because of US efforts that the threat from Sunni terror has been largely neutralized.
Don't get me wrong. There is still a long way to go. For one, Al Qaeda is still the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world today, even though they have been devastated by US counterterrorism efforts.
However, this absence of Sunni threats, has allowed the other major Islamic group, the Shiites to step into the forefront of the terror world. Led by countries like Iran and Syria, these Shiia terrorists are taking the place of their Sunni counterparts.
This is all part of a larger strategy. The Sunni will be neutralized first - they were the greater threat at the time. However, Sunni defeat will lead to a Shiia manipulation of power, making another danger. Then the Shia will be neutralized, effectively destroying both sources of Islamic terror.
But this will take time. Our policies are working. They would have worked faster if the US knew how to fight a decent, non-politically-correct war, but they are still working nonetheless. We must stay the course in Iraq, or I fear the repercussions around the world.