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Whatever you're on, I want some. You're so disconnected from reality you may as well live on a different planet. Or maybe the daily casualty reports from the endless terrorist bombings is actually from mars.
Our Troops Must Stay
By JOE LIEBERMAN
November 29, 2005; Page A18 Wall Street Journal
I have just returned from my fourth trip to Iraq in the past 17 months and can report real progress there. More work needs to be done, of course, but the Iraqi people are in reach of a watershed transformation from the primitive, killing tyranny of Saddam to modern, self-governing, self-securing nationhood -- unless the great American military that has given them and us this unexpected opportunity is prematurely withdrawn.
Progress is visible and practical. In the Kurdish North, there is continuing security and growing prosperity. The primarily Shiite South remains largely free of terrorism, receives much more electric power and other public services than it did under Saddam, and is experiencing greater economic activity. The Sunni triangle, geographically defined by Baghdad to the east, Tikrit to the north and Ramadi to the west, is where most of the terrorist enemy attacks occur. And yet here, too, there is progress.
There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraqi hands than before. All of that says the Iraqi economy is growing. And Sunni candidates are actively campaigning for seats in the National Assembly. People are working their way toward a functioning society and economy in the midst of a very brutal, inhumane, sustained terrorist war against the civilian population and the Iraqi and American military there to protect it.
It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al Qaeda foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern. The terrorists are intent on stopping this by instigating a civil war to produce the chaos that will allow Iraq to replace Afghanistan as the base for their fanatical war-making. We are fighting on the side of the 27 million because the outcome of this war is critically important to the security and freedom of America. If the terrorists win, they will be emboldened to strike us directly again and to further undermine the growing stability and progress in the Middle East, which has long been a major American national and economic security priority.
* * *
Before going to Iraq last week, I visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israel has been the only genuine democracy in the region, but it is now getting some welcome company from the Iraqis and Palestinians who are in the midst of robust national legislative election campaigns, the Lebanese who have risen up in proud self-determination after the Hariri assassination to eject their Syrian occupiers (the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militias should be next), and the Kuwaitis, Egyptians and Saudis who have taken steps to open up their governments more broadly to their people. In my meeting with the thoughtful prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, he declared with justifiable pride that his country now has the most open, democratic political system in the Arab world. He is right.
In the face of terrorist threats and escalating violence, eight million Iraqis voted for their interim national government in January, almost 10 million participated in the referendum on their new constitution in October, and even more than that are expected to vote in the elections for a full-term government on Dec. 15. Every time the 27 million Iraqis have been given the chance since Saddam was overthrown, they have voted for self-government and hope over the violence and hatred the 10,000 terrorists offer them. Most encouraging has been the behavior of the Sunni community, which, when disappointed by the proposed constitution, registered to vote and went to the polls instead of taking up arms and going to the streets. Last week, I was thrilled to see a vigorous political campaign, and a large number of independent television stations and newspapers covering it.
None of these remarkable changes would have happened without the coalition forces led by the U.S. And, I am convinced, almost all of the progress in Iraq and throughout the Middle East will be lost if those forces are withdrawn faster than the Iraqi military is capable of securing the country.
The leaders of Iraq's duly elected government understand this, and they asked me for reassurance about America's commitment. The question is whether the American people and enough of their representatives in Congress from both parties understand this. I am disappointed by Democrats who are more focused on how President Bush took America into the war in Iraq almost three years ago, and by Republicans who are more worried about whether the war will bring them down in next November's elections, than they are concerned about how we continue the progress in Iraq in the months and years ahead.
Here is an ironic finding I brought back from Iraq. While U.S. public opinion polls show serious declines in support for the war and increasing pessimism about how it will end, polls conducted by Iraqis for Iraqi universities show increasing optimism. Two-thirds say they are better off than they were under Saddam, and a resounding 82% are confident their lives in Iraq will be better a year from now than they are today. What a colossal mistake it would be for America's bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.
The leaders of America's military and diplomatic forces in Iraq, Gen. George Casey and Ambassador Zal Khalilzad, have a clear and compelling vision of our mission there. It is to create the environment in which Iraqi democracy, security and prosperity can take hold and the Iraqis themselves can defend their political progress against those 10,000 terrorists who would take it from them.
* * *
Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes we do. And it is important to make it clear to the American people that the plan has not remained stubbornly still but has changed over the years. Mistakes, some of them big, were made after Saddam was removed, and no one who supports the war should hesitate to admit that; but we have learned from those mistakes and, in characteristic American fashion, from what has worked and not worked on the ground. The administration's recent use of the banner "clear, hold and build" accurately describes the strategy as I saw it being implemented last week.
We are now embedding a core of coalition forces in every Iraqi fighting unit, which makes each unit more effective and acts as a multiplier of our forces. Progress in "clearing" and "holding" is being made. The Sixth Infantry Division of the Iraqi Security Forces now controls and polices more than one-third of Baghdad on its own. Coalition and Iraqi forces have together cleared the previously terrorist-controlled cities of Fallujah, Mosul and Tal Afar, and most of the border with Syria. Those areas are now being "held" secure by the Iraqi military themselves. Iraqi and coalition forces are jointly carrying out a mission to clear Ramadi, now the most dangerous city in Al-Anbar province at the west end of the Sunni Triangle.
Nationwide, American military leaders estimate that about one-third of the approximately 100,000 members of the Iraqi military are able to "lead the fight" themselves with logistical support from the U.S., and that that number should double by next year. If that happens, American military forces could begin a drawdown in numbers proportional to the increasing self-sufficiency of the Iraqi forces in 2006. If all goes well, I believe we can have a much smaller American military presence there by the end of 2006 or in 2007, but it is also likely that our presence will need to be significant in Iraq or nearby for years to come.
The economic reconstruction of Iraq has gone slower than it should have, and too much money has been wasted or stolen. Ambassador Khalilzad is now implementing reform that has worked in Afghanistan -- Provincial Reconstruction Teams, composed of American economic and political experts, working in partnership in each of Iraq's 18 provinces with its elected leadership, civil service and the private sector. That is the "build" part of the "clear, hold and build" strategy, and so is the work American and international teams are doing to professionalize national and provincial governmental agencies in Iraq.
These are new ideas that are working and changing the reality on the ground, which is undoubtedly why the Iraqi people are optimistic about their future -- and why the American people should be, too.
* * *
I cannot say enough about the U.S. Army and Marines who are carrying most of the fight for us in Iraq. They are courageous, smart, effective, innovative, very honorable and very proud. After a Thanksgiving meal with a great group of Marines at Camp Fallujah in western Iraq, I asked their commander whether the morale of his troops had been hurt by the growing public dissent in America over the war in Iraq. His answer was insightful, instructive and inspirational: "I would guess that if the opposition and division at home go on a lot longer and get a lot deeper it might have some effect, but, Senator, my Marines are motivated by their devotion to each other and the cause, not by political debates."
Thank you, General. That is a powerful, needed message for the rest of America and its political leadership at this critical moment in our nation's history. Semper Fi.
Mr. Lieberman is a Democratic senator from Connecticut.
Iraqi Cauldron
BY NIBRAS KAZIMI
November 29, 2005
http://www.nysun.com/article/23688
Three ingredients are necessary for failure in Iraq, and all three are being poured into the bubbling cauldron that is Baghdad at this very moment. The recipe includes Ba'athists believing that they have been given a seat at the table and thus have achieved a prelude to total victory, and the Islamists supposing that if they cinch these next elections, then they will get their theocracy. The third element is the cowardice of Washington offset by the bravery of American warriors, but we'll get to that later.
The Cairo conference last week - where warring Iraqi factions were supposed to reconcile - was an unmitigated disaster. In an attempt to isolate the jihadists, America has uneasily embraced the Ba'athists it defeated on April 9, 2003, when Baghdad was liberated. The moral high ground has been ceded: as I had warned back in June, the "honorable resistance" is now the acceptable term among the Iraqi political elite for those who attack American soldiers. The American military command in Iraq is now using the term "rejectionists" and not terrorists to describe those who lob rocket propelled grenades at America humvees.
Therefore, those waging the insurgency for the past two and a half years walked away from Cairo feeling vindicated by victory. They had humbled the greatest power on earth; now keeling over in order to placate them. The murder of American forces - the same forces that defeated the Ba'athist regime - is now warranted and legitimized. But there's a caveat that the Ba'athists did not mention: they no longer control the insurgency, nor can they effectively put it out. Zarqawi and his league of jihadists hold sway and have done so for several months, and whatever amount of deference the American cough up to the Ba'athists will not halt the murderous onslaught.
The Ba'athists are indeed doing well in delivering body-blows to Iraqi democracy, but the Islamists just one-upped them. After an abysmal run in office over the last eight months, their prospects for another landslide victory in the December elections were very slim - until yesterday that is. A source close to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's "political office" has confirmed to me in a phone interview from Baghdad on Sunday afternoon that Muhammed Ridha Sistani, the ayatollah's son, has instructed his father's aides to put out the word to the faithful to vote for the United Iraqi Alliance list, headed by the likes of Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq's Abdel-Aziz Al-Hakim and current Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. Whereas in the last elections the UIA list (also backed by Sistani then) contained a large number of secular Shia democrats, this time around it is a wholly fundamentalist list, subservient to strong Iranian influence.
The Iranians have been doing feverish polling around Iraq, and they concluded that their acolytes in the UIA list were in trouble. Somehow, they struck a deal with Muhammad Ridha, a diminutive busy-body who is also exceedingly ambitious, and the only person who could resurrect their political prospects. His message - delivered over the course of last week to Sistani's representatives across Iraq - was "tell the people to vote for Islamist lists, and then tell them not to vote for small or marginal lists, to forestall the fragmentation or dissipation of the Shia vote." This will be perceived by the Iraqi public as a de facto fatwa from Sistani in favor of the UIA list.
I've also been hearing that the Iranian leadership, and specifically the Revolutionary Guard puppet masters who are back in total control, have decided to change their policy visa-vis Iraq. They no longer want to strike a deal for better relations with the Americans; with oil prices so high, they feel that they can splurge on belatedly finding their revolutionary roots as their regime undergoes a mid-life crisis. They now believe that they can turn Iraq, or at least the Shia part of it, into a sister Islamic Republic. They have concluded that America will run away from Iraq, and all they need to do is get their militias ready and willing to take over in the aftermath.
Meanwhile in Washington, there is also a policy shift of sorts. Remember President Bush's Inaugural Address last January? Remember when he said all those things about democracy and freedom? And how it was America's mission to bring liberty to the Middle East?
Well, apparently, the State Department has decided that the ceiling for these goals is too high and that America should aim lower as it tries to rebuild places like Iraq and Afghanistan. What they are really saying is that the bad guys are winning and that in any case democracy is too difficult of a concept for these Middle Easterners; the best that can be hoped for is that they stop clobbering each other to death. And of course, they couldn't call this new policy "Shameful Cowardice" - because that would just be too obvious - so they went with "Locally-Led Nascent Peace," a power-point presentation coming to a briefing room near you.
There is an all-out mutiny against Mr. Bush among the middling ranks of State and CIA bureaucrats. For several decades, those dealing with the Middle East invariably plugged into a complex matrix of oil and arms companies, academic circles, and play-it-safe careerists to give us the conventional wisdom: stability is good, change is bad. The mantra went unchallenged until September 11, 2001, when things had to change. For a brief period of time, these bureaucracies were caught off guard, but now they are trying to restore their past knee-jerk instincts. They have a government-in-exile consisting of the likes of Scowcroft, Tenet and Powell as well as fellow travelers in the left-leaning press, and there is a venal synergy to embarrass President Bush and the neo-conservative for attempting to change how things usually get done.
The prospect of an embattled White House caving in on its own self and grasping at any "exit" strategy, no matter how damaging, is saddening. The risk is that the White House will reach a deal with either the Ba'athists or the Islamists and settle for yet another generic Middle Eastern autocracy, or "mullah-cracy," or whatever emerges from the frothy stew. So instead of "ma'am, your son gave his life for Operation Enduring Freedom," the headstones in Arlington National Cemetery would be etched with the words "Operation Locally-Led Nascent Peace."
And what would they say to all those Iraqis who are braving all sorts of dangers to make it to the ballot box? "Your little elections don't matter as much as our midterm gubernatorial elections next year; after all, it's going to be a tight race for governor of Rhode Island."
Listen here, President Bush: now is not the time to recalibrate objectives away from democracy. Now is the time to focus: drive home the message to the Ba'athists that they have been defeated and that no amount of improvised explosive devices will change that fact. Tell the Iranians that should they choose to step on your toes then not only will their nuclear weapons facilities be blown to smithereens but so will their power and sewage plants; let's see how popular their belligerency would sound to the run-of-the-mill Iranian then. And for heaven's sake, curb those mutineers who are undermining the policy and morale of your administration.
Domestic press and political sniping may sting, but history will be unflinchingly cruel to your legacy should it involve wavering on Iraq's democracy. Too much is at stake, not to mention too many lives.
Mr. Kazimi is an Iraqi writer living in Washington, D.C. He can be contacted at
[email protected]
As one voice, JL doesn't have the power or influence to change what's going on with the dems or the republicans.
His views are only opinions based on his very limited observations and contacts, probably shielded to the gills.
Al-Zarqawi: al Qaeda's Second Generation by Jordanian journalist, Fouad Hussein.
Al Qaeda's seven phase plan for world conquest:
Phase 1, the "wakeup call." Spectacular terrorist attacks on the West get the infidels to make war on Islamic nations. This arouses Moslems, and causes them to flock to al Qaedas banner. This phase is complete.
Phase 2, the "eye opening." Al Qaeda does battle with the infidels, and shows over a billion Moslems how it's done. This phase to be completed by next year.
Phase 3, "the rising." Millions of aroused Moslems go to war against Islam's enemies for the rest of the decade. Especially heavy attacks are made against Israel. It is believed that major damage in Israel will force the world to acknowledge al Qaeda as a major power, and negotiate with it.
Phase 4, "the downfall." By 2013, al Qaeda will control the Persian Gulf, and all its oil, as well as most of the Middle East. This will enable al Qaeda to cripple the American economy, and American military power.
Phase 5, "the Caliphate." By 2016, the Caliphate (i.e., one government for all Moslem nations) will be established. At this point, nearly all Western cultural influences will be eliminated from Islamic nations. The Caliphate will organize a mighty army for the next phase.
Phase 6, "world conquest." By 2022, the rest of the world will be conquered by the righteous and unstoppable armies of Islam. This is the phase that Osama bin Laden has been talking about for years.
Phase 7, "final victory." All the world's inhabitants will be forced to either convert to Islam, or submit to Islamic rule. To be completed by 2025.
National Intelligence Estimate provides bleak assessment of Iraq security
- KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
(09-15) 22:55 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.
...
State Department officials stressed areas of progress in Iraq since the United States turned over political control of Iraq to an interim government on June 28. They cited advances in generating electricity, producing oil and creating jobs.
...
November 15, 2005
The Road from Fallujah to Amman By Yamin Zakaria Nov 14, 2005, 07:18
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Al-Zarqawi: al Qaeda's Second Generation by Jordanian journalist, Fouad Hussein.
Al Qaeda's seven phase plan for world conquest:
Phase 1, the "wakeup call." Spectacular terrorist attacks on the West get the infidels to make war on Islamic nations. This arouses Moslems, and causes them to flock to al Qaedas banner. This phase is complete.
Phase 2, the "eye opening." Al Qaeda does battle with the infidels, and shows over a billion Moslems how it's done. This phase to be completed by next year.
Phase 3, "the rising." Millions of aroused Moslems go to war against Islam's enemies for the rest of the decade. Especially heavy attacks are made against Israel. It is believed that major damage in Israel will force the world to acknowledge al Qaeda as a major power, and negotiate with it.
Phase 4, "the downfall." By 2013, al Qaeda will control the Persian Gulf, and all its oil, as well as most of the Middle East. This will enable al Qaeda to cripple the American economy, and American military power.
Phase 5, "the Caliphate." By 2016, the Caliphate (i.e., one government for all Moslem nations) will be established. At this point, nearly all Western cultural influences will be eliminated from Islamic nations. The Caliphate will organize a mighty army for the next phase.
Phase 6, "world conquest." By 2022, the rest of the world will be conquered by the righteous and unstoppable armies of Islam. This is the phase that Osama bin Laden has been talking about for years.
Phase 7, "final victory." All the world's inhabitants will be forced to either convert to Islam, or submit to Islamic rule. To be completed by 2025.
Emphasis added by me.
cicerone imposter wrote:National Intelligence Estimate provides bleak assessment of Iraq security
- KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
(09-15) 22:55 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.
...
State Department officials stressed areas of progress in Iraq since the United States turned over political control of Iraq to an interim government on June 28. They cited advances in generating electricity, producing oil and creating jobs.
...
This alleged intelligence report and forecast is over a year old. Let's see how things actually turn out by January 1, 2006. Assuming this report and forecast (excluding what the State department stressed) are valid what do you recommend be done differently?
What I would rather happen is not worth the print.
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What I want personally is PEACE.
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Fine, Ican, lets see how things stand on Janurary 1, 2006. Do you expect to see a great deal of improvement in terms of security and the insurgency?
