Iraq, Iran, and the War on Terror
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Iraq's culture of corruption stems from the actions of the international community and the controversial UN oil-for-food scheme, the deputy prime minister Barham Saleh said on Thursday.
We are at war with hatred, fanaticism and despair | The Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/429251/w... When will we ever learn? The murder of Benazir Bhutto should finally convince us that we are in the midst of a crucial international war to stop Islamist terrorists destroying all that is best in our imperfect world.
The next American president, regardless of party and regardless of his or her views about the wisdom of George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, will necessarily make the security of the Persian Gulf states one of America's very highest international priorities.
In a way, it IS all about oil! - Jim Losing in the West, the jihadis hit Pakistan, with its nuclear prize.
Still, the terrorists will attempt a series of terror spectaculars, and kill several hundred civilians in the process, because -- in the quadrennial turmoil of an American presidential contest -- sensational carnage that even momentarily seeds the perception of defeat is their only chance of victory.
So what we want to do is very much try to keep al Qaeda on the run, recognizing that it remains lethal, dangerous, and capable of regenerating and they're constantly trying to do that. Senior Qaeda Theologian Urges His Followers To End Their Jihad - December 20, 2007 - The New York
www.nysun.com/article/68433 One of Al Qaeda's senior theologians is calling on his followers to end their military jihad and saying the attacks of September 11, 2001, were a "catastrophe for all Muslims."
Patterico’s Pontifications » Argentina, Iran and Nuclear Weapons
patterico.com/2007/12/20/argentina-iran-and-nuclea... Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons isn’t new nor is “the West’s ability to deceive itself about Iran’s true intent.”
JustOneMinute: Business As Usual On The Border
justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2007/12/business-as... That's the difference between fascism and stupid, mindless bureaucracy.
What worries state department officials, former national security officials and counterterrorism researchers is that, if attacked, Iran could stage strikes on American or allied interests from Nicaragua, deploying the Iranian terrorist group Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guard operatives already in Latin America.
This cell was closer to going operational at the time than anyone since 9/11.
Pajamas Media: For Iran, the NIE Report Is the Gift that Keeps On Giving
pajamasmedia.com/2007/12/for_iran_the_nie_report_i... when the multi-billion dollar US intelligence machine declares Iran halted its nuclear weapons program back in 2003, then as far as many Middle Eastern countries are concerned, the “danger” label has been taken off Iran’s nuclear program.
Iraqi oil production is above the levels seen before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003
The Blotter: Exclusive: Eyewitness Account of Huge Taliban Defeat
blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/12/exclusive-eye... Afghanistan's government flag was raised Wednesday on what had been one of the biggest strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and a leading world center of heroin production.
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Al-Qaida's Emerging Defeat
www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/alqaida... The evidence that al-Qaida has suffered a major strategic information defeat in Iraq continues to mount.
How Technology Almost Lost the War: In Iraq, the Critical Networks Are Social — Not Electronic
www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-12/ff_... How Technology Almost Lost the War
“You're probably safer here than you are in New York City,” said Marine First Lieutenant Barry Edwards when I arrived in Fallujah.
Big news out of Iraq where, ignoring Congress and its withdrawal proposals in the interests of common sense, the Shiite-led Iraqi government and the Bush administration have inked a deal for an ongoing U.S. military presence and strategic partnership.
The most remarkable part of the story shows the increasing confidence of the military that they have finally hit on the right strategy and the right leadership in Iraq.
Senator Webb announces imminent victory in Iraq | Samizdata.net
www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/2007/07/senator_we... First, democracy or no, Al-Qaeda is in Iraq to attack the United States. Where would the Senator rather rather have them attack us?
They hope this success will enable American soldiers to leave Iraq even before they leave Europe and Korea, and regain the early momentum that led, for example, to Libya's abandonment of its nuclear weapons program.
Just as nothing short of total U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would appease the administration's opponents, the critics of Guantanamo Bay will not be satisfied with anything other than abandonment of the war against al Qaeda.
In short, it would be difficult to construct a scenario in which the ultimate outcome of events in Iraq today would be as negative for the United States as a world in which Saddam remained in control of Iraq.
Demands for withdrawal are no longer demands to pull out of a deteriorating situation with little hope; they are now demands to end a new approach to this conflict that shows every sign of succeeding.
Congress could act on General Petraeus' reports from the ground, rather than broadcasts generated by insurgents.
Why do the Neville Chamberlains always among us never learn the lesson that appeasement of a totalitarian monster is, as President Reagan said of the Soviets, simply bribing the alligator to eat you last.
Assuming that the decision to disengage from Iraq survives the emotional challenges it will face, U.S. society will emerge from the ordeal with a changed character. The notion of idealism in foreign policy will be diminished.
One of Iraq's most controversial politicians offers thoughts on the "surge," Iran and where we go from here.
Polls suggest a majority of Americans think it was a mistake to enter Iraq. Mr. al-Alusi respectfully disagrees. "We didn't have any kind of hope, and now, even with all our difficulty, we have hope." Iraq today is a central front in a war against extremists who view the murder of civilians as political expression. "I will be killed--if not today, tomorrow," Mr. al-Alusi says. "The point is not me, but children--for a child to be a child, not a killer; for a teenager to be a teenager, not an extremist." The situation is bad in Iraq, it's bad for both Iraqis and Americans alike and the looking at way the war is being managed right now makes me extremely worried about the future of our world. I am that worried that I feel I, or the next generations of my people, won't be safe in this world even if we were born and lived elsewhere. When the "phased redeployment" begins, and the cries of "peace in our time" are shouted from the ramparts, the only important difference between our now and 1938 will be that the British at least had a Churchill to tell them, "Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting." The plans for victory so far have fallen short. They have come, top-down, from the Pentagon or the palaces-turned-coalition headquarters in Baghdad. Now, American leaders, especially the nominee for secretary of defense, should consider a bottom-up plan to win that taps the collective grass-roots wisdom of successful battlefield innovators. In particular, there are six course corrections that can be taken almost immediately. We'll ignore some of the sillier suggestions, such as basing "over the horizon" forces in Guam (thousands of miles away from Iraq) or Pakistan (hundreds of miles away and a place where we can't even get permission to send Special Forces teams to hunt Osama bin Laden). Let's consider instead the more realistic sounding plans of basing "quick reaction forces" (QRFs, as the military calls them) in Iraqi Kurdistan or Kuwait. |