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Back from the front, Gen. David Petraeus called on Congress Thursday to begin considering a drawdown of U.S. troops after five years of war. Violence in Iraq has plunged to its lowest levels since 2004, and al-Qaida is a tattered shadow of its former self—key leaders dead, successors weak and recruiting down. ’My sense’ Petraeus said, ‘is I will be able to make a recommendation (in the autumn) for further reductions.’ This is no Saigon-style exit, but a coming victorious end of a long conflict. U.S. forces have pounded al-Qaida into irrelevance. Using highly disciplined Special Forces strikes, advanced intelligence and communications, and local allies in the right places, 155,000 U.S. troops have been crushing a vicious enemy motivated by no rational forces in a war with no precedent. They are winning against all odds, overcoming not just terrorists, but other obstacles such as a lumbering Pentagon bureaucracy and weak-kneed Western intelligentsia whose media toadies trump every military error and harp on every isolated bad deed. Now proven wrong, these same critics retaliate by ignoring what is a very big story. Worldwide terror attacks have fallen off 40% since 2001, according to a study by Canada’s Human Security Report Project, and support for al-Qaida in the Arab world has collapsed. The study found terror attacks had been over-counted because Iraq War atrocities distorted the figures. Security gains elsewhere included even sub-Saharan Africa, where the improvement was called ‘extraordinary.’ Just as the conflict in Iraq is coming to a close, two related terror wars—in Spain and Colombia—are also seeing signs of victory... From the deserts of Iraq to the villages of Spain to the jungles of Colombia, these victories against terrorist groups are all linked. They are the result of using proven tactics, holding together resolutely, cooperating with other nations to share and deliver intelligence, and forming united fronts. When this happens, terrorists cannot flourish. Recent successes show that these wars are winnable.” —Investor’s Business Daily
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’My sense’ Petraeus said, ‘is I will be able to make a recommendation (in the autumn) for further reductions.’
So he anticipates that in the autumn he might ask Congress to consider preparations?
They are winning against all odds, overcoming not just terrorists, but other obstacles such as a lumbering Pentagon bureaucracy and weak-kneed Western intelligentsia whose media toadies trump every military error and harp on every isolated bad deed.
’My sense’ Petraeus said, ‘is I will be able to make a recommendation (in the autumn) for further reductions.’
So he anticipates that in the autumn he might ask Congress to consider preparations?
They are winning against all odds, overcoming not just terrorists, but other obstacles such as a lumbering Pentagon bureaucracy and weak-kneed Western intelligentsia whose media toadies trump every military error and harp on every isolated bad deed.
What I hate about this is we, as citizens, never know WHY the violence is down. The people who tell me why I don't trust because they are responsible for any mess or mistakes along the way. What's Sadr's motivation for the cease-fire? Did we have any direct effect on the Sunni's rejecting Al-Qaeda or was it just happenstance? If we affected this how did we do it?
What I hate about this is we, as citizens, never know WHY the violence is down. The people who tell me why I don't trust because they are responsible for any mess or mistakes along the way. What's Sadr's motivation for the cease-fire? Did we have any direct effect on the Sunni's rejecting Al-Qaeda or was it just happenstance? If we affected this how did we do it?
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We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it.
Hey, what do ya know... just in time for the election.
What an odd coincidence.
Draw down the troops... or, raise the threat level? Which is more effective? Can we do both?
__________________
We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before he entered it.
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