Victory In Iraq
Victory in Iraq
By Tony Blankley
Washington Times
It has become obligatory for both pro- and antiwar commentators to never mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that antiwar people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of “success” perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow.
But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq War. In five years we will have overturned Saddam’s government, killed, captured or driven out of country almost all al Qaeda terrorists, suppressed the violent Shi’ite militias and induced the Sunni tribal leaders and their people to shun resistance and send their sons into the army and police and seek peaceful resolution of disputes. And we will have stood up a multisectarian, tribally inclusive army capable of maintaining the peace that our troops established.
The reports coming out of Iraq in the last month suggest that we are not yet there — but almost. As The Washington Times summarized this week: “the Associated Press reported: ‘Twilight brings traffic jams to the main shopping district of this once-affluent corner of Baghdad, and hundreds of people stroll past well-stocked vegetable stands, bakeries and butcher shops. To many in Amariyah, it seems little short of a miracle.’ According to The Washington Post: ‘The number of attacks against U.S. soldiers has fallen to levels not seen since before the February 2006 bombing of a Shi’ite shrine in Samarra that touched off waves of sectarian killing … The death toll for American troops in October fell to 39, the lowest level since March 2006.’”
And on Thursday, the New York Times noted: “American forces have routed al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood in Baghdad, a top American general said today, allowing American troops involved in the ’surge’ to depart as planned.” Investor’s Business Daily assessed: Many military analysts — including some who don’t support the war — have concluded that the U.S. and its allies are on the verge of winning.
Last weekend Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that violence between Sunnis and Shi’ites has nearly disappeared from Baghdad, with terrorist bombing down 77 percent. This was confirmed by Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. forces south of the capital: “If we didn’t have so many Iraqi people coming forward to help, I’d think this is a flash in the pan. But that is just not the case.”
All of this is the result of the most underreported successful military operation since the invention of the telegraph. (For a detailed account of Gen. David Petraeus’s, and Gen. Raymond Odierno’s counterinsurgency campaign see Kimberly Kagan’s meticulous article in the Weekly Standard.) But the point to take away from the surge is that, though a brilliant military operation, it was never just a military operation. Rather it developed a political, economic and communications infrastructure that is permitting local-level reconciliation. We are creating representative governance from the bottom up — not from the Green Zone down. Despite a frail and inept national government, the people in the towns and provinces (under the tutelage of the U.S. military) seem to be forming order out of the chaos.
Read Full Washington Times article here.
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I honestly never had a doubt in my mind from the very day we went into Iraq that we would end up with a victory, I had no idea what the victory would look like though. But the way it appears that we’re going to have an absolute victory just like in a conventional war, very surprising. But i never once thought America would lose, in my mind its just hard to imagine that.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:29 pmGreat job to our military, Our President and of course the Iraqis for making this possible. Amazing job by all involved
WOO HOO!!!! CONGRATULATIONS BOYS, er MEN!!!!!
Power to the People: Despite a frail and inept national government… Sounds like our government.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:34 pmWhere’s that picture from? It’s a great one.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:41 pmRanger…
I got that pic from Third Army USARCENT CFLCC
here:
http://www.arcent.army.mil/cflcc_today/2005/april/apr26_30.asp
Its a couple of years old, but I had never seen it before today and it is an awesome shot.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:49 pmWhen I have talked to people and declare that the Iraq war is now just a mop up operation, that it is essentially won except for the whacking of declining holdouts they just stare at me like I am from another planet. I love it & I ask why, didn’t you hear about that on TV?
November 14th, 2007 at 12:55 pmThis photo makes me so proud!!!!!!!!!!
November 14th, 2007 at 1:44 pm“We are creating representative governance from the bottom up — Despite a frail and inept national government…”
Sounds like the United States Congress and all true patriots on the home front need to take a lesson from the military.
November 14th, 2007 at 1:49 pm