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| Engage: Iraq as it is |
| 2007-05-30 |
| Steve Schippert, National Review Reliably in my mailbox this afternoon was my copy of National Review Dead Tree Edition. . . . And within the latest edition can be found an excellent piece by Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan titled "Iraq As It Is... (...and not as individuals might have it be.)" It is important, particularly for its timeliness as we begin to head into summer months that will be filled with bloody fighting with al-Qaeda terrorists at close quarters, street to street and house to house in their entrenched positions in Diyala province. The entire article should be read for its proper contextualization and debunking of various erroneous positions and their respective defenses. However, in a section headed "THE US ROLE," one paragraph leapt out at me as I read the authors properly articulating a point I have struggled to make in recent months with any economy of words. And that is the false notion that Iraq is embroiled in a "civil war." . . . Hit the link for details of the argument. They go on to explain, yet again, that American troops are not between two warring sides in a civil war, but rather they are between violent, murderous extremists and terrorists on one side and the innocents of Iraq's civilian population on the other. (Emphasis added.) And the crescendo of the battle against the warring terrorist elements is getting underway now in Diyala. Al-Qaeda and Iran have big plans. And we can either hang out in Baghdad where they largely aren't or we can hunt them down where they are entrenched in force. . . . Iran and al-Qaeda have big plans for mayhem this summer, knowing full well how American domestic politicos will employ a rising casualty rate to try and force a US withdrawal when General Petraeus delivers his anticipated (by enemy and ally alike) September progress report. We all know it's coming, from whom, from where, and how it will be characterized. And those of us who embrace the task of putting Iraq and the larger conflict into context had better sharpen our pencils and explain what is about to happen in Diyala and why before the "Invasion of the Body Counters" seizes the narrative. And when doing so, ask yourself, "Would my neighbor and mother in-law understand what I have written (or said)?" Speak to them. Don't speak to the 'faithful' and don't speak to the 'Anti-War/Bush/Iraq' angry critics. There is little point in either in this phase and stage. But imagine if just one third of the Americans who understand no greater context than the latest media reporting of al-Qaeda 'bomb and body count' (the vast majority) suddenly paused. Not jumped, not changed . . . just paused . . . long enough to consider . . . Engage. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 American troops are not between two warring sides in a civil war, but rather they are between violent, murderous extremists and terrorists on one side and the innocents of Iraq's civilian population on the other. Please explain this to some of our surrendercrats in Congress. |
| Posted by: Angavirt Borgia5635 2007-05-30 17:15 |