McCain and Lieberman on Iraq
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In Monday's Wall Street Journal, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman co-author an editorial on progress against al Qaeda in Iraq.
Opening:
Conclusion:
Opening:
Today, Gen. David Petraeus--commander of our forces in Iraq--returns to Washington to report on the war in Iraq and the new counterinsurgency strategy he has been implementing there. We hope that opponents of the war in Congress will listen carefully to the evidence that the U.S. military is at last making real and significant progress in its offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq.
Conclusion:
The Bush administration clung for too long to a flawed strategy in this war, despite growing evidence of its failure. Now advocates of withdrawal risk making the exact same mistake, by refusing to re-examine their own conviction that Gen. Petraeus's strategy cannot succeed and that the war is "lost," despite rising evidence to the contrary. The Bush administration finally had the courage to change course in Iraq earlier this year. After hearing from Gen. Petraeus today, we hope congressional opponents of the war will do the same.
posted by JT at Sunday, September 09, 2007
6 Comments:
Senators and others who fly in to Baghdad are too shielded to have a clear picture of how bad things are on the ground. Frankly, most US Military officers and State Dept. personnel live and work here with virtually zero contact with the Iraqi people. I spoke with a US official in the Green Zone the other day who had no idea what the "Jeshyn Mehdi" (Mehdi Army) is. Yikes.
Someone once said, "if you break it, you own it." Here in Iraq, we (the USA) have said to the Iraqis: "It's broken: You own it."
With willful blindness, we have supported a "government" that is worthless (to the Iraqi people and to USA security), and has been since "elections" of January 2005. For more than two and a half years, we have supported this "elected government" - a very long time. There have been no consequences for the "Iraqi government's" failure to perform.
The "surge" has not produced the results that Bush is claiming. The Anbar Province improvement started well before the surge (late last year) and the decrease in Baghdad car bombings is due in large part because Shia militias are succeeding in cleansing Sunnis out of the city.
As a Heartland, conservative, reformed-biblical-theology-loving American, I have been extremely humbled and disappointed by all that I have seen since I moved here in 2005. Given the fact that Bush is not changing anything, it's like everyone has to wait until the next president to see what is going to happen.
Dear Baghdad Resident,
Thank you for your courageous service to your country. I appreciate your taking the time to post this interesting comment.
You say the Anbar Province improvements were already in the works. Would you agree that "the Sunni Arab community--which was largely synonymous with the insurgency a year ago--has been turning against al Qaeda from the bottom-up, and beginning to negotiate an accommodation with the emerging political order." If so, to what would you attribute this shift?
Given your concerns, what suggestions would you offer President Bush? You seem to suggest he should punish the "Iraqi government" for their unsatisfactory performance.
Lastly, how can we best pray for you?
Yours respectfully in Christ,
Alex Chediak
alex,
I think the folks out West got tired of Al Qaida pulling their sons off soccer fields and shooting them for wearing shorts. Or they got tired the many other incredibly unreasonable "rules" of Al-Qaida Islam. (no smoking? that's not gonna fly for long anywhere in the Middle East). A few wealthy and influential tribal leaders said enough is enough. Thank God for that.
I don't discount that the military has smartly siezed a very good opportuity in Anbar. Thank God for that.
My disappointment and criticism is reserved for Generals and higher-ups, and most of all, the REALLY high ups.
I have seen a lot of our military working exremely hard and honorably at their particular assignments. Their commitment to serving our country is awesome.
Sadly, however, the "really high ups" have not crafted policy that would match and support the level of military commitment. I don't know if I"m making sense. We supported our idea of "elections" rather than supporting a nation. Since "elections" we have supported "the elected government" blah blah blah. Believe me, since early 2006, many IRaqis have been thinking that hopefully the USA would vacate the entire Iraqi government and establish some "strong man" to kick some major butt and straighten things out (which is generally what works in the Middle East). Now it's obvious that Bush is not ever going to do that, so no one knows what in the world is going to happen.
And we haven't even begun to talk about Basra ... what's going on south of Baghdad. It's not good.
I do have good news to report, however. God protects His work. His Word is going out, even in places like Sadr City, which was on your news screen yesterday. Amidst the horrible violence and terrible security situation, He is continuing to reveal Himself to Iraqis. Pray that the Lord Jesus will continue to open the eyes of IRaqis to see Him as the beautiful Savior that He is. That is my prayer request to you.
It was bad enough that we ousted the Iraqi government once. We ought not to now oust their duly elected government as well. America is not the overseer of the world to decide when foreign governments ought to be abolished and rebuilt. If the Iraqi people don't like their new government, they ought to do something about it.
They know their own culture and understand who they are and what they need. We do not. The Iraqi people would be best served by letting them handle their own affairs.
JT's quotes above reveal the absolutely bankrupt argumentation of the establishment GOP on this point. It boils down to barely better than "We screwed it up, and we're going to keep screwing it up until we get it right."
I wholeheartedly believe our military is made up of some extraordinarily talented individuals. I have every confidence in them that they can accomplish victory where victory can be defined, and objectives can be met. Here it is next to impossible.
We have no clear objectives for victory that are attainable. The longer we are there, the more we make people angry and the more we give people reasons to join up in these insurgency groups.
There are military guys out there in the field, embedded into Iraqi tripes and villages. They have learned valuable lessons and have shared them in various places. They have seen how well the Iraqi people can defend themselves if given the chance. How much better the men defending their own families and tribes are at distinguishing who the real enemy is than they are. Yet our government refuses to listen. (As does the Iraqi government, but since they're basically our hand puppet that's a little redundant.)
One of my favorites on this is Capt Patriquin who was killed last December over in Iraq. He was what was happening in Anbar, the men there getting tired of their people getting killed and organizing to stop it. Our government decided it was a bad thing and spoke out against it. He explained why it was a good thing in language he hoped even they could understand. (PDF warning)
People like Huckabee and others seem to think that the Iraqis are some fragile people. They are not. Theirs, like the rest of the middle east, is an ancient culture that goes back a lot further than our own. We do not understand it. We are not going to be able to "fix" anything. Our best bet is to let them fix it themselves, apologize for breaking it, and stay out of their way.
fqshamgar -
the iraqis are fragile people. and so are Americans. But americans don't see themselves as fragile or even vulnerable, so americans project their own self-view on the Iraqis. this is evidenced in sayings like "the Iraqis are strong people and can defend themselves and know what is best for themselves."
That kind of attitude is the same as someone who has a friend who is harming themselves and their family, let's say, with alcoholism. Would you say, "well, my friend knows how to deal with this better than I can tell him...and after all, it's his family not mine." No, you would not stay out of his way. You would do your best to intervene and influence to the outcome you think is best.
humanistic worldview: people are essentially good and capable of taking good care of themselves without help from others. all people, if just left alone, will make good choices for themselves.
bibilcal worldview: people are essentially not good and make bad choices apart from the grace of God. people need the grace of God and that grace often comes through help from others. Strong governments of various kinds are part of the grace of God as they help maintain order.
I can think of three Iraqis that I work with every day who have been kidnapped. One escaped and the other two were ransomed. All three of them were beaten to pieces. I also have worked with more than a couple who have been killed by bombs or snipers. I don't see anything compassionate or loving about "staying out of their way." They need strong, wise, effective, loving help.
"They need strong, wise, effective, loving help."
Don't we all!
I wonder whether the U.S. military is best trained to be 'loving'... ...
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