Thursday, June 29, 2006

Iraqi Insurgents More Generous Than Democrats




There is one major policy point that the Iraqi insurgents and the "Anti-war" Democratic Party agree on. Both call for a time table for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Yesterday’s big news was that a group of insurgent factions offered a cessation of hostilities if the US was to withdraw from Iraq within two years. Although the 11 insurgent groups involved comprise almost half of the insurgent groups operating in Iraq, they are primarily composed of those who at least moderately oppose targeted attacks against civilians.

The most violent Iraqi insurgent groups, who have joined forces under the banner of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, are not party to the so-called peace offer. The Council is considered the main threat of the insurgency because it has forged an alliance between native insurgent groups and the foreign terrorist organization, al Qaeda. So even if this bogus deal was accepted there would still be little chance of peace because the Iraqi government would be left all by itself against the most ruthless insurgents.

It is ironic that while our enemy has offered a two year withdrawal time table, some politicians from our own Democratic Party have not been as generous. Back in November Congressman John Murtha created an uproar when he demanded that we “immediately redeploy U.S. troops”.

Democrats Russ Feingold and John Kerry proposed a measure that would have had US troops withdraw from Iraq within one year (by July 2007). Thankfully, it was soundly defeated 86-13 in the Senate. Only 12 Democrats and one independent voted for the measure. There wasn’t a single Republican that voted for it.

What is going on here? Over the last year a treasure trove of internal correspondence between al Qaeda leaders was seized by US troops. The contents of these letters revealed al Qaeda’s despair in the face of the determination shown by US troops and the Iraqi government. In spite of this Feingold defended his withdrawal plans by stating that, “what emboldens the enemy is thinking they’ve got us in a trap and we don’t know how to get out”.

But it doesn’t stop there. Ever since the Presidential campaign of 2004 John Kerry has consistently acted against the best interests of our country. During that campaign he insulted every one of our allies by calling them the, “trumped-up, so-called coalition of the bribed, the coerced, the bought, and the extorted”. Kerry even attacked Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi when he made an official visit to the US, the first for the leader of the new interim government.

As a matter of fact, Kerry has adhered to a strategy that puts as much pressure as possible on the US, the coalition and the Iraqi government. His spokeswoman, April Boyd, recently outlined Kerry’s strategy, “John Kerry has been calling for a clear deadline for withdrawal and will not take the heat off the Iraqi leaders to do their job and stand up for their own country”. So his strategy for victory is to use a deadline to put pressure on the new Iraqi government, NOT THE INSURGENTS!!!

The Iraqi people have persevered under a brutal insurgency that kidnaps and murders anyone accused of being a collaborator with US troops. From truck drivers to politicians, they put their necks out on the line every day. It is an insult for Kerry to say that they are not doing enough to save their country when the simple act of going to work can get them killed. There is nothing worse than an arrogant rich man who looks down on people that are struggling under a terrible misfortune and unjustly blames them for their own suffering.

Unwittingly, Russ Feingold underscored the weakness of the strategy behind setting a deadline for withdrawal. He acknowledged that an absolute deadline would be imprudent saying, “We could obviously extend the deadline (if required)”. So in order to score a major political victory all the insurgents would have to do is to lay low until the deadline arrives and then unleash a wave of violence. At that point it would be fairly easy to launch a wave of attacks on unarmed civilians in order to frustrate a US withdrawal. In such a scenario the insurgents would be highly motivated because they will have the chance to score a measurable victory at a cheap price. The results would be immediate.

Every day that US troops stay past such a deadline would be a victory for the insurgents. The “anti-war” movement would be reinvigorated as well. Last week US casualties rose above the 2,500 mark. If we stay past the deadline then each and every day newspapers will have another statistic to place next to the death toll. The media would enthusiastically keep score of the amount of days that US troops have overstayed the deadline. So the creation of a new statistic to embolden the terrorists and “anti-war” protestors would be the result of Feingold’s “victory” strategy.

This speaks volumes about the complete incompetence of these “Anti-war” Democrats. Such leadership in the middle of a war is reprehensible and these politicians do not deserve to represent the American people. I am not calling for their immediate removal from office, but this fall the voters in their districts should take responsibility for the welfare of our country and vote them out.

My terms on this issue are much more generous than what the Iraqi insurgents would give them.

18 comments:

Freedomnow said...

AOW I still have a post for you that is half done, but I cant find an article that I read a couple of months ago and it is critical to what I am writing about.

Plus, I am suffering from the lack of time...

nanc said...

why don't you ask your librarian for help?

Freedomnow said...

By George I think you are right! I am honored.

Unknown said...

Keep it hot

beakerkin said...

Murtha is a clown. Has he appologized to the marines.

Ayman the boat for Gitmo leaves in an hour you can have the cell next to John Brown and Renegade in the Honeymoon suite.

Always On Watch said...

Kerry was on O'Reilly tonight. Obviously he was "campaigning."

I confess that I didn't even try to follow what the fool was saying. Not worth the effort, IMO.

BTW, don't worry about rushing your special posting for me. I'm a bit tied up right now. See my latest posting. I need a few days.

Freedomnow said...

AOW,

You are in my thoughts. Please take a moment to celebrate Walt's life. Everything has a beginning and an end (except maybe time).

You cant have happiness without sadness so dont be hard on yourself. I am sure that Walt would be expecting a toast or two in his honor.

Freedomnow said...

Beak is in charge of Gitmo reservations. If you are thinking about vacationing in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iraq - then Beak has a special bonus vacation package all planned out for you. Dont contact him, he will contact you.

Always On Watch said...

FN,
I am sure that Walt would be expecting a toast or two in his honor.

You've got that right! But nobody could mix a martini like Walt.

Freedomnow said...

Sometimes we have to talk quantity over quality.

Bottoms up...

Always On Watch said...

No booze served at either reception yesterday. Bummer!

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

freedomnow: I've been long in favor of U.S. troops leaving Iraq for the sake of avoiding further American casualties but your article has me thinking...what if you're right? What if the terrorists are just waiting for the Americans to leave in order to wreak havoc on the Iraqi government and its people?

But I still think I'll stick to my opinion. Thing is, there are several million Iraqis, many of whom are either terrorists or potential future terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. I simply don't think the U.S. can maintain its policy of fighting the mujahadeen till we've achieved victory.

My question to you is this: do you think victory in Iraq is a plausible goal?

Freedomnow said...

That is an honest question from someone who doesnt believe that the US can win in Iraq.

My answer would be that under the slanderous bigotry of anti-Americanism (both domestic and in Iraq) it is impossible for the US to win outright.

However, we have shown great successes in assisting the Iraqis to govern themselves. We have traveled down a path from a US led Coalition Provisional Authority to an Iraqi led Interim Government. We have easily weathered two elections and one constitutional referendum, which critics said would be impossible to achieve. Thus we now have Iraq’s first truly democratic government and constitution in its history. Iraqi troops are becoming self-sufficient and effective, a remarkable turn-around from this time last year. This time last year there were cities under insurgent control, now there are none. Victory is not only possible, it is very likely if continued at this pace.

Greg, you are a young man and I apologize for saying that you are naive. You have swallowed enemy propaganda whole. You say that many of the millions of Iraqis are terrorists or potential terrorists. However, the insurgency is a very small minority that is despised by the majority and almost completely isolated to the former Sunni Arab stronghold of the hated Baathist regime.

I do not underestimate the intelligence of our enemy. The greatest of which are western liberals who are doing everything they can to defeat us in Iraq. I do not advocate violence or suppression of such traitors. On the contrary I respect them for the crafty duplicity that they use in an attempt to break our will to fight.

My battle is not with these immature liberals masquerading as cultured intellectuals. My focus is on winning the Iraqi war and by doing so defeating our domestic enemies as well. This is a Democracy and somehow treason has become legal. I am willing to play by the rules that reality has set.

If you look at countries like Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Spain and many others. You will see that our enemies are seeking to use Democracy against itself. They have had certain successes, but I believe that they can be temporary.

An American victory in Iraq will empower Democracy and discredit our enemies. We are now fighting for survival. The totalitarian enemies of democracy will continue to use western liberals to advance their agenda the same way we use the Iraqi government to advance ours. The difference is that the Iraqis share the same goals as we do, while the totalitarians will destroy the naive dreams of our liberals.

Freedomnow said...

AOW said, "No booze served at either reception yesterday. Bummer!"

Drastic times call for drastic actions. I havent even had breakfast yet, but I now hold up a glass of Jack Daniels in honor of an American from the greatest generation.

When attacked they have shown their resolve and now it is our turn to show the right stuff.

I salute you Walt and all those who believed in the American dream. Thank you for your service to our country and to the warm friendship that you have bestowed upon those close to you.

Bottoms up!!!!!!!!!!

(P.S. I think my day is off to an auspicious start.)

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

freedomnow: thank you for the political analysis. You always provide meaningful insight on the subject at hand. As you pointed out I am, in fact, rather young and hence, ignorant concerning so many of the facts on the ground. I did think that most of Iraq's population was anti-American or that it had turned anti-American as a result of the hard-fought battles agaisnt the insurgency which have claimed many civilian casualties--as was the scenario intended by the terrorists in that country.

I didn't give America much credit for its successes but rather blamed it for the failures in Iraq. I admit that I may have well been wrong.

Perhaps, like you say, though a complete victory over the the insurgents is not possible, a free and independent Iraq is. That is my hope, just as it yours.

Freedomnow said...

You may also want to keep in mind that anti-Americanism in the Middle East is directly tied to America's support for Israel.

We can never be wildly popular there unless we sell out our friends.

The Iraqi government may never be a close ally, but it will be a vast improvement over Saddam's regime.

Eitan Ha'ahzari said...

I absolutely agree with the last commnent! Probably the top reason the U.S. is so unpopular in the Middle East is its unwavering support for Israel. Though America sometimes goes a little too far in preventing us from all-out destroying our enemies its still the best friend we've got and the Arabs know it. I hope this support continues for generations to come.

And yes...the current Iraqi government cannot be compared to Saddam's regime...Almsot opposite entities.

Wild Thing said...

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