shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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 Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:08 am Post subject: The Gettysburg of This War |
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EXCELLENT article and analysis that should be passed around.
President Bush and his entire war cabinet meeting with the top Iraqi Leaders in former hell hole of Anbar.
Good on you! Mr. President, for this very symbolic and important gesture
I imagine the Dem leadership gnashing their teeth. How dare he pull off a stunt like this!!
The Gettysburg of This War
This Bush visit could well mark a key turning point in the war in Iraq and the war on terror.
By Frederick W. Kagan
September 3, 2007 5:00 PM
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~SNIP~
Anbar, as everyone knows, has been one of the hotbeds and the most important base for both the Sunni rejectionist insurgency and al Qaeda in Iraq since 2003. It has been one of the most violent provinces in Iraq, and one of the most dangerous for American soldiers and Marines, until recently. Now it is one of the safest — safe enough for the war cabinet of the United States of America to meet there with the senior leadership of the government of Iraq to discuss strategy. Instead of talking about how to convince the Anbaris that the Sunni will not retake power in Iraq any time soon, Bush, Maliki, Petraeus, Talabani, and Crocker talked about how to get American and Iraqi aid and reconstruction money flowing more rapidly to the province as a reward for its dramatic and decisive turn against AQI and against the Sunni rejectionist insurgency. In any other war, with any other president, this event would be recognized for what it is: the sign of a crucial victory over two challenges that had seemed both unconquerable and fatal. It should be recognized as at least the Gettysburg of this war, to the extent that counterinsurgencies can have such turning points. Less than a year ago, it was common wisdom and the conclusion of the Marine intelligence community in Anbar that the province and its people were hopelessly lost. Now the Anbaris are looking to the Americans and the government of Iraq for legitimacy, for protection, and for inclusion in a political process they have spurned for years. What is that if not a major victory in this war?
Read the whole article at: National Review |
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“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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