...while it's true that Iraq is not the war on terror, it's also likely that the post-2009 phase of the war on terror will involve less outright war and more spying, backstabbing, subtle undermining, bribery, extortion and cooptation.Putz hasn't always seen it this way.
DEFIFING VICTORY IN THE WAR ON TERROR: Austin Bay has an email from a Senior Military Official giving the view from Iraq.
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MICHAEL BARONE writes about metrics in the War on Terror:
But the most important changes occurring, not just in Iraq but across the Muslim world, are changes in people's minds.
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TERRORISTS AND INFORMANTS:
The use of rewards in the war on terror has not worked as well as was expected, largely because of the difficulty in getting the word out, and fear of retaliation against potential informants... Many of the American reserve troops in Iraq have been policemen, including some detectives.
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The Belmont Club has a roundup of how things are going: "Although it may be premature to say that the War on Terror is rising to a crescendo, recent events have imparted a distinct sense of movement, as in 'hey, this thing might actually be going somewhere'. . . . The truism that victory has many fathers while defeat is an orphan may partially explain why the Democratic Party sought to rebrand itself as the War Party during its recently concluded convention in Boston."
Indeed.
UPDATE: Austin Bay emails from Iraq:
Victory has many fathers.. Remember my letter to you where I said we had made the "big move" equivalent to the big moves we made in 1944? I argued there's still tough sledding ahead but we're winning. I was not blowing off steam. . . . I do think we're winning. I'll have more thoughts when I get back in three or four weeks.
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UPDATE: A reader emails:
"Saudi Arabia, ultimately, is the real problem. When are we going to do something about them?"
We didn't go after Iraq for WMDs, or primarily to free the Iraqi's.
Everybody knows we have to cut off the flow of Saudi petrodollars to Islamic terror.
Interesting and, I think, mostly correct.
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AUSTIN BAY WRITES ON WHAT VICTORY [in Iraq] IS -- AND ISN'T -- ABOUT:
We've won?
If you mean the War on Terror, the answer is, "No, not by a long shot." Victory in that dark, intricate conflict remains years away. . . .
While the operational victory [in Iraq] is extraordinary, strategic victory in the War on Terror requires focused and sustained military, political and economic efforts.
It's a great victory, but there's still a lot of work to do.
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TERROR AFFIRMA: Will Saletan notes that the Iraq/Terror connection is now indisputable...
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THE SADDAM/OSAMA CONNECTION, DOCUMENTED.
Now the Bushies:
George W. Bush:
Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate.Dick Cheney:
"Iraq has become the central front in the war on terror," Vice President Cheney said October 10.Condi Rice:
Iraq is now the central front in the war on terrorism.
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