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Mon, 21 Jul 2008 3:53 pm
Subject: London Sunday Times assessment of the War in Iraq
An overseas view of the war in Iraq - sent to me by a friend.
In a message dated 7/8/2008 1:44:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time, The
Investor's Business Daily editorial board ask,
"What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the
American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the
news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq." London's
Sunday Times called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular
victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more
than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has
over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the
wall in the northern city of Mosul.
The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and
unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank
President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and
Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of
surrendering.
We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge
there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on
counterinsurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in
Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was
their friend and AQI their enemy.
Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar
Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from
there.
Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored
Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More
than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended.
Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul,
found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were
once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost
control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization
having fled south into the countryside.
Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18
political benchmarks- a big change for the better from a year ago.
Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the
idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while
visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it
was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad - an impressive vote
of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.
But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good
news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, "the CBS Evening
News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday
night about the benchmarks" that signaled political progress.
The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and
politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox
News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to
consider this historic event a big story!
Subject: London Sunday Times assessment of the War in Iraq
An overseas view of the war in Iraq - sent to me by a friend.
In a message dated 7/8/2008 1:44:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time, The
Investor's Business Daily editorial board ask,
"What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the
American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the
news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq." London's
Sunday Times called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular
victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more
than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has
over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the
wall in the northern city of Mosul.
The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and
unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank
President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and
Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of
surrendering.
We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge
there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on
counterinsurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in
Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was
their friend and AQI their enemy.
Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar
Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from
there.
Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored
Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More
than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended.
Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul,
found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were
once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost
control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization
having fled south into the countryside.
Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18
political benchmarks- a big change for the better from a year ago.
Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the
idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while
visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it
was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad - an impressive vote
of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.
But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good
news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, "the CBS Evening
News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday
night about the benchmarks" that signaled political progress.
The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and
politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox
News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to
consider this historic event a big story!
