1) If nothing can be done to salvage the situation in Iraq, why did the Senate confirm Gen. Petraeus as commander in Iraq? Petraeus was quite clear about the mission he would undertake and the resources that mission would require.
2) That mission is showing signs of success according to any number of independent observers. So why pull the plug now? Why not at least wait a few months to see if American troops can learn to fight a 21st century war and if Iraqis, given an opportunity, can learn to defend themselves?
3) To say, “Iraqis will decide their own fate” ignores the presence in Iraq of elite Iranian Special Forces, al-Qaeda and the influence of Syria. Jerry Bremer dissolved Iraq’s military. One can argue that was a mistake. But until and unless we train a new Iraqi military there is no way Iraqis can decide their fate or provide for security on their own.
4) It is not only Bush who believes that the war for Mesopotamia is the key front in the global conflict between free societies and radical Islam. Bin Laden’s top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri has said this over and over (see below). If we’re not going to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq, where it’s most lethal, where will we fight al-Qaeda? In Pakistan? In Madrid and London?
5) And if we’re going to accept defeat on the Iraqi battlefield, on which battlefield do we intent to persist and prevail? Where will we draw a line? Or won’t we? Will our response to the war being waged against us be more metal detectors and concrete barriers and a faster cleanup of the bodies and rubble when those defensive measures fail?
6) Finally, I agree with Bacevich: Candidates should be asked what their strategy for this global conflict is – or whether they even believe that a global conflict is taking place. What would steps would they take after they accept defeat and retreat from Iraq? Yes, by all means, let’s ask candidates that question.
**Zawahri quotes:**
“[T]he Muslim nation should realize that Afghanistan and Iraq are the most two important fields for confronting the contemporary Crusader war. Therefore, the Muslim nation should support the mujahdin in these two countries with all its power.”
“The Islamic nation must support the heroic mujahedeen [holy warriors] in Iraq, who are fighting on the very front line for the dignity of Islam …And to my brother mujahedeen in Iraq, I say, Stay firm. Stay together. Your enemy has begun to falter, so don’t stop pursuing him until he flees defeated.”
“I congratulate everyone for the victory in Iraq. You remember, my dear Muslim brethren, what I told you more than a year ago, that the U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq. It was only a matter of time. … Bush, you have to admit that you were defeated in Iraq, you are being defeated in Afghanistan, and you will be defeated in Palestine, God willing.”
“The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.”