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Victory Is Within Reach in Iraq
Wall Street Journal ^ | 20 October 2007 | MICHAEL A. LEDEEN

Posted on 10/20/2007 10:09:11 AM PDT by shrinkermd

Should we declare victory over al Qaeda in the battle of Iraq?

The very question would have seemed proof of dementia only a few months ago, yet now some highly respected military officers, including the commander of Special Forces in Iraq, Gen. Stanley McCrystal, reportedly feel it is justified by the facts on the ground.

These people are not suggesting that the battle is over. They all insist that there is a lot of fighting ahead, and even those who believe that al Qaeda is crashing and burning in a death spiral on the Iraqi battlefields say that the surviving terrorists will still be able to kill coalition forces and Iraqis. But there is relative tranquility across vast areas of Iraq, even in places that had been all but given up for lost barely more than a year ago. It may well be that those who confidently declared the war definitively lost will have to reconsider.

Almost exactly 13 months ago, the top Marine intelligence officer in Iraq wrote that the grim situation in Anbar province would continue to deteriorate unless an additional division was sent in, along with substantial economic aid. Today, Marine leaders are musing openly about clearing out of Anbar, not because it is a lost cause, but because we have defeated al Qaeda there.

In Fallujah, enlisted marines have complained to an officer of my acquaintance: "There's nobody to shoot here, sir. If it's just going to be building schools and hospitals, that's what the Army is for, isn't it?"

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: anbar; iraq; ledeen; victory
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1 posted on 10/20/2007 10:09:11 AM PDT by shrinkermd
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To: shrinkermd

Hunt them, find them, kill them. The terrorists.


2 posted on 10/20/2007 10:12:12 AM PDT by Sword_Svalbardt (Sword Svalbardt)
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To: shrinkermd

Dingy Harry, Pelosi, Murtha and Kucinich are in deep mourning over this turn of events.


3 posted on 10/20/2007 10:12:13 AM PDT by rdl6989
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To: shrinkermd

and the rat-wing will do everything in their power to prevent victory...


4 posted on 10/20/2007 10:13:36 AM PDT by God luvs America (When the silent majority speaks the earth trembles!)
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To: shrinkermd

Excellent post!


5 posted on 10/20/2007 10:13:44 AM PDT by aculeus
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To: shrinkermd
Even with the success we already have, why don't we have republicans willing to publicly deride the democrats for being wrong? Flat out wrong.

This news isn't surprising to those who deal in reality and logic, rather than hysteria.

6 posted on 10/20/2007 10:13:48 AM PDT by Williams
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To: shrinkermd

Thanks, and AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!


7 posted on 10/20/2007 10:16:56 AM PDT by wizr (A step in Faith will set you free.)
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To: God luvs America

I predict the next wave of suicide bombers will be from Berkeley and Ithaca.


8 posted on 10/20/2007 10:20:11 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
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To: shrinkermd

“Victory Is Within Reach in Iraq”

If so, it’s thanks to a lot of guys who just refused to bend the
knee to thugs like Al Queda.

So, let’s remember one of them that even Mr. Ledeen memorialized
with one of his columns in The National Review a few years ago,
Fabrizio Quattrocchi:

“’I’ll show you how an Italian dies’: hero hostage”
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/16/1081998300849.html


9 posted on 10/20/2007 10:24:33 AM PDT by VOA
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To: shrinkermd; sit-rep; Squantos
In Fallujah, enlisted [M]arines have complained to an officer of my acquaintance: "There's nobody to shoot here, sir. If it's just going to be building schools and hospitals, that's what the Army is for, isn't it?"

LOL! Love the Marines but they can be smart asses.

10 posted on 10/20/2007 10:25:32 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Hunter 2008)
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To: shrinkermd

Even after we have defeated the insurgency, we will need to maintain troops in Iraq to exercise our influence over the Mid-East. With troops based in a democratic Iraq, we can project our power throughout the region, creating democratic, pro-American states in the heart of the Islamic world. This is the way to end Islamo-Fascism and ensure a continuing supply of oil for American industry and consumers.


11 posted on 10/20/2007 10:26:18 AM PDT by FFranco
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To: rdl6989
>>>Dingy Harry, Pelosi, Murtha and Kucinich are in deep mourning over this turn of events.<<<

For some strange reason the folks on your list and their friends in the MSM have become suddenly silent on Iraq.

Except for the treasonous Peter Stark [D-Ca), its almost like they forgot how to pronounce the word!

12 posted on 10/20/2007 10:26:40 AM PDT by HardStarboard (Take No Prisoners - We're Out of Qurans)
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To: shrinkermd
Amen for Great Victory.

God bless our brave troops and President Bush.

13 posted on 10/20/2007 10:28:17 AM PDT by jveritas (God bless our brave troops and President Bush)
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To: ASA Vet; Grampa Dave; Old Sarge
In Fallujah, enlisted marines have complained to an officer of my acquaintance: "There's nobody to shoot here, sir. If it's just going to be building schools and hospitals, that's what the Army is for, isn't it?"

Good news ping.......
14 posted on 10/20/2007 10:32:52 AM PDT by BIGLOOK (Keelhauling is a sensible solution to mutiny.)
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To: wizr

God Bless our troops for their sacrifice. Victory is theirs and they should be congratulated and the news shouted from the housetops.


15 posted on 10/20/2007 10:33:18 AM PDT by Newfy
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To: Williams; shrinkermd
This news isn't surprising to those who deal in reality and logic, rather than hysteria.

I've been saying for more than three years that this would work, given time.

I've had FReepers call me all kinds of names for that, telling me I didn't know what I was talking about.

I wish I could remember who all of those people were.

It's almost time to gloat. ;-)

16 posted on 10/20/2007 10:42:47 AM PDT by Allegra (Greetings from a kinder, gentler Iraq. God bless US and Coalition Forces.)
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To: Allegra
“The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.”

Aloha Allegra!

I always stick with eyes on the ground and ignore those with a finger in the breeze.
17 posted on 10/20/2007 10:50:28 AM PDT by BIGLOOK (Keelhauling is a sensible solution to mutiny.)
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To: Larry Lucido

You don’t leave a military sitting around with nothing to do. They will create things to do. Hit on women, design pranks to pull off, run around like they own the place. Snap women’s bra straps. And be a general nuisance. They need orders and TDY orders to someplace else where there is work to be done.


18 posted on 10/20/2007 10:54:22 AM PDT by BobS (I><P>)
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To: BIGLOOK

Seems to me someone with a screen name and history like yours has his eyes on the far horizon!


19 posted on 10/20/2007 10:55:28 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: rdl6989

Praise the Lord for the progress, and let’s keep on rooting and cheering for an unequivical victory SOON! But let’s not go off half-cocked and proclaim victory until it is truly in the bag.

Please do not forget “Mission Accomplished” and the hell GW has been put through by the lying libs’ twisting the meaning of that and ramming it down GW’s and OUR throats.


20 posted on 10/20/2007 10:56:55 AM PDT by Tucker39 (A vote for Fred, Rudy or Mitt will probably save the Supreme Court.)
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