You bet it is. It is crippling them politically.
What I don't understand is why so many, even on this board, do not understand the implications of the victory in Iraq over al Qaeda and Iran. Both bet the farm on Iraq and lost.
So many on this board rightly have argued that if we lost in Iraq the implications for the immediate and long term future of our foreign policy and safety would be tragically enormous. However, the flip side is certainly true. You cannot have it one way and not the other.
The result of our clear, decisive victory or Iran and al Qaeda in Iraq on the Arab street is that Allah is with neither al Qaeda nor Iran's leaders. Both bet it all on Iraq. Both lost big time. The unraveling of the results of these two facts is only beginning. al Qaeda's leaders understand it, Iran's leaders understand it, the Arab street reflects it, but I wonder if anyone else is even contemplating it.
Excellent post.
IMHO the media is the biggest threat. No matter how successful Iraq can potentially be, it will be portrayed as a failure. What an insult to our military men and women.
I’m hoping future history books will speak objectively on honestly about this period.