This is a tough war. We knew that going in. This is a different kind of war. We are not at war with the people of Iraq. We are at war with the terrorists within them.
Does that make it hard. Unbelievably so, at many times. The answer is not to bomb and bomb. That is foolishness.
The answer to to be systematic, deliberate and unconventional at the same time.
We are doing that. In both Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are winning this war. Freedom and self-worth will soon be our new allies emerging within the Middle East that help our soldiers on the ground.
Correct. The terrorists in Iraq are reduced to kidnapping and killing innocent civilians. If they're willing to do that with US troops right there then why does anyone believe that they weren't doing it before when US troops weren't there?
The ultimate success or failure of this quasi-state of warfare we're engaged in won't be known until the war is over. I think that IF al Qaeda succeeds in pulling off some kind of horrible WMD attack on American soil, then we should at least be willing to admit that our quasi-warfare strategy has failed and cannot protect America.
We are winning this war. Freedom and self-worth will soon be our new allies emerging within the Middle East that help our soldiers on the ground.
The Islamic terrorist scumbags are doing everything they can to keep that from happening, including murdering the people they claim to support. We ARE winning, but you wouldn't know it if you only listened to the maindream media. It's getting tougher now, but the body count is rising on their side many many times faster than ours. We have a military that is second to none, and they are DETERMINED. We will not fail!
The answer to to be systematic, deliberate and unconventional at the same time.
Can you refer us to any good reports on this which makes the systematic, deliberate and, especially, unconventional tangible.
In other words, put the real life examples that illustrate your point out there specifically.
"Freedom and self-worth will soon be our new allies emerging within the Middle East that help our soldiers on the ground."
That presumes societies capable of recognising the value, of "freedom and self-worth" and being willing to endure paying the price to obtain same.
My barometer regarding islam and the arab "cultures" winds up pointing to a big question mark, about this situation.
Clearly Japanese and Germans had societal underpinnings (cultural, economic, religious, etc.) which were the basis for acceptance of democratic, peaceful self-rule.
Islam spawns so much violence and terror, against their own and others, that I'm not overly optimistic.
Are we, the US, willing to spend tens of thousands of lives and billions of wealth? Will we become weary after five or ten years of this process?
We did in Vietnam.