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IRAQ'S OVERLOOKED TRIUMPH
NY Post ^ | March 17, 2006 | John Podhoretz

Posted on 03/17/2006 10:11:53 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

THREE years after the begin ning of the war in Iraq, what have we accom plished? The honest fact is that we don't yet know the answer to this question - and because we don't know, the war remains unpopular.

For example, we don't know yet whether the war we're fighting against al Qaeda in Iraq has made the United States safer because we've tied down terrorist assets and distracted terrorist attention from the homeland. This was not the purpose of the war at the outset, but world-changing conflicts take twists and turns no one can foreseen.

What we do know is that 41/2 years have passed since 9/11, and we have not been hit again. To be sure, others have - Spain and Britain and Indonesia most evilly. But we have not. Is the war in Iraq part of the reason? The question will have an answer - not now, but eventually.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 3rdanniversary; iraq; podhoretz

1 posted on 03/17/2006 10:11:54 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: All
From the Powerline Blog:

March 17, 2006
JPod: "Iraq's Overlooked Triumph"

**********************************AN EXCERPT*********************************

John Podhoretz credits Iraq's "political class" with a little-appreciated victory in resisting calls for civil war over the past two weeks, and instead continuing to work out their inevitable conflicts through the political process. Podhoretz makes a fundamental point that some seem to forget:

[T]he members of Iraq's political class have chosen hope - chosen to fight their battles at the bargaining table rather than in the streets. By doing so, they are, in fact, offering an example of what democratic institutions are intended to do. They are supposed to replace armed conflict with political negotiation conducted by those who might otherwise take up weapons to get their way.

2 posted on 03/17/2006 10:14:37 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Thank you for posting this article.


3 posted on 03/17/2006 10:16:23 AM PST by new cruelty
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
made the United States safer because we've tied down terrorist assets and distracted terrorist attention from the homeland. This was not the purpose of the war at the outset

On the contrary, I believe this was one of the goals at the outset.

4 posted on 03/17/2006 10:19:33 AM PST by Siena Dreaming
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To: Siena Dreaming

Think about it. It makes sense. Go into Iraq and the terrorists will concentrate their resources there instead of over here.


5 posted on 03/17/2006 10:22:50 AM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist (None genuine without my signature)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

Exactly...I don't know how the Post can say it wasn't a goal when it was so obvious right from the start.


6 posted on 03/17/2006 10:28:17 AM PST by Siena Dreaming
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To: Siena Dreaming

"On the contrary, I believe this was one of the goals at the outset."

I believe it was Rumsfield who very clearly stated early on that the attack on Saddam was a spoiling attack.


7 posted on 03/17/2006 10:50:31 AM PST by Owl558 (Pardon my spelling)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

BTTT - for later reading


8 posted on 03/17/2006 11:03:01 AM PST by CyberAnt (Democrats/Old Media: "controversy, crap and confusion" -- Amen!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
The members of Iraq's political class have chosen hope....

If in Iraq, hope for a better life for one's country and family is not chosen over death and chaos than the west is in for very violent times down the road.

Although I don't think the Iraqi campaign was exclusively to find out this this point, I do believe it was something we needed to find out.

May God Bless and Protect our Troops as they bring the fight to the enemies of Freedom....
9 posted on 03/17/2006 11:09:05 AM PST by PigRigger (Send donations to http://www.AdoptAPlatoon.org)
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