To start with Saddam's Iraq was our most immediate threat. We could NOT commit significant military forces to another battle with Saddam hovering undefeated on our flank nor could we leave significant forces watching Saddam. The political containment of Iraq was breaking down. That what Oil for Food was all about. An attempt by Iraq to break out of it's diplomatic isolation and slip the shackles the UN Sanctions put on it's military. The War on Terrorism is different sort of war. In the war on Terrorism, we have a hidden foe, spread out across a geographically diverse area, with covert sources of supply. Since we cannot go everywhere they hide out, in fact often cannot even locate them until the engage us, we need to draw them out of hiding into a kill zone.
Iraq is that kill zone. That is the true brilliance of the Iraq strategy. We draw the terrorists out of their world wide hiding places onto a battlefield they have to fight on for political reasons (The "Holy" soil of the Arabian peninsula) where they have to pit their weakest ability (Conventional Military combat power) against our greatest strength (ability to call down unbelievable amounts of firepower) where they will primarily have to fight other forces (the Iraqi Security forces) in a battlefield that is hostile to guerrilla warfare. (Iraqi-mostly open terrain as opposed to guerrilla friendly areas like the mountains of Afghanistan or the jungles of SE Asia).
Look at the map? Iraq, for which we had the political legal and moral justifications to attack, is the strategic high ground of the Middle East. A Geographic barrier that severs ground communication between Iran and Syria apart as well as providing another front of attack in either or into Saudi Arabia as needed.
There are other reasons to do Iraq but here is the strategic reason we are in Iraq. We have taken, an maintain the initiative from the Terrorists. They are playing OUR game on ground of OUR choosing.
Problem is Counter Insurgency is SLOW and painful. Often a case of 3 steps forward, two steps back. I often worry that the American people have neither the maturity, nor the intellect" to understand. It's so much easier to spew made for TV slogans like "No Blood for Oil" or "We support the Troops, bring them home" then to actually THINK. Problem is these people have NO desire to co-exist with us. They see all this PC posturing by the Hysteric Left as a sign that we are weak. Since they want us dead, weakness encourages them. They think their "god" will bless them for killing Westerners.
So we can covert to Islam, die or kill them. Iraq is about killing enough of them to make the rest realize we are serious. See in the Arab world the USA is considered a big wimp. We have run away so many times. Lebanon, the Kurds, the Iraqis in 1991, the Iranians, Somalia, Clinton all thru the 1990s etc etc etc. The Jihadists think we will run again. In fact they are counting on it. That way they can run around screaming "We beat the American just like the Russians, come join us in Jihad" and recruit the next round of "holy warriors". Iraq is also a show place where we show the Muslim world that there are a lines they cannot cross. On 9-11 they crossed that line and we can, and will, destroy them for it
Your key remark substantiated with additional comments is this:
Iraq is that kill zone. That is the true brilliance of the Iraq strategy.
Why don't more people get this? It is spot-on, and was evidenced by several things. When the President said "bring it on" he meant what he said. He positioned our troops in Iraq so the terrorists would go there and we could kill them. The media, the dems (I know; same thing) simply cannot grasp this kind of strategy because they just don't understand the threat and that we are in a real war. Their incessent arguments that the terrorists weren't there before we got there is true in a some measure. There was evidence of terrorists training in Iraq, but they were not there in large numbers. We went there so they would follow us there, and that most people just don't get this is astonishing to me.
I work in the military industrial community and work with many troops who have been to war and back again, and I have the utmost respect for them. They are so smart, so innovative, and so committed to their mission that it is heartwarming. Their frustration by the lies of old media and the understanding of how the terrorists are using our media to turn our country against them is understood. In fact, at a recent gathering, CNN was bashed by a senior general for their outrageous reporting. Of course, those comments are never aired or reflected upon by the media, because they don't want the country to know they (media) are working to undermine the war by the incessent negative reporting.
A very good post by you, btw.
There are 23 reasons why we went into Iraq and they are contained in Text of Joint Resolution On Iraq Passed By The United States Congress, which was passed 296-133 by the House of Representatives and 77-23 by the Senate on October 10 and 11, 2002. WMD was not the only reason we went into Iraq.
Great analysis and comments. I agree.
Well said.
Excellent analysis! You nailed it. Let me add my voice to the others who have already praised this post (I'm still being good and reading slowly, so I'm a little behind today).
What else can be said regarding that amazing post besides....YOU DA MAN.