Posted on 12/31/2008 10:15:17 AM PST by saganite
Barack Obama is a lock as the Man of the Year. His election to the presidency is the story of the year. If popularity is the measure, those choices are hard to contest.
However, if significance is the yardstick, then the 2008 crown goes to Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq and current head of CENTCOM. Not only is his defeat of the Iraqi insurgency the story of the year, how he achieved it is the most underreported story of the year.
I didn't come to this conclusion by comparing achievements. I compared the consequences of failure had either man fallen short of his stated goal.
If Obama had lost the presidency, the milestone of electing a black man to the White House would only have been delayed, possibly by just four years. Had Petraeus failed to rescue the coalition from the precipice of defeat, the catastrophic repercussions would have been numerous and far-reaching.
They include a probable civil war that would have claimed thousands of Iraqi lives. Iran would have emerged unchecked as the Middle East's most dominant power. And defeat would have defined American foreign and military policy for decades to come, just as it did after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Thanks to Petraeus, Iraq isn't a major problem for the new president. The security and political gains provided by the surge are practically irreversible. Al-Qaida in Iraq is operationally dead. Muqtada al-Sadr has shown himself militarily impotent and politically incompetent. Sunni militias, including the famed Sons of Iraq, are now transferring from coalition to Iraqi army control. By tomorrow, 76 percent of Sons of Iraq members will be under Iraqi jurisdiction in four key provinces, including Diyala.
The only real threat to the continued evolution of Iraqi democracy would be a premature withdrawal of U.S forces. President-elect Obama needs to talk to retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, his nominee to head Veterans Affairs, about the perils of having too few troops on the ground to accomplish the job.
A strong, democratic Iraq will be vital to Obama in confronting Iran. Today, Iran doesn't face a credible military threat. The U.S. lacks the manpower or bases to do much beyond launching air strikes. The same holds true for Israel. Ironically, the only real military deterrent to Iran's interests, including acquiring or using nuclear weapons, could be Iraq.
Retired Gen. Jack Keane recently told the American Enterprise Institute that in short order the Iraqi military will be able to handle its own internal security and can turn its attention to defending the nation from outside threats. Historically, Iran has been one of those threats. I doubt that will change.
A strong, democratic Iraq could also provide an economic counterbalance to the oil influence exerted by Saudi Arabia. Ranking right up there with the discovery that Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction was the surprise that he had neglected Iraq's oil infrastructure and allowed it to deteriorate into considerable disrepair. With the inevitable modernization and investment that have just begun, some oil analysts are predicting that, given today's exploration and extraction technology, Iraq's oil reserves could rival and possibly exceed those of the Saudis.
When these advantages materialize, we will be indebted to Petraeus. However, the most significant lesson to be learned from his and his troops' success in 2008 might be the hardest for the Obama administration to learn, given the nomination of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. That lesson is that unilateral military action is far more effective than multilateral diplomacy.
Africans are dying in the Sudan because of the ineffectiveness of multilateral diplomacy. Iran strengthened its nuclear capability while at the same time negotiating containment with the European Union. A lack of commitment by NATO countries allowed Afghanistan to spiral down to the verge of becoming a lawless state.
Guess who has been called in to rescue Afghanistan? It's not the blue helmets of the United Nations.
It's the cowboys of the U.S. military and my choice for 2008 Man of the Year, CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus.
come one. the universe is Obama’s bee-otch.
Good article. Thanks for posting it.
He doesn’t look like the successor to MacArthur does he? He’s easily our most succesful General since Doug though.
Excellent piece and on the mark!
Petraeus is a leader and a patriot. Obama is just a talker and mystery man. The only reason Obama prevailed is because of his skin shade and devious bullsh!t which has swooned all the fools and Liberals (but, I repeat myself).
I'd wager Petraeus would beat the snot out of Obama next year as well if this Man of the Year award was done honestly. But it isn't.
The MSM will not tell the true story of David Petraeus. Just like they will never tell the true story of how the Democrats almost brought Defeat to Iraq and a Melt down in the Middle East.
Obama may have a lot on his plate but he doesn’t have to deal with the threats posed by the madman Saddam Hussein in a Post 911 world. Thank You George W. Bush.
I keep comparing Bush Administration and his generals in Iraq with Lincoln and his generals in the Civil War.
From the start of the civil war until 1864 when Lincoln finally went with General’s Grant and Sherman the civil war was a terrible disaster that cost tens of thousands of lives more than it would have had the Union had Generals like Grant and Sherman in charge from the start. Prior to Grant and Sherman, the north had every advantage except the better generals.
In the USA during peace time the warriors are pushed to the bottom while the paper pushing chairwarmers rise to the top. From Burnside to Hooker to Howe the northern generals were not a pimple of Robert E. Lee’s rump. It had not changed by 2003. WE lucked out during Bush 1. Startzkoff was both a good pencil pusher and a great general. That is rare. It was also after 8 years of Reagan... who knew the difference between warriors and pencil pushers.
As for the Civil war when Grant was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac the nothern victories started. Sherman’s march though Georgia showed the civilian population of the South that there were real consequences to rebellion.
At the time of Lincolns death, there were literally millions of Americans who thought of him as an inept and poor quality president.
Today he is considered to be in the top 2.
Lincoln was followed by a an inept and largely unqualified successor. By contrast Lincoln started to look much better in hindsight.
The same thing will happen to Bush but Bush will be alive to enjoy the restoration of his reputation.
The more I look at Obama the more I see a man unable to make real decisions on partial information. Yet a president making good decisions based on partial information is what has separated the good presidents from the bad.
Obama is really a man with little self confidence in his own judgement. He is like a man standing on a ship beside a life boat and a churning sea. He cannot decide to get in the boat until he is certain the ship is sinking. If his head is above water he is not sure the ship sinking.
We are in for 4 years of delayed reaction to events and no pre emptive actions at all. You can bet the terrorists have this figured out. All they have to do is make it partially unclear about what nation or organiztion sponsored them and Obama will not know how to respond.
We may have a lousy 4 years in store.
Thanks for your very good and well thought out post.
The comparison of The Civil War and the Iraq war is a good one. It’s a shame that the early successes of Gen Petraeus in Northern Iraq was not recognized sooner though maybe they were by the then current commanders who ignored them. We are all fortunate he was finally given command with the go ahead to put his plan into action.
I believe you pretty well summed up Obama and his inability to act on anything of importance, he’s inept IMO. I think we’re definitely in for a lousy 4 years.
What critics of the war overlook is not just the danger Hussein composed then, but what would happen when he died. Undoubtedly his two crazy sons would have tried to take over and most likely would have given more latitude to the Al-Qaeda forces already in Iraq. Or Sadr might have taken over and given us another mullah-ruled country like Iran. We don't have to worry about that now.
PETRAEUS FOR PRESIDENT!!!
Petreaus has an opportunity to be president if foreign affairs are at the top of the agenda next time around. However, does anyone know his political leanings? He could run as a Democrat and if he is apolitical he may very well choose to go with the party most likely to get him elected.
If the economy is still in the toilet by next election he will look less appealing but may be suitable as a running mate for someone.
Huh? While Petraeus is in cami fatigues, it must be remembered that Il supremo wore wash khakis his entire career drawing a clear distinction between office boy generals in suits and real soldiers who fought in the field.
I meant he doesn’t have the regal bearing that MacArthur had if that pic is any indication. He looks like a regular guy. I’m aware of MacArthur’s famous battlefield courage despite the slurs he endured if that’s what you’re saying. I read An American Caesar which was a very good book and portrayed MacArthur in a fairly positive light.
Maybe he’ll get the chance to point out to her the successes he’s enjoyed in Iraq when she visits Afghanistan.
When she called him a liar at the hearing, I so wished he told her that it took some chutzpah for a Clinton to call anyone else a liar.
She succeeded in showing to the world the lowlife that she is and Gen Petraeus showing restraint confirmed what a gentleman he is.
We may have a lousy 4 years in store.
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Isn’t that about like saying we may have weather tomorrow?
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