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Add to NewsvineI think that we all (those on both the left and the right and even you fence sitters in the center) can agree that this is a good thing:
American and Iraqi forces are driving Al-Qaeda in Iraq out of its last redoubt in the north of the country in the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.So much for a defeat in Iraq, Senator Reid. Don't give up your day job to be commander in chief, we don't need someone like you at the helm. We need someone like Bush who will withstand the pressure to retreat until he has obtained victory by defeating our enemies.After being forced from its strongholds in the west and centre of Iraq in the past two years, Al-Qaeda's dwindling band of fighters has made a defiant "last stand" in the northern city of Mosul.
A huge operation to crush the 1,200 fighters who remained from a terrorist force once estimated at more than 12,000 began on May 10.
[...]
American and Iraqi leaders believe that while it would be premature to write off Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni group has lost control of its last urban base in Mosul and its remnants have been largely driven into the countryside to the south.
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
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It is funny that Thomas and ZZ accuse others of name calling. Look at their posts,and their tone.
I would answer the arguments, but it's hard to find them amidst the verbosity in the best Limbaugh-Coulter style. I don't read those parts carefully, I confess. They are boring and we've all heard them from others for years now.
The fact is that nobody answered my argument either. Which was that Iran is the real winner of this war, thanks to the completely inept running of the occupation. the Bush administration has shown itself to be completely unable to govern competently, which is why Obama will win in November. Is Obama perfect? I don't believe so, be will be willing to look at facts and govern in a pragmatic fashion, which is a lot more than the Bush administration has done.
Flame away, if it makes you feel better. I do not care for the approval of people who support an openly corrupt and incompetant administration.
Posted by: RG | July 7, 2008 12:49 AM
"WRONG...as usual. While war always results in a temporary period of destabilization, those adhering to and sympathetic to Al Qaeda's doctrine WERE present in Iraq. Saddam's ability to squelch such opposition was successful as a terrorist himself. Even terrorist can be rule by other terrorist. However, these allegiants and sympathizers that eventually enlisted with AQ are now decimated as have been reported. So claiming the ground became fertile and that is why suddenly and magically AQ appears is not just naive but historically ignorant."
yes, wrong you are. i hate to break it to you, but the guy that made the same claims that you desperately cling to has long been gone from the bush administration. yes, your buddy rummy made these claims and had no evidence of al qaeda in iraq prior to the u.s. invasion. now, if you're referring to al-tawhid led by al-zarqawi, yes he was in northern iraq for about a year before we invaded, but his group was not tied to al qaeda and even competed against al qaeda before we gave them a common purpose. intelligence groups from several countries have confirmed this, along with the fact that saddam himself was trying to capture al-zarqawi.
mr. thomas needs to be schooled before his next preschool class resumes. i suggest that he reads up here before spreading debunked rumors and neocon propaganda. they've done a lot of legwork for you (complete with references), so you only need to be able to read. good luck, guy.
"Sorry but you are behind in your talking points, they have met most of the political benchmarks."
check your facts, michele. more than half have been put into legislation, but less than a third have been enacted in real practice. for the white house to say that 15 of 18 benchmarks are "satisfactory" is just a little too good to be true. after all, it's the constant overly optimistic assessment of iraq from the white house that causes people to ignore him now. if you're still taking your talking points from the white house (or their propaganda outlets like fox news), then you're sadly misinformed!
Posted by: anonymous reincarnate | July 7, 2008 1:12 AM
Michele McGinty : "If that's the case, aren't you glad they went there to fight us then? That way we could demonstrate that they could be defeated which is pretty big in a shame based society."
Here I have to agree with you. The Suni Arabs turning against Al Qeuda is a win since it dimishes Al Queda in the eyes of other Muslims. That might happend in Afganistan too, but since it happend in Iraq first I'll concede this point.
Michele McGinty : "Sorry but you are behind in your talking points, they have met most of the political benchmarks. Who do you think is leading the attacks against not only al Qaeda but the Mahdi army."
The progress against the political benchmarks is up for debate. The Pentagon says one thing while the GAO says another. Knowing how large bureaucracies work I'd be less willing to trust the Pentagon report because no one likes to give his boss bad news.
Posted by: MH | July 7, 2008 9:33 AM
"That might happend in Afganistan too, but since it happend in Iraq first I'll concede this point."
The fact that the Taliban along with al Qaeda was ousted from power in days not months and years as everyone thought and they were forced into hiding shows that we did do it in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Michele McGinty | July 7, 2008 5:19 PM
"The fact that the Taliban along with al Qaeda was ousted from power in days not months and years as everyone thought and they were forced into hiding shows that we did do it in Afghanistan."
We had a quick military victory in Iraq too, but Al Queda took root afterwards. So I think it is more complicated then that. It seems like it is a question of how much support they have in the local population.
I think the bombing outside the Indian embassy in Afghanistan today shows there is still support for Al Qaeda there. Which is pretty unfortunate.
Posted by: MH | July 7, 2008 8:41 PM
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