[antimedia] antimedia:

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Posted by antimedia:

http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1184214691.shtml


   ....completely [1]out of touch our Senators are? We are winning the
   war in Iraq. The surge is working. Iraqis have turned on Al Qaeda in
   huge number and with good reason.

     The focus on al Qaeda makes sense here, where local officials have
     gone on record acknowledging that most of the perhaps one thousand
     al Qaeda fighters in Baqubah were young men and boys who called the
     city home. This may clash with the perception in US and other media
     that only a small percentage of the enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda,
     which in turn leads to false conclusions that the massive offensive
     campaign underway across Iraq is a lot of shock and awe aimed at a
     straw enemy. But as more Sunni tribal leaders renounce former ties
     with al Qaeda, itâs becoming clearer just how heavily AQ relied on
     local talent, and how disruptive they have been here in fomenting
     the civil war.
     Al Qaedaâs recruiting efforts in Baqubah were not much different
     than what they used in Mosul as 2004 changed into 2005 and Iraqâs
     first elections loomed. (I was in Baqubah at that time.) I wrote
     about how thugs and gangs and fugitive fundamentalists on the run
     from Fallujah flooded into Mosul and murdered people by the
     hundreds. Al Qaeda had excellent publicity and media teams and a
     sales pitch that worked effectively for a long time. But the reason
     for Zawahiriâs recent desperate recruiting drive is the fact that
     AQ values in action have turned local people against them. We are
     not always fighting AQ on the battlefield because they can be so
     difficult to find, but month by month, year by year, we can destroy
     them on the moral battlefield; they are savages and most people can
     see it.
     Over here, the fact of al Qaeda murdering children is just that:
     itâs a fact. How they chose to commit the murders is a variable
     that changes from incident to incident. Iâve written often about
     how Iraqis, as a rule, love and greatly value their children. This
     makes the children especially vulnerable as targets for terrorists.
     That is a brutal fact.
     Al Qaeda drinks and uses drugs here. This is not propaganda. This
     is not even news, itâs a fact that I wrote about back in 2005.
     Zarqawi, the now-dead former leader of AQI, was best known for
     causing the deaths of thousands or tens of thousands of Iraqis, and
     raping women all over the land and over in Jordan. Whether Zarqawi
     raped women from village to village, or one woman from each
     village, I do not know. But Zarqawi cultivated his image like a
     pro. Rape and murder were his trademarks.

   The [2]facts are available. Our Senators are ignoring them.

     In Washington perception is often mistaken for reality. And as
     Congress prepares for a fresh debate on Iraq, the perception many
     members have is that the new strategy has already failed.
     This isn't an accurate reflection of what is happening on the
     ground, as I saw during my visit to Iraq in May. Reports from the
     field show that remarkable progress is being made. Violence in
     Baghdad and Anbar Province is down dramatically, grassroots
     political movements have begun in the Sunni Arab community, and
     American and Iraqi forces are clearing al Qaeda fighters and Shiite
     militias out of long-established bases around the country.
     This is remarkable because the military operation that is making
     these changes possible only began in full strength on June 15. To
     say that the surge is failing is absurd. Instead Congress should be
     asking this question: Can the current progress continue?

   Congress is too busy asking the President why he fired fifteen lawyers
   and trying to figure out how to woo the Hispanic vote by pandering
   over immigration to worry about national security. (Hat tip to
   [3]Blackfive.)
   Tags: [4]Iraq [5]surge [6]Al Qaeda [7]losing

References

   1. http://michaelyon-online.com/wp/al-qaeda-on-the-run-feasting-on-the-moveable-beast.htm
   2. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010320
   3. http://www.blackfive.net/main/2007/07/mike-yons-al-qa.html
   4. http://technorati.com/tag/Iraq
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/surge
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Al%20Qaeda
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/losing