Bryan Strawser

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Terrorism

Froggy writes of the future

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Froggy has some clear thoughts on the future course of the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan and the current political stance of the “loyal” opposition:

Contrary to the pleadings of Cindy Sheehan et al, the only way to view our combat losses in Iraq as a waste would be to cut and run before affording our soldiers the opportunity to complete the mission they have given their all for. In that vein, we now have the most lethal and battle tested military we have ever fielded which may well come in handy down the road. The synergistic effect of our unrivaled military proficiency coupled with the strategic and diplomatic effect of our victory in Iraq will serve as a powerful bargaining chip against the intransigent regimes that continue to threaten us.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Bush didn’t lie, but that is hardly a reason to withdraw even if he had. Moreover, the Democrats know this which makes their protestations all the more craven and politically motivated. The fact that a major political party and its adherents are willing to trade victory and by extension the sacrifices of our troops for political power will attest to their eternal shame. Fortunately, President Bush and our military are not about to let that happen.

al-Zarqawi killed?

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The Jerusalem Post is reporting that al-Zarqawi is dead:

At least one Arab television media outlet reported that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq, was killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred after coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding.

Let us hope that the little rat-fucker is dead.

Hat tip: LGF

Lex: Eyes Wide Open

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Want to get a glimpse as to what Iraq might look like should we leave?

Check out Lex’s latest:

You think winning is hard? You should see what losing looks like.

Don’t pretend we couldn’t see it coming. Don’t pretend you didn’t have your part in it, one way or the other.

Eyes wide open.

MG Webster speaks his mind

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In today’s Washington Post, Major General William Webmaster had a few words to say about setting a date to leave Iraq:

A top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday denounced calls by some U.S. senators and others for a deadline on withdrawal from Iraq, calling that “a recipe for disaster” for the 2 -year-old war.

“Setting a date would mean that the 221 soldiers I’ve lost this year, that their lives will have been lost in vain,” said Maj. Gen. William Webster, whose 3rd Infantry Division is responsible for security in three-fourths of Iraq’s capital.

Do you want to see the deed through to the end? Or do you want to set a date to come home?

You can’t have both.

The right thing to do is to see this through to the end – a free Iraq that is able to protect itself both internally and externally from those that would wish a democratic government ill.

That might be three months from now, it could be three years from now, it may be ten years from now.

Setting an arbitrary date is ignorant, stupid, ill-conceived, and certainly doesn’t support the troops.

Want to have a reason for over two thousand men and women to have died in vain? Set a date to go home before the battle is won.

2000

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There’s something deep in me that wanted to write about the 2,000th death of an American servicemember in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but the words simply weren’t coming.

Then tonight, I read Lex’s post “On Tragedy and Round Numbers”. And he said all that I was thinking and then some.

I don’t want to lose this war because we lack the will to fight it.

Minneapolis & St. Paul PD Strike Team in New Orleans

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What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper?

If you’re a law enforcement officer in Minnesota, it means getting a company like Target to donate supplies and resources – and shuttling down an entire strike team of officers to New Orleans to help out:

We are rolling, all 70 or so vehicles. We are running a little late so I called NOPD to let them know. The officer’s response was, “When ya’ll get here we’re gonna kiss ya! We just crossed into Louisiana. Seeing a lot of military vehicles going north. Storm damage is increasing. Seeing a lot of trees down along the highway. Driving too fast to get some good photos.

This email from a resident of Mississippi is featured on their 9/16 update page.

Dear Sir or Madam:

On my way to work today I saw a long-ish line of police-type vehicles, & as I made my turn I could see on their sides “Minneapolis”!

Please extend our sincere thanks to all of the folks from Minneapolis, as well as Bloomington, Ramsey County, Roseville, and Maplewood, who have come down to help, and to those who are pitching in at home to make their trip possible.

Thanks!!
Robert

It has to be quite a sight to see 70 Minnesota Police cars flying down the highway towards New Orleans….

Lileks: 9/11

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As usual, Lileks says it far better than I ever can:

I have less to say on the fourth anniversary, because I’m not sure what needs to be said. You get it or you don’t, and if the passage of time has made the lessons indistinct, a picture of that September morning will look as remote as a screen grab from “Tora Tora Tora.” As Mark Steyn put it, we are winning the war on terrorism, but perhaps we are losing the war about the war. I’ve seen this happen for a year and a half – hell, since the first reports of Quagmire and the Brutal Afghan Winter. Between the incessant pessimism, the lack of focus, the interminable litany of sins from Abu Ghraib to Gitmo, the tepid wind-chimey spirit of the memorial culture that would rather put a vague sorrowful half-circle in a Pennsylvania field than a monument to courage and half-crazy bravery – well, the floorboards where our betters live are rotten with doubt, and they hear fatal creaks every time they dare take a step. So there’s not much point in wondering where this will go, because it’s already there – and the next time IT happens, we will not wait a month or two before the doubts and attacks begin. A London or Madrid-style attack will expose our divisions more than our solidarities, at least in the media. Anything worse will make such chatterings irrelevant, and as attractive as that sounds, you really don’t want that.

[…]

I wish they’d build it again. The same two towers. Because we can. Because they can’t.