Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Several Unconnected Thoughts On Iraq
BREITBART.COM - Gunmen Kidnap Up to 150 in Baghdad: "The abductions were the most brazen attack yet on Iraqi academics, who have often been targeted by insurgents. Recent weeks have seen a university dean and prominent Sunni geologist murdered, bringing the death toll among educators to at least 155 since the war began.
Thousands of professors and researchers have fled to neighboring countries to escape the lawlessness and sectarian strife, robbing the country of its brain trust.
The academics apparently were singled out for their relatively high public stature, vulnerability and known views on controversial issues in a climate of deepening Islamic fundamentalism."
I know it sounds naive, but sometimes I forget that our enemy is so anti-intellect. I don't know what is going to happen, and am certainly not naive enough to have an opinion based on just an action like this one. I am, however, worried that we will be somehow forced into withdraw, allowing the kinds of people that did this free reign over the vulnerable and unarmed of Iraq. I can't blame the Iraqi's who want us to leave, but I can see fault in their desire. They still need us there, and we still need to be there (for their interest and our own). These are people that claimed a victory when Americans voted in a Democratic Congress. I am not opposed to a split government (in fact, I prefer it), but if they can claim victory from that, a withdraw would give them a victory even in my mind. I was also thinking this morning that it would further prove that America cannot win a guerilla war. In football, when there is a weak quarterback, the opposing defense sacks him as many times as possible. In war, our enemies will never again engage us in a traditional war. They will know that our weakness is guerilla war, and approach us that way. They would be unwise to take any other approach. I just hope that we don't teach the world how to win a war against us again.
Thousands of professors and researchers have fled to neighboring countries to escape the lawlessness and sectarian strife, robbing the country of its brain trust.
The academics apparently were singled out for their relatively high public stature, vulnerability and known views on controversial issues in a climate of deepening Islamic fundamentalism."
I know it sounds naive, but sometimes I forget that our enemy is so anti-intellect. I don't know what is going to happen, and am certainly not naive enough to have an opinion based on just an action like this one. I am, however, worried that we will be somehow forced into withdraw, allowing the kinds of people that did this free reign over the vulnerable and unarmed of Iraq. I can't blame the Iraqi's who want us to leave, but I can see fault in their desire. They still need us there, and we still need to be there (for their interest and our own). These are people that claimed a victory when Americans voted in a Democratic Congress. I am not opposed to a split government (in fact, I prefer it), but if they can claim victory from that, a withdraw would give them a victory even in my mind. I was also thinking this morning that it would further prove that America cannot win a guerilla war. In football, when there is a weak quarterback, the opposing defense sacks him as many times as possible. In war, our enemies will never again engage us in a traditional war. They will know that our weakness is guerilla war, and approach us that way. They would be unwise to take any other approach. I just hope that we don't teach the world how to win a war against us again.
