Winning In Iraq & Afghanistan

While I was disappointed McCain lost the Presidential election, the results of the 2008 election didn't matter nearly as much to me as they mattered to me in 2004. In 2004, I felt that Bush had to win for one primary reason, the United States had to win the Iraq War.

It wasn't about defending the war. I still remember the day when it became fairly definitive that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I thought the Republican Party would pay for that misstep (and they did), but I wanted the payback to come after the 2004 election.

I realize people have all kinds of different opinions about war, but the situation in Iraq seemed starkly real to me - if the United States pulled out before defeating the insurgency then Iraq would likely become a base camp for Al Qaeda, a full blown terrorist state bent on our destruction.

Thankfully (at least for me) Bush won and he stubbornly saw it through in Iraq (as I knew he would) and by all accounts the United States along with the Iraqi people are in the process of securing the country.

An independent author, writer, and blogger Micheal Yon writes a powerful account in his most recent blog entry about what he observed during his most recent trip to Iraq. While Yom is a biased supporter of the military he has also been very critical of military leadership in Iraq and has twice been barred from traveling there. Yom also writes candidly in the same post about the war we are currently losing in Afghanastan.

About Iraq:

The Iraq war is over. Barring the unforeseen, the darkest days are behind, though we are still losing soldiers to low-level fighting with enemies that are true “dead-enders.” Last month we lost seven Americans in combat in Iraq. Peace, however, is not upon us. Another thirty or so Iraqis died today in suicide attacks. Nobody suffers more at the hands of Islamic terrorists than other Muslims.

About Afghanistan:

Our enemies are winning. The enemies know it. We know it. Who are they? The Taliban, with its deep local roots is enemy number one. Al Qaeda is hanging around to make trouble. Some Paks, who don't want to see a thriving Pushtun state on their border, are our enemies. They fund and shelter the Taliban even though we rely on them to help us defeat it. Nothing is straightforward in this part of the world. We have other enemies in Afghanistan who hate the Taliban.

Yom also writes about the challenge Obama will face in Afghanistan:

Whatever else, Mr. President-elect, this is no time to go wobbly. It is important to note that some top British and U.S. commanders believe that we can make a “success” out of Afghanistan. We’ve learned a few things over the past seven years. We’ve truly got a “dream-team” of military commanders with great in-theater experience, to advise and guide the next phase. They saved Iraq. Use them well, Sir.

President-elect Obama says he is serious about Afghanistan. (Just don’t fumble Iraq, please.) As he must be learning in intelligence briefings, it's going to be tough stuff. It will be like solving a human Rubik’s Cube during a firefight while the media screams every time you make a wrong move – or what is perceived as a wrong move, and there is a clock ticking and at some unknown point the cube self-destructs.