Posted by
starboardtack on Monday, August 28, 2006 5:47:18 AM
What was National Geographic Saying?
Tonight's National Geographic Exposes on the 9/11 attacks "Inside 9/11" gave support to the obvious notion that Osama Binladen’s purpose was to draw the US, “the last remaining Super Power”, into a lost cause for ambush in the tricky backcountry where the other "Evil Empire" of the Soviet flavor was defeated. Vietnam comes to mind for both he and us. That being said there are two important reasons for also ousting Hussein's regime in support of the Afghanistan effort that I have not heard addressed by anyone.
The Bush strategy team chose to attack Iraq (WMD's and UN Sanctions aside) as a follow up to the liberation of Afghanistan for very good strategic reasons: 1) Afghanistan, land locked and enveloped by Iran and the “no mans land” of Western Pakistan, is an almost unsustainable campaign on it’s own. 2) If Saddam Hussein was left in Iraq, riding the collapse of the UN sanctions, he and the Mullahs of Iran would be tripping over each other to support the Taliban/Al Qaeda against us, putting the US and Pakistan in a very untenable situation, and scaring off NATO.
I would not be surprised if Pakistan’s Musharrif insisted, even in our gravest hour, that we commit to a second front, before he would stick his neck out to support our efforts. What ever that has been and what that may be, is priceless.
I find it interesting/disingenuous that most Dems/Liberals can support the Afghanistan campaign but can’t see the obvious need for success in Iraq. Just transfer the body count to Afghanistan and the outcry would be the same. The Karzai government has enough problems, but without Global Jihad they now have potential.
The fact that we have diverted the main force of Jihad away from Afghanistan and on to a battlefield, which we can better manage directly through Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, The Emirates and Turkey, has alluded all commentary. It is a bigger prize by all measure and Zarqawi new it. Al Qaeda knows it, as we know it, as Iran knows it. The only ones who don’t get it, is the MSM. Give up Iraq and you give up Afghanistan, and all other friends in the region, period.
The most striking element from the 9/11 airline attacks is the irony that one of our greatest moments, that day, was the sacrifice of the flight 93 passengers, who probably saved the Capitol building. The irony is this: if the plane had hit the “Dome” at least two branches of government would still know we were at war.
Signed
Starboardtack