Warner's bad idea

Ralph Peters:

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is one of the great states men of our time, a man of integrity and devotion to our country. He's never been a mere politician - the sort who regard a visit to our troops as a campaign photo op.

But this time he's wrong.

The senator's appeal to President Bush to announce U.S. troop withdrawals reflects the frustration we all feel with the inept, craven and destructive government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki has been the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time, and Bush needs to suck it up and accept that much.

But Sen. Warner is only looking at part of the picture - what I'd call the "Green Zone view." He's got target-lock on the Baghdad government's failings, and, a titan of government himself, he can't get beyond the perfidy, greed and sectarian viciousness of Iraq's politicians.

But the future of Iraq's government is, frankly, less than half of the equation at this point. Whatever may have been the situation is 2003, today Iraq is the main front in the war against Islamist terror and fanaticism. Our enemies have made it so.

Of the two simultaneous missions under way - maturing a responsible government and advancing our own strategic interests - the latter is far more important. In fact, it's vital. And on that track, we're making stunning progress.

Out here in Anbar Province, al Qaeda did what religion-driven extremists always do eventually - they over-reached, setting the bar so high that nonfanatics couldn't measure up (nor did they want to). The terrorists responded with a campaign of slaughter against their fellow Muslims.

Now the Sunni Arabs who were fighting so bitterly against us are fighting beside us to destroy al Qaeda in Iraq. And the terrorists are going down.

Out here in Anbar Province - long the most troubled in Iraq - the change has come so swiftly and thoroughly that it's dazzling. Marines who were under fire routinely just months ago are now directing their former enemies in battle.

Although this trend has been reported, our battlefield leaders here agree that the magnitude of the shift hasn't registered back home: Al Qaeda is on the verge of a humiliating, devastating strategic defeat - rejected by their fellow Sunni Muslims.

If we don't quit, this will not only be a huge practical win - it'll be the information victory we've been aching for.

No matter what the Middle Eastern media might say, everyone in the Arab and greater Sunni Muslim world will know that al Qaeda was driven out of Iraq by a combination of Muslims and Americans.

Think that would help al Qaeda's recruitment efforts? Even now, the terrorists have to resort to lies about their prospective missions to gain recruits.

With the sixth anniversary of 9/11 approaching, how dare we throw away so great a potential victory over those who attacked our country?

Forget the anti-war nonsense you hear. The truth is that our troops want to continue this struggle. I know. I'm here. And I'm listening to what they have to say. They're confident as never before that we're on the right path.

Should we rob them of their victory now and enhance al Qaeda by giving them a free win? How can we even contemplate quitting now?

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It is probably time for Warner to withdraw from politics. He has spent too much time listening to Sen. Levin rather than to the commanders who know something about military operations in Iraq. Like, for instance, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch who politely suggest the idea of withdrawals before the end of the year is nuts.

A top Army commander in Iraq yesterday said Iran's Revolutionary Guard is trying to disrupt U.S. military gains by ramping up weapons and training support for radical Shi'ite groups.

"We are up against a new wave of lethality sponsored by the enemies of the people of Iraq and its government," said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of a division in central Iraq.

He emphasized that withdrawing troops from Iraq would be a "giant step backward" — a day after Republican Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia recommended a basically symbolic pullout of some troops by Christmas.

"We are finding Iranian-made munitions and weapons systems throughout our area," Gen. Lynch said. "[T]he fact remains we have a 125-mile border with Iran in the Wasat province, and that continues to be a concern."

Gen. Lynch's comments came a day after an updated intelligence report from 16 agencies said "measurable" security improvements have been made in the war-torn region since January that require continued military pressure.

White House officials yesterday said Iranian involvement in Iraq runs contrary to Iran's recent assertions that it will support peace in the region.

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Yes, the Iranians are duplicitous liars who should not be believed when they talk about Iraq or Israel. And they should not be permitted the greater access to make mischief that would occur by premature withdrawal of forces.