Al Qaeda's hope

Cliff May:

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Petraeus has redeployed American troops out of fortified Forward Operating Bases and into such cities as Ramadi and Fallujah. It was widely expected that putting more Americans in more vulnerable places would mean more casualties. In fact, American combat deaths have dropped by half in the three months since the U.S. forces reached full strength.

Why? Petraeus has provided security for Iraqis - a mission that American troops were not performing before his arrival. In return, Iraqis are helping provide security for American troops. They also have been providing the actionable intelligence needed to fight effectively against AQI, the common enemy.

And that brings us to the other way the U.S. is now damaging al-Qaeda: in the war of ideas. The news is getting out that Iraqi Arab Muslims are freely choosing to align with Americans and against al-Qaeda.

This calls into question al-Qaeda’s ideology and even its legitimacy – its claim to be the champion and protector of the world’s Muslims. If Muslims in the heart of the Middle East reject al-Qaeda and side with Americans, that sends a message to Muslims around the world that al-Qaeda is neither invincible nor unchallengeable. If the tribes of Anbar are not giving up their traditions and customs to embrace bin Laden’s version of Islam, why should Indonesians and Bosnians?

We now have a chance to seriously degrade AQI – which American intelligence calls the “most visible and capable [al-Qaeda] affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the [U.S] Homeland.” We now have a chance to deliver a painful physical, psychological and intellectual blow to global al-Qaeda -- to demonstrate who the “strong horse” really is.

Al-Qaeda’s hope: that Congress will save them by legislating America’s retreat from Iraq; that lawmakers in Washington will vote to stop fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq and to abandon those Iraqis who have been fighting with us and relying on us.

Six years after 9/11/01, in the midst of a global conflict against al-Qaeda and its enablers, is there a more serious mistake we could make?

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I have made a similar analysis here before, but Cliff expresses it well and it is comforting to see that other smart people agree with my analysis. We have al Qaeda in retreat and they only thing that can save them now is Democrats. They will do their worst to undermine the forces and people trying to defeat al Qaeda. They have staked their credibility on losing in Iraq and they will do whatever they can to accomplish that objective. If you think that is in the national interest you should be reading the Daily Kos.