"I believe myself that the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and - you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows - [know] this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq..." Harry Reid (D-NV)Sen. Reid thinks of himself as one who speaks unpopular truths (See JINSA Report #640). But he isn’t and he’s not too smart either. Of course there is “extreme violence in Iraq” – there is a WAR on! Which begs the questions: WHO is responsible, WHAT do they want, HOW would it impact upon American and allied security in the future, and WHY don’t Sen. Reid and the timeline-pushers appear to care?
WHO: Iran, Syria, al-Qaeda in Iraq (Sunni radicals formerly aligned with tribal leaders in Anbar, but now on their own), former Ba’athists and the Saudis. If we lost, they won.
WHAT: Control of Iraq as a power/oil center and as part of the larger spread of Sunni or Shiite radicalism, whichever wins. They target civilians because they can and Sen. Reid will say, “There’s extreme violence. We’ve lost the war. Let’s get out of there.”
THE IMPACT: If Sen. Reid has his way and we pull out, Iraq will suffer ever more.
