Current Strategy in Iraq
See Frederick Kagan's
testimony to Congress on current Iraq strategy. He makes it clear that we are in the second phase of a three phase operation. The first phase was the surge in Baghdad and the establishment of outposts deep in what is considered to be enemy territory. The second phase is ongoing - Operation Phantom Thunder - which is aimed at disrupting Al Qaeda in the outer belts around Baghdad. The heaviest action is in Baquba, capital of the Diyala province which lies northeast of Baghdad. The third phase will be a clear and hold operation in Baghdad in late July or early August.
Therefore, pronouncing the new strategy a failure is foolish and shortsighted. There is
light at the end of the tunnel.
An Unholy Mess
It looks like the immigration bill of 2007 is going down the same path as Hillary's health care in 1993. The more the public finds out about the specifics of the bill (
this article is helpful) the more distasteful it becomes.
The similarities are eerie. Hillary formed a super-secret task force to draft the legislation, letting out the details of her proposal at the last minute so as to avoid scrutiny. The Democrats and the Bush Administration formed this legislation together, without drafting the bill through the committee process (and thus subjecting it to debate), and tried to push it through at the very end of the legislative session. It was proposed right before the Memorial Day recess, and subsequently Harry Reid has been threatening senators that he would make them give up their July 4th (one week) break so as to pass this bill.
In both cases, conservative intellectuals dissected the actual language of the bill (brushing aside the hyperbole and ad hominem attacks of its proponents), exposed it to the American public, and the bill tanked almost immediately. The approval rating for this bill currently is at 22%, which is lower than President Bush (and higher than for the Democratic Congress!).
Stick a fork in the amnesty bill - it's done. While we're at it - let's stick a fork in President Bush, too. He made the decision to alienate his last supporters in this country, both verbally ("
they don't want what's best for America") and legislatively, and he is reaping the whirlwind.
4 Modest Proposals for Iraq
From Dan Simmons (hat tip:
Michael Totten). Although I don't agree with everything in it (Simmons would probably describe me as closer to a "Dead-Ender" than anything else), this is an
interesting and thoughtful analysis. In particular, I found the evolution of IED warfare and our tactics to counter each iteration highly interesting.
Fight on the Right
On May 25th, Linda Chavez wrote a column - "
Latino Fear and Loathing" - about how opponents of the immigration bill are racist. Keep in mind that this is coming from a conservative. People became upset. To show you why, here are a few highlights:
- "What is said today of the Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans and others was once said of Germans, Swedes, the Irish, Italians, Poles, Jews and others. The only difference is that in the past, the xenophobes could speak freely, unconstrained by a veneer of political correctness. Today, they speak more cautiously, so they talk about the rule of law, national security, amnesty, whatever else they think might make their arguments less racially charged."
- "Where once the xenophobes could advocate forced sterilization and eugenics coupled with virtually shutting off legal immigration from "undesirable" countries, now they must be content with building walls, putting troops on the border, rounding up illegal aliens on the job and deporting them, passing local ordinances to signal their distaste for immigrants' multi-family living arrangements, and doing whatever else they can to drive these people back where they came from."
After a huge backlash - predictable, since she compared immigration bill opponents to eugenicists (among other things) - Chavez wrote
the following column on National Review Online, where she mildly backed off of some of her comments, but then proceeded to call NRO contributors racist. Here is
their response.
It'd be great if supporters of the immigration bill had better arguments than simple ad hominem attacks. I think this debate shows the differences between the two sides (even on the right!) clearly.
Interestingly, the other big fight on the right also involves NRO. They have taken issue with the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal (another conservative bastion), who are very much in favor of the immigration bill. Anyhow, NRO challenged the WSJ to a debate about it and the WSJ refused (after a prolonged period of public silence), saying it was nothing but a "publicity stunt".
The East Coast Buildings Plot
More than you ever wanted to know about the intelligence, relentlessness, and meticulousness of Al Qaeda operatives. This is a detailed account of plans to take down the Citigroup building, the New York Stock Exchange, the IMF building, World Bank headquarters, and the Prudential Plaza.
Let's be glad we stopped these guys.
Hard Times
Michael Yon - embedded with the U.S. military in Iraq - writes of the
upcoming offensive against Al Qaeda in Iraq. It is purported to be the largest military operation since the invasion in 2003.
Here is his first
short dispatch from the offensive.
See also Bill Roggio's
narrative on the fight - if you want to be informed about Iraq.
Al Qaeda surrender?
With the threat of an Iraq pull-out,
anything is possible.
A Corrupt Iraqi General
Read Michael Yon's
riveting account of the unscripted takedown of an Iraqi general. He's the one in the middle, and the U.S. soldier to his right arrested him moments after this photo was taken.
Is China supplying arms to terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Bill Gertz says they are,
through Iran. Looks like some Defense Department officials are pretty upset about it.
Alberto Gonzalez - pool salesman?
This one had me rolling around on the floor laughing.
I am no fan of Gonzalez - he has horribly mishandled a routine firing at the Justice department and handed Bush another big political problem in the process. However, I think firing him would be a disastrous move for Bush politically - which is why it hasn't been done yet. I read an article recently which pointed out that Nixon's firing of his attorney general after Watergate essentially brought about an end to his presidency. In the politically charged atmosphere of the investigation, Congress wasn't about to confirm a new attorney general without assurances that the new AG would appoint a special counsel and investigate the heck out of Nixon. Checkmate - Nixon acceded to this demand, the investigation continued with new vigor - and he was gone as President not long thereafter.
The same scenario could possibly occur with the pool salesman - Gonzalez is fired and Democrats refuse to confirm a new AG who will not pledge to appoint a special prosecutor (think Patrick Fitzgerald with a MUCH larger mandate) to investigate the Iraq War and our flawed intelligence. If you think things are bad now for Bush, just imagine what this situation would look like.
Therefore - perversely, I might add - Bush is in a situation where he has to defend the guy.
Anyhow, even though I am a Bush supporter (on many issues, not all) - I enjoyed this vicious attack on Gonzalez because of the trouble he has needlessly caused.
