The state of the war against Al Qaeda
The NYTimes has a huge article indicting the Bush administration for its Al Qaeda policy, painting political infighting and "shifting its sights" to Iraq.
Iraq was a mistake, not only in itself, but also for the opportunity lost. In Fall 2002, we still had the world on our side.
Also of interest are all the plans aborted at the very last minute. Worth a read.
Iraq was a mistake, not only in itself, but also for the opportunity lost. In Fall 2002, we still had the world on our side.
The story of how Al Qaeda, Arabic for "the base," has gained a new haven is in part a story of American accommodation to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, whose advisers played down the terrorist threat. It is also a story of how the White House shifted its sights, beginning in 2002, from counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to preparations for the war in Iraq.
Current and former military and intelligence officials said that the war in Iraq consistently diverted resources and high-level attention from the tribal areas.
Also of interest are all the plans aborted at the very last minute. Worth a read.
posted by mikevotes at
10:12 PM
3 Comments:
And that's the real story, isn't it. The reality is, we've completely botched the actual "war on terror" while we've railed against the largely paper tigers of Sadaam and Ahmadinejad. (not that there aren't very real issues with Iran, but we've been foolish in our attempts to deal with them).
For all our bluster and condemnation of "islamofascists" and "terrorizers," the only thing we have to show for it is... what exactly? What a complete cock up... all in the pursuit of vanity and glory of the Commander in Chief.
By
-epm, at 11:07 AM
Yeah. I think that's going to be the long term historical analysis.
The popular analysis will probably be Iraq was a mistake and it cost so much in lives and money, but the military/historical analysis will look at the opportunity cost.
By
mikevotes, at 3:00 PM
The "money" part will take on increasing significance once Bush leaves office. We haven't seen the half of what Bush has spent on this fiasco due to "national security reasons". We also haven't seen the quid pro quo for China's purchase of so much of our debt.
I agree wrt the "opportunity cost", but I think that the military/historical analysis will be harshly critical of how much the Iraq invasion strengthened Iran's profile at a time when it was on the decline.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 12:30 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home