Hartford Courant: JoeMo : "Why we need more troops in Iraq."

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-lieberman0102.artjan02,0,5178716.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped


Why We Need More Troops In Iraq
January 2, 2007
Joseph Lieberman I've just spent 10 days traveling in the Middle East and speaking to leaders there, all of which has made one thing clearer to me than ever: While we are naturally focused on Iraq, a larger war is emerging. On one side are extremists and terrorists - led and sponsored by Iran - and on the other side moderates and democrats supported by the United States. Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

Because of the bravery of many Iraqi and coalition military personnel and the recent coming together of moderate political forces in Baghdad, the war is winnable. We and our Iraqi allies must do what is necessary to win it.

The American people are justifiably frustrated by the lack of progress, and the price paid by our heroic troops and their families has been heavy. But what is needed now, especially in Washington and Baghdad, is not despair but decisive action - and soon.

The most pressing problem we face in Iraq is not an absence of Iraqi political will or American diplomatic initiative, both of which are increasing and improving; it is a lack of basic security. As long as insurgents and death squads terrorize Baghdad, Iraq's nascent democratic institutions cannot be expected to function, much less win the trust of the people. The fear created by gang murders and mass abductions ensures that power will continue to flow to the very thugs and extremists who have the least interest in peace and reconciliation.

This bloodshed, moreover, is not the inevitable product of ancient hatreds. It is the predictable consequence of a failure to ensure basic security and, equally important, of a conscious strategy by al-Qaida and Iran, which have systematically aimed to undermine Iraq's fragile political center. By ruthlessly attacking the Shiites, in particular, over the past three years, al-Qaida has sought to provoke precisely the dynamic of reciprocal violence that threatens to consume the country.

On this point, let there be no doubt: If Iraq descends into full-scale civil war, it will be a tremendous battlefield victory for al-Qaida and Iran. Iraq is the central front in the global and regional war against Islamic extremism.

More at link...



Joseph Lieberman is an independent Democratic senator from Connecticut. A longer version of this article first appeared in The Washington Post.
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PER DU RULES.

[Atman]

1. "..worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001."

They're shameless.



.

[Drum]

2. ...

:puke:

[aquart]

3. So, according to Joe, it's all Iran's fault?

There'd be no revolt against the American invasion except for Iran?

And we've talked Sunni leaders into fighting al qaida which appears to be a wholly Sunni organization from where I sit? Fat freaking chance.

Does this guy even know when he's lying?

[liberalhistorian]

4. FUCK him and FUCK every

idiotic CT voter who pulled the lever for him, EVERY single fucking one of them!

Someone needs to sign him up, stick a gun in his hand and drag his arrogant warmongering ass off to Iraq where he can go kill A-rabs to his heart's content.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

6. You know, I was just wondering - was the gambling Republican

who ran against Joe anti-war? Maybe we should have voted for him instead since Lamont supposedly couldn't win.

[acmavm]

5. Hey Joe, got any kids in your family that you don't mind

sacrificing? Because the rest of America is sick of bleeding and dying for you lying bastards.