This is a very astutely written article that actually articulates why the Iraqi war is providing benefits to the U.S. in our war against terrorism. I've enclosed part of the article below and a link to the entire article.
Shaken and Stirred
By liberating Iraq, the U.S. set the stage for the destruction of Hezbollah.
BY JOSH MANCHESTER Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT The U.S. invasion of Iraq has so shaken and stirred the Middle East that some exceptionally strange things are happening. More importantly, these things unequivocally favor the U.S. in influencing the outcome of the Israeli-Hezbollah War now taking place in Lebanon.
What sorts of strange things? Well, consider an Arab League meeting in Cairo over the weekend, where a fight of sorts broke out. Jed Babbin described it best:
[blockquote]This meeting began with the Lebanese foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh proposing a resolution condemning Israel's military action, supporting Lebanon's "right to resist occupation by all legitimate means"... The Lebanese draft also called on Israel to release all Lebanese prisoners and supported Lebanon's right to "liberate them by all legitimate means."... The Syrian foreign minister, Walid Moallem, strongly supported Lebanon and Hizballah. But an historic obstacle was raised that blocked the Lebanese endorsement of terrorism. The Saudi foreign minister, al-Faisal, led a triumvirate including Egypt and Jordan that, according to the AP report, was "... criticizing the guerilla group's actions, calling them "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts." Faisal said, "These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we simply cannot accept them."... The Arab leaders are frightened that the acts of the terrorists they have coddled for decades might have consequences for them. And they are very frightened of what Iran may do next."
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These regimes would most certainly not be afraid of what Iran may do next if Saddam Hussein still ran Iraq, providing for the Arab world a deterrent against Iran. In fact, this leads to the second strange event of late: Saddam's own comments, as reported in Deutsche Presse-Agentur, about the war in Lebanon:
[blockquote]Toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has issued a warning to the Syrian leadership "not to go too far in its alliance with Iran," blaming Tehran for the current flare-up of violence in the Middle East, the head of Saddam's defence team claimed Tuesday ... "I am convinced that the Iranian and US agendas have met in Iraq and elsewhere in the Arab world and Arabs are now placed between the US-Israeli hammer and the Iranian anvil," Duleimi quoted Saddam as saying.[/blockquote] This is a man whose prized dictatorship was overrun by U.S. forces, who was captured by U.S. forces, and who as a result is on trial for his life. He blames Tehran primarily for the current flare-up, not some Zionist-U.S. conspiracy in the standard rhetoric of the region. Remarkable.
In fact, Saddam is quite astute when he notes that the Arabs are placed between the U.S.-Israeli hammer and the Iranian anvil. Before the U.S. invasion, Iraq was the geostrategic pivot of the Middle East. All of the fault lines in the area's politics converge there. The Sunni-Shia split; the Arab-Persian split; the Ba'athist-Wahhabist split; and the Muslim-Israeli split: each of these ran through Iraq via its ethnic and religious makeup; its geographic location; and its former interests, alliances, and enemies.
The "big bang," as invading Iraq has sometimes been called, was meant to reorder the nature of politics in the region. This has been accomplished in a fundamental way. The idea of dividing an enemy force into its constituent parts and then dealing with it piecemeal is at least as old as Caesar's actions in Gaul. It applies no less to U.S. strategy in the Middle East. Every faction there has been made to reconsider its relationship with every other. Rather than there being a monolithic clash of civilizations, thus far the U.S. is dealing with the area in pieces--in whatever way it sees fit to do so--whether making it tacitly clear to Syria that what happened in Iraq could more easily happen to it, or threatening Iran on behalf of the region and world, or seeking cooperation with the Saudis in hunting down al Qaeda.
Far from being a bit of belated triumphalism about the invasion, all of this has immediate and direct consequences. While the success of Iraq's democracy hangs in the balance from an operational perspective, the strategic advantages created by the invasion of Iraq are working very favorably for the U.S. in the current Israeli-Lebanon crisis in very tangible ways.
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Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Excellent article Cal, and one I believe is right on the money!
With Sadaam out of power the middle east is split apart and no one wants to get thier butt kicked!!!!
Iran is making a lot of noise, but is all bark and no bite! All they can do is sponsor terrorist and they are smart enough not to sponsor any hits on American soil.
Us taking down Sadaam will in the long run create a totally different middle east then it has been in the past. If Sadaam was still in power I have a feeling that Isreal would have wound up fighting the entire middle east.
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The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog
Good Article! TCS Daily is a site I visit often. Another is RealClearPolitics, which compiles articles from many different sources.
One does not defeat evil by letting it grow & fester. One defeats it by confronting evil, as well as defending & promoting freedom. Freedom is the alternative to & best weapon against tyrrany, & Islamic terrorism is definitely tyrranical.
Iraqi War--Big Bang Theory
