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April 22, 2005
Are we winning or what?
Thomas X. Hammes, author of "The Sling and the Stone," which I am plowing through, had an editorial in yesterday's New York Times arguing that the war is not yet over by a damn sight, as the old saying goes:
In the end, of course, the most important thing we can offer the Iraqis is our patience. The bottom line is that counterinsurgencies take time. And like all political processes, they are complex and often ugly.A more on-the-ground view of how things are going can be seen via Mudville Gazette, in a must-read post linking exchanges between a liberal blogger in the US -- whose work was picked up by The Daily Kos, and a soldier or Marine serving in Iraq.So while Americans can be heartened by the reduction in attacks on coalition forces, it is relatively worthless as an indicator of success. The effectiveness of the Iraqi government in allowing average Iraqis to go about their lives is key. And Washington is correctly, if belatedly, making that its aim.
There are many who simply don't have the patience that Hammes asks for . . . they are content to declare defeat now. Pathetic.
Posted by Chester at April 22, 2005 2:11 PM
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