Daily Archives: July 21, 2007

Open thread 7/21

Why is Pakistan a safe place for al-Qaida?

Our Friday editorial noted the latest National Intelligence Estimate of al-Qaida, which finds the terrorist group rested, regrouped and ready to attack our homeland once again.
No wonder Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has a “gut feeling” we could face another terror attack this summer.
Contrary to President Bush, the Iraq war isn’t preventing such attacks. It’s helping, by giving al-Qaida a training ground for bombers and a recruiting bonanza.
The continued resurgence of al-Qaida, the report found, is made possible in part by the sanctuary it’s found in the border region of northwest Pakistan, which our “ally” Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is either unwilling or unable to control.
As a result, Osama bin Laden — the person who actually attacked us on Sept. 11 — is sitting pretty in this safe haven, making propaganda videotapes and planning attacks.
It’s past time for American troops to flush out this terrorist stronghold and run bin Laden to ground.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

Bush is still a winner to Kristol

Republicans might be abandoning Bush in droves, but leading neocon thinker and Iraq war cheerleader William Kristol thinks Bush’s presidency will be seen as a success.
Really.
In a commentary/fantasy titled “Why Bush Will Be a Winner,” Kristol gamely tries to put a positive spin on Bush’s legacy, arguing that Bush deserves credit for the absence of another al-Qaida attack on our soil since Sept. 11. (Never mind that al-Qaida is back to Sept. 11 strength and actively planning operations.)
He thinks the Iraq war has been a success, since if we hadn’t invaded, Saddam Hussein’s “connections with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would be intact or revived and even strengthened.” (What connections?)
Moreover, the Iraq war, despite some setbacks, is still winnable. The surge is “routing al-Qaida in Iraq.” With another year of surge, things could be looking pretty good.
This is the kind of ideological tunnel vision and soft-headed wishful thinking that got us into Iraq in the first place.
Posted by Randy Scholfield