FALLUJAH, Iraq – Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is one of the great states men of our time, a man of integrity and devotion to our country. He’s never been a mere politician – the sort who regard a visit to our troops as a campaign photo op.
But this time he’s wrong.
The senator’s appeal to President Bush to announce U.S. troop withdrawals reflects the frustration we all feel with the inept, craven and destructive government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki has been the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time, and Bush needs to suck it up and accept that much.
But Sen. Warner is only looking at part of the picture – what I’d call the “Green Zone view.” He’s got target-lock on the Baghdad government’s failings, and, a titan of government himself, he can’t get beyond the perfidy, greed and sectarian viciousness of Iraq’s politicians.
But the future of Iraq’s government is, frankly, less than half of the equation at this point. Whatever may have been the situation is 2003, today Iraq is the main front in the war against Islamist terror and fanaticism. Our enemies have made it so.
Of the two simultaneous missions under way – maturing a responsible government and advancing our own strategic interests – the latter is far more important. In fact, it’s vital. And on that track, we’re making stunning progress.
Out here in Anbar Province, al Qaeda did what religion-driven extremists always do eventually – they over-reached, setting the bar so high that nonfanatics couldn’t measure up (nor did they want to). The terrorists responded with a campaign of slaughter against their fellow Muslims.
Now the Sunni Arabs who were fighting so bitterly against us are fighting beside us to destroy al Qaeda in Iraq. And the terrorists are going down.
Out here in Anbar Province – long the most troubled in Iraq – the change has come so swiftly and thoroughly that it’s dazzling. Marines who were under fire routinely just months ago are now directing their former enemies in battle.
Although this trend has been reported, our battlefield leaders here agree that the magnitude of the shift hasn’t registered back home: Al Qaeda is on the verge of a humiliating, devastating strategic defeat – rejected by their fellow Sunni Muslims.
If we don’t quit, this will not only be a huge practical win – it’ll be the information victory we’ve been aching for.
No matter what the Middle Eastern media might say, everyone in the Arab and greater Sunni Muslim world will know that al Qaeda was driven out of Iraq by a combination of Muslims and Americans.
Think that would help al Qaeda’s recruitment efforts? Even now, the terrorists have to resort to lies about their prospective missions to gain recruits.
With the sixth anniversary of 9/11 approaching, how dare we throw away so great a potential victory over those who attacked our country?
Forget the anti-war nonsense you hear. The truth is that our troops want to continue this struggle. I know. I’m here. And I’m listening to what they have to say. They’re confident as never before that we’re on the right path.
Should we rob them of their victory now and enhance al Qaeda by giving them a free win? How can we even contemplate quitting now?
I’ve been sitting down with Iraqis, too – including former enemies. They don’t want us to leave. They finally cracked the code. They need us. And although they’ve got a range of their own goals (not all of them tending toward Jeffersonian democracy), they’re unified in their hatred of al Qaeda.
Yesterday I listened as an American officer sought to restrain Iraqi security forces from attacking one of al Qaeda’s last strongholds prematurely – the local rage toward al Qaeda goes deeper than any column could communicate.
If our former enemies are willing to kill our enduring enemies, why abandon them?
And it isn’t just about al Qaeda, either. This conflict’s now about keeping Iran from achieving hegemony over the Persian Gulf and its oil reserves – and preventing Tehran’s extremist policy from tearing the Middle East apart. The Maliki government sucks, but, brother, it’s still better than an Iranian proxy in Baghdad would be for our security.
Sen. Warner cares about our country and our troops. But the security of our country and the progress of our troops would both be compromised fatefully were we to announce that we’re pulling out of Iraq.
Ralph Peters is reporting from Iraq for The Post. His latest book is “Wars of Blood And Faith.”