So where does all this leave us? In every case, I think, far messier—but far better—than before September 11. Few argue that Afghanistan or Iraq is worse off than when under the Taliban or Saddam. Nor is Syria in a stronger position. Despite their respective nuclear and petroleum deterrence, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are ever more sensitive to the dangers of Islamic radicalism. Libya no longer poses the threat of using WMD against its neighbors and is less likely to fund international terror. Iran is the wild card—closer to success in obtaining the bomb, but closer as well to becoming isolated by international pressure and the events that it cannot quite control across the border in Iraq.
I am continually amazed that people can look at the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, or overall, and somehow conclude we are losing. And seemingly also conclude that we deserve to lose or should lose for our own good. I know the situation doesn't fit into a neat hour-long script for West Wing or Commander-in-Chief, but this is what winning a real war looks like.
And as an aferthought, it is not immoral or wrong to be winning in our struggle to defend our nation, values, and society from backwards, nihilistic thugs who would destroy all that we have built.
I'm damn proud of our record and our war to uphold our achievements. And I'm happy we are winning.
UPDATE: Al Qaeda certainly doesn't think they are winning even after we fell into their clever plot to smash them in Afghanistan and confront them when they invaded Iraq to assist the Baathists.
