Are we?
I know that the conventional wisdom is that we are losing. So let me speak some truth to power and assert that no we are not losing.
We are, in fact, winning.
To explain, our military is the shield behind which the Iraqi government can pursue government building and make advances to improve the economy, normalize the society, and attract support from the population. In time, the Iraqi security forces will be able to provide that shield. I have been quite consistent in this assessment since the fall of 2003. That we haven't won yet does not mean I am wrong. It means it is taking longer for the efforts to win the war to have an effect.
Lieutenant General Chiarelli offers this exact assessment in a press conference yesterday when asked if we are winning or losing. Said the general:
You know, I thought that -- I thought I'd escaped that one. But militarily, I can say without a doubt that we are winning.
We've never been defeated on any battlefield certainly in this conflict, nor will we be. To ask us if we're winning in Iraq is to think that one could boil the situation down to a simple yes-or-no answer, and I don't believe there is a simple yes-or-no answer. I think it is the wrong question.
The real question that I think we should be asking ourselves is, are we making the progress toward our strategic objectives? And I would have to give that answer a yes. Are we moving as fast as I wish we were and I know General Casey wishes we were toward meeting those strategic objectives? We are not.
This is exactly right. Our military is providing the shield. We are slowly building up the Iraqi shield to take over. And the Iraqi government is attempting to get the opponents of the government to reconcile with the new Iraqi government. Their swords are on the economic, political, and social side.
This is taking more time than I thought it would. But then, I never imagined we'd let Iran and Syria get away with murder. They are supporting those who kill our troops and slaughter Iraqi civilians. So while the progress in Iraq proceeds very slowly, we grow weary of holding that shield to protect their non-military efforts.
We shall see if we can get the Iraqis to raise their own shield quickly enough to take over before we tire. Then, when our troops aren't dying , I imagine our people will be far more patient with the slow pace of non-military advances in Iraq.
And remember, too, that "losing" doesn't mean the Iraqi Baathists or Sunni jihadis take over the government again. Losing means the Sunni community in Iraq is largely destroyed.
