By aggressively denying them of safe havens (Afghanistan, Irak), by engaging them in full-on warfare when they tried to take over Irak, Bush's doctrine has worked.
Muslims are increasingly less enamoured with al-q :
Sheikh Salman al-Awdah, author of an open letter attacking bin Laden and violent jihad that has caused shockwaves across the Muslim world. The sheikhs of Anbar Province in Iraq lead a national, transsectarian movement preparing for provincial elections by the end of the year. Polling shows a widespread decline in support among Muslims for suicide bombing and for bin Laden. Fareed Zakaria observed that the number of Islamist attacks worldwide has declined precipitously since 2004.
Don't look now, but evidence of progress in the war on terror is just about everywhere. Last week CIA director Michael Hayden noted some U.S. accomplishments for the Washington Post: "Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat for al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Significant setbacks for al-Qaeda globally." USA Today: Attacks in Iraq are "down 70 percent since President Bush ordered a U.S. troop increase, or 'surge,' early last year."
The left's analysis of jihadism has been proved incorrect at every turn. It argued military power would be ineffective against the terrorists. Wrong. It argued that intervention in Iraq would energize bin Laden's movement. That movement is in shambles. The left argued Iraq was a lost cause. It isn't. The left argues that a "war on terrorism" is futile, that defeat is inevitable, because terrorism is a "tactic," not an enemy. Nonsense. President Bush has demonstrated through perseverance and (more often than not) sound policy that the war on terror can be won. And right now we're winning it.
full article here.
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Some valid points made here. But any logical analysis of the past 5 years of the Iraq invasion must conclude that Bush screwed up in his tactics for the first 4 of those. His overall strategy may have been valid, but the way he carried it out was very costly both in lives and money.
I agree that the surge appears to be working: as far as I can gather, it was McCain who was one of the first backers of this strategy; and the appointment of Petraeus was a stroke of genius (or pot luck, maybe).
I still think Obama would make a better future president of the USA (more dynamic, younger, fresher, breaker of the white male stereotype associated with US presidents - hence automatically with an advantage in foreign policy affairs - and capable of strategic thinking probably as well as McCain).
Jules, maybe your apparent extreme infatuation with the right is some form of balance for your left-handedness... ;)
Personally I have absolutely no preference for Left or Right; I just look at the qualities of the individual candidate. (After all, look at Mitterand following D'Estaing: he turned out to be almost more "rightist" than his predecessor...) In this respect I like McCain: he has often maintained (unlike many other US diplomats) that he has no problem "crossing the aisle" to the opposite party's point of view if he deems it more correct. But I think Obama is capable of the same.
Well I like Blair a lot because of his vision re Irak etc, and blair is "labour". Tho labour in the UK is to the right of Chirac "conservatives" in france.
BAsically, I beleive many of the tenets of the actual democratic party, as well as the left worldwide, have been proven to be disastrous again and again -
pacifism (Tibet, France with the 2005 riots, etc) is suicidal .
"redistribution of wealth" leads to everyone being poorer, including the poor, and unemployement (Zimbabwe being the ultimate example - but France and sweden are softer examples).
in a nutshell , the left thinks the govmt can solve everything, the right beleives the answer is private initiative.
The left also has totalitarian tendencies - being "friends" of fidel castro, or of Saddam.
passing laws forbidding so called "hate speech", which in effect muzzles real debate, and coercing everyone to follow their crackpot utopian collective dreams, like it or not (rental laws, releasing criminals, nationalising TV by chavez etc..)
I have seen much misery in France - violence due to left-wing "criminals need to be understood", mass unemployement and despair, due to high taxation, rigid labour laws, union armtwisting...
Socialism Sucks. it's a lie.
And Obama is an aristocrat socialist, out of touch with reality - international and domestic. for example - polls indicate blacks would rather do business with whites than fellow blacks (so much for white racism).
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