http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/20/terror/main2285320.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_2285320
The War On Terror's Most Critical Moment Martin: No New Ideas In Iraq, Only Variations On The Same Theme By CBS News national security correspondent David Martin Everybody from the President on down now agrees that the United States is not winning in Iraq. The corollary to that statement is that if we are not winning, we will soon be losing. No less an authority figure than former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell thinks we're already losing. If the situation is that bad in Iraq, which the administration repeatedly calls the central front in the war on terror, what does that say about the rest of the war on terror? In his first speech as Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates called Afghanistan, where the war began, a "pressing concern" and said the progress made over the past five years is "at risk." The Taliban is making a comeback, and the tribal areas of Pakistan have become an al Qaeda safe haven. Iran appears to be on a roll --- aiding the Shiite militias in Iraq, watching its ally, Hezbollah, give Israel much more of a fight than it bargained for, and plowing ahead with what U.S. intelligence believes is a nuclear weapons program. Gen. John Abizaid, the overall commander of the Middle East, is so concerned that he has asked the Pentagon to put a second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf. This is the most critical moment in the war on terror since the invasion of Iraq more than three years ago. We have a new Secretary of Defense, and we'll soon have a new strategy and new commanders --- since the tours of both Gen. Abizaid and Gen. George Casey, the commander in Iraq, are coming to an end. Can that reverse the tide of war? As Gates himself has said, there are no new ideas on Iraq, simply variations on the theme of "clear, hold and build." Whatever variation is chosen, the new strategy will have the same Achilles heel: Its success will depend on the Iraqis. The United States entered the war on terror with overwhelming confidence in its military power, but the past five years have been a painful lesson in the limits of military power. By David Martin ©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
