Iraq IS SO Part of the War on Terror

A lot of people, Democrats in the US and what seems like almost everyone in Canada and Europe, believe that the liberation of Iraq was a big mistake. There are a number of reasons given for this but the one that strikes me right now is the claim that it was a "distraction" from the "War on Terror" - popularly believed to be a synonym for the "Hunt for Osama bin Ladin."

Somebody ought to inform the terrorists of this. They have been streaming into Iraq with the goal of making it impossible to form the first democratic civil society in Arab lands. Why are they doing this if events in Iraq do not relate to their goals? The answer is that they understand perfectly well that the success of Iraq will do great damage to their cause.

After 9/11, there was a lot of talk amongst the whining classes about "root causes" and "why do they hate us?" Poverty and despair caused by decades of imperialist American foreign policy resulted quite naturally, they think, in the self-immolation of 19 upper class educated Saudi and other Arab men as they destroyed the greatest symbol of Western capitalism and 3000 innocent lives. Something is not right here. If poverty and despair cause terrorism, one would expect most of them to come from places like Haiti, Liberia and the Congo. But they don't. If American foreign aggression causes terrorism we should see a lot of them coming from Vietnam, Korea, Russia, Grenada, Panama, Germany and Japan. But they don't.

They hate us because we are successful, rich (comparatively) and free. They are Islamic extremists and their agenda is domination of the planet by fundamentalist Islam. The biggest problem they face in this eternal struggle is the temptation our freedom and wealth presents to their people, without us trying or even caring about it. Strict Islamic society is not a fun way to live, and the spread of modern communications is making the difference clear to every Muslim. The very existence of free liberal societies is a mortal threat to their goals, so they have only one option, and that is to destroy them or die trying.

That is why the establishment of such freedoms, and the increase in wealth that is sure to follow, right in the middle of their territory is just about the worst thing that could have happened to them. So all you who whine about the "root causes" - look, they are finally being addressed! As the great experiment in Iraq slowly succeeds, and it will, it will be a beacon of hope to all the other Arabs who live under brutish tyrannies.

The War on Terror was never about just finding and punishing the perpetrators of 9/11. The goal is not vengeance, it is to make the US (and incidentally the entire free world) safer from future and much larger attacks. When you are being attacked by alligators, you can endlessly kill them one by one, or you can drain the swamp. There are a number of reasons why liberating Iraq was the best way to start this process, including the state of war that still remained from the Gulf War after incessant violations of the ceasefire terms, Saddam's inherent hostility and belligerence, and his inevitable drive to acquire nuclear weapons once he finished bribing the French and the Russians to get rid of the UN sanctions.

President Bush and his administration understand this. Why don't you?

UPDATE: Donald Sensing writes about root causes.

Comments

[eclarke]

Randall, visited your "just started" blog. I am impressed with your knowledge of what is going on in the world today and what the consequences are for generations to come. You are correct in that Bush (and Blair)seems to understand what 9/11 meant, not only for America, but for the whole world. The Spanish peoples reaction after the terrorists attack in Madrid to vote for a leftish government, which means that Spain will withdraw their militairy forces from the coaltion forces fighting in Iraq, is a setback and for sure considered a "victory" by the terrorists. But in a way it might show to other European countries in their next elections not to follow Spains example in their next elections. It is sad that in Europe AND Canada, the media mostly has an anti American news coverage. I watch Fox News "illegally", it really is not conservative, but has a balanced coverage of events and Canada sofar prohibits the airing of that station. All we get in Canada is the leftish viewpoint of CBC and its affiliates. I know that in Europe only CNN is available and we all know what the BBC is like.

[eclarke]

to continue:
To end my comment for now, I wish you success with your blog and hope that many thoughtful and concerned people will join you in exchanging knowledge and engage in a dialoque about "This new kind of war" fighting the terrorists and preserving our way of life".

[Flea]

Here is one more reader... :)

[Ymarsakar]

I've been a long time study on this Iraq phenomenon, from the beginning where I feared it was a preemptive attack that was bad policy, to the end where I've seen many many different perspectives on the Iraq War. From Iraqis, for and against, from Americans, for and against, from foreign nations, for and against. I would have been personally stuck on the "preemption" motiff had I not broadened my educational horizons.

Recently, I am stunned by the fact that many people are "getting it". Your post about root causes and how it is the exact thing the fake liberals were touting about, goes unseen by the vast majority of those who do not read blogs for their news. I notice it now, only because I am a blogger and is learning more in the doing than just the reading.

And yet, for those who read and write blogs, the truth is much clearer and more common than I would have expected. Steven Den Beste was one of the first to clarify the ultimate strategy in 2003, and when I used him as a source to convince a Canadian citizen that this wasn't about "oil" and "imperialism", he called Den Beste a "crackpot".

Now we know who the real crackpots are.

http://instapundit.com/archives/021452.php
Link to the real crackpots and the ones who were vindicated by the Jan 30 election.