World Threats

Freelance writer Michael Yon has a column in today’s New York Post in which he has declared the Iraq War won for the Multinational Forces. Yon, who has traveled to Iraq and has sent back excellent posts, is now in Afghanistan. With the decline of al Qaeda and the ascendancy of the Iraqi democracy, Yon writes:

I asked some Iraqis, “Why are the terrorists attacking mostly Iraqis instead of Americans?” One man explained that the terrorists see the Iraqi army getting stronger and unifying with police, and the terrorists fear the Iraqi government.

Focusing on a few “Iraqi trees,” one could make the argument that the war is ongoing and perilous. But to step back and look at “the forest,” one cannot escape the fact that Iraq’s long winter is over, and the branches are budding.

This is an excellent article that sums up the progress made in Iraq over the last two years. The implementation of the successful surge strategy will be one of the key factors of George W. Bush and John McCain’s legacy. Despite the odds and the criticism, winning the war was more important to them than politics.