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CAN’T QUIT
by David E. Meadows , 2005

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT MILITARY.COM, January 17, 2006

Whatever good or nefarious reasons sent us to war with Iraq the fact is we are there. We shouldn’t be; but we are, and now the only way we can leave is from a solid ‘position of strength.’ Our enemies must know without equivocation that we are prepared to go into harms way to eradicate and destroy those who would attack our nation and its people. Nations must understand we hold responsible those nations who support and harbor terrorist elements.

In the world of Information Technology (IT) there are systems to protect the information infrastructure. These systems are grouped under information assurance (IA) and computer network defense (CND). IA and CND include such hardware and software as guards, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. A tactic for defending the information infrastructure is something called a ‘honeypot.’ A honeypot is a bogus architecture of hardware/software designed to lure hackers and cyber attackers away from the primary IT target. Iraq is America’s terrorist honeypot.

From across the globe, but mostly from Saudi Arabia and through Syria, suicide bombers and radical Islamic fanatics are being drawn to Iraq to their deaths. That is a good thing. The bad thing is the number of innocent men and women they take with them.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is both right and wrong when he says quitting is not an exit strategy; that to quit the war in Iraq would allow insurgents to prevail and put the U.S. at still greater risk. He is right that quitting is not an exit strategy. He is wrong that it will allow insurgents to prevail. What it will allow is Al Qaieda to prevail.

Most fail to realize we are fighting two groups in Iraq. The insurgents are not Al Qaieda terrorists though for tactical reasons they tolerate their actions. The insurgents are Sunni remnants of the Iraqi Army that was dissolved by the administration against the recommendations of the U.S. military. Instead of helping us enforce security within Iraq, they are now fighting the Shiias, the Kurds, and us in an attempt to influence post-America Iraq. The insurgency will eventually be resolved either through negotiations or after we depart. They could also be a key in taking out the terrorists.

The other element targeting innocent civilians, Iraqi democratic forces, and us is Al Qaieda. Al Qaieda is the strategic enemy. What happens in the post-America Iraq will depend on how our departure is viewed. Having brought two pariah nations to their knees because of national security concerns, we have sent a powerful message on the ability of a roused America to take out whole countries. Nearly three years later, we have to reinvigorate this message or face a rise of nation-states who either actively or benignly support Al Qaieda.

America must not be perceived by the Islamic world of ‘quitting’ in Iraq. It would encourage a worse scenario because such a perception will enthuse and encourage Islamic extremism. This extremism will spread across the Moslem world, into our cities, our communities, and our neighborhoods.

Abraham Lincoln wanted to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. At the time, the Union had suffered a string of military defeats. Sage advice warned that issuing the proclamation in 1862 would demoralize further and possibly cost the confidence of the American people because it would be viewed as a desperate gambit by an administration that was losing the war. It took the major victory by Union forces at Antietam on September 17, 1862 to provide Lincoln the ‘position of strength’ he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

On October 6, 1970 Egyptian forces won major victories as they crossed the Suez Canal, driving the Israelis back across the Sinai Peninsula. The military success achieved by the Egyptian forces in this war raised the prestige of Anwar Al-Sadat and Egypt. It gave Sadat the ‘position of strength’ to where in 1977 he became the first head of an Arab nation to visit Israel, which eventually saw the two countries reach a peaceful accord that has survived over 28-years.

On January 6th 2006, Al Zawahiri, the number 2 in Al Qaieda, claimed victory for the recent announcement that the U.S. intends to withdraw troops from Iraq in 2006. It is an announcement that will be believed by the Islamic world and celebrated by pariah nations such as Iran.

America needs its own ‘position of strength’ victory against the terrorist elements in Iraq. It must a victory of such magnitude that it leaves little room for false perceptions by Islamic extremists. To do anything less will further encourage the spread of terrorist seeds of religious hatred.

Some European allies object to our presence in Iraq, but the fact is if America is perceived as quitting and running, then Islamic radicalism will spread rapidly across Europe and return in devastating force to America.

A major victory against the terrorists in Iraq is a national security ‘must-win’, regardless of whatever failed-reasoning created this terrorist honeypot. The sooner we drive the point home within the Islamic world that we are winning the war against terrorism, the sooner our young men and women can come home.

David E. Meadows / SixthFleet.Com David E. Meadows Washington D.C. E-Mail readermail@SixthFleet.Com