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4-13-03. In just three weeks the bogged down, undermanned, insufficiently supplied, inadequately armed coalition
forces executed the failed plan of CENTCOM and conquered most of Iraq,
including the capital city of Baghdad. Peter Jennings was visibly upset at the pictures of Iraqis pulling down the statue of Saddam in central Baghdad. The BBC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the radical British left, proved so biased that the Commander of the British Fleet banned it from his flagship, the Ark Royal. On the morning that even Al Jazeera was broadcasting live pictures of the statue coming down, the BBC was carrying a story about an earthquake in India.
How did this victory
happen? Didn’t the experts in the media tell us that we were sure to lose? Well, aside from Saddam and his pals, the biggest loser in this action has been the established press. Every prediction has proven wrong: no quagmire, no thousands of body bags or hundred thousand civilian casualties, no huge rise in oil prices, and no hatred of the American invaders by the average Iraqi. In fact exactly the opposite has happened: the victory has been historically rapid, military and civilian casualties have been extremely light, oil prices fell, and the Iraqis danced in the streets and embraced coalition soldiers. We haven’t seen the massive increase in terrorist attacks here at home that we were warned would surely follow. So will there be apologies and corrections from the major news outlets? Are you nuts? No, they are reduced to complaining that the minor looting in Baghdad, less than that seen in any US city after an NBA final, proves that the Iraqis are not ready for self-rule. Some have even gone so far as to say that Iraq was better off under Saddam since he, at least, kept the peace. Now that the looting has stopped what will they say next to pull defeat out of this victory?
Fear not, they are nothing if not resourceful. The new line
is that we really lost because we have pissed off the “Arab Street.” This, we are solemnly informed, will cause the Arabs to hate us and to want to do us harm. Here’s a news flash: they already hate us; hate us enough to blow themselves up and to fly airplanes into buildings. And they will continue to hate us as long as they are governed by religious fanatics who teach them that non-Muslims are Satans. They will hate us for as long as they need someone else to blame for the misery of their lives. For as long as Islam is a complete and abject failure culturally, economically, socially and politically. Does anybody remember a guy named Muammar Khadaffi? He hates us but, ever since we sent a few cruise missiles into his tents, he fears us and has been keeping his head down. Sure there will eventually be new terrorist attacks; that is inevitable. What is odd is that the left has put itself in the position of hoping for them, for that is the only way they can gain politically from this war. On the other hand we must give credit to Andy Rooney, the only media figure man enough to admit that he was wrong when he opposed the war and predicted a military disaster.
In a stunning admission Eason Jordan, chief news executive of CNN, revealed that he has been deliberately
withholding information about Saddam’s atrocities for years. The fact that CNN has been fronting for Saddam is not a surprise to anyone who has been watching that network since the first Gulf War;
the stunning part is that Mr. Jordan admitted it. For this brave act he wins the Walter Duranty Award for covering up for a dictator.
The politicians on
the left are likewise in a dither about our success. They, too, had predicted disaster and are now trying to cover their tracks. Presidential candidate Howard Dean reluctantly admitted that he supposes that maybe there could be a chance that it might be a good thing that Saddam was overthrown, but he seemed unsure. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi complained that the downfall of Saddam could have been accomplished at much less human and economic cost. It is unclear if we should be angry with Gen. Franks for failing to use the vastly superior Pelosi Plan, or angry with Ms. Pelosi for keeping it a secret.
In any case Saddam is out of power, if not dead. Coalition forces think they may have nailed him in
a local Baghdad restaurant. The skeptics among us will have a hard time believing that Saddam left his vast complex of secure and luxuriously appointed
bunkers to have brunch at the local Denny’s. On the other hand, four 2,000-pound bombs delivered directly to your table give a whole new meaning the Grand Slam Breakfast. A few days later two Baath Party police officials, bearing a strong resemblance toTweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, surrendered to marines and offered their services in restoring order. Since the demand for torturers seems to be somewhat less now than under the previous administration it seems unlikely they will be needed. And while we’re on the subject of law and order in Baghdad, it must be said that the pulling down of Saddam’s statue was a big mistake. That outstretched arm would have made a handy and appropriate gallows for those of Saddam’s regime still left alive.
Analysis of this
victory has focused on the use of air power and the speed and daring of the ground forces. Less publicized has been the key role of special operations forces, who provided vital intelligence and battlefield preparation before the attack began, and continued to feed information to commanders as the battle progressed. It is Special Forces units that led Kurdish forces in their conquest of Mosul and Kirkuk. In the first Gulf War Gen. Schwarzkopf used these assets only grudgingly. Gen. Franks seem to have embraced them wholeheartedly and the results speak for themselves. It is unlikely that any future commander will willingly go into battle without them. What a change from the time when Special Operations soldiers were denigrated as “snake eaters” and Special Ops was considered a career killer for an officer. A few dedicated and visionary officers worked for years to convince the Pentagon brass of the value of Special Operations, often at great professional risk. These men have been fully vindicated.
On the home front success so far has had no effect on Hollywood critics. Janeane Garofalo
said that the war
would be a disaster and promised to get on her knees and crawl over broken glass to the White House to apologize if she were wrong. So far she has not been sighted anywhere the White House. Perhaps when she promised to get down on her knees she was thinking of another president.
Finally, the Clooney Tunes Award this week goes to Stephanie Schaudel of Voices in the Wilderness,
a group of anti-war activists and professional hysterics. She says the real tragedy in Iraq is yet to come. It will occur when America imports its culture to that country, especially our evil
fast food. “Iraqis have really good food,
they don’t need KFC,” said Ms. Schaudel. No, Ms. Schaudel, you drooling anencephalic, the Iraqis are starving. A bucket of chicken fried in lard or a greaseburger and fries sounds just fine to them.
PTB
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