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Jewish World Review Oct. 14, 2005 / 11 Tishrei, 5766 Media misses big/good news while focusing on the quag-Mier By Tony Snow
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
While conservatives in Washington bloodied
one another over the Supreme Court candidacy of Harriet Miers, something
interesting occurred beyond the Beltway. The United States inched closer to
winning the War on Terror.
Exhibit A: U.S. intelligence officials published a July 9 letter
from Al-Qaida's de facto leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to the outfit's
murderous Iraqi boss, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The tome drips with sad-sack
defeatism, and reads more like a will than a manifesto.
Picture the scene: Zawahiri is writing from a cave in
Nowherestan. He's watching the TV. He scans the news and realizes that, with
the possible exception of the United Nations and France, the whole world
hates him. Worse, his greatest hopes rest upon the shoulders of an Islamist
Billy the Kid — a trigger-happy zealot who cannot suppress his homicidal
impulses.
The letter begins on a piteous note: "We are following your
news, despite the difficulty and hardship. ... The enemy struck a blow
against us with the arrest of Abu al-Faraj (al-Libbi)," Zawahiri's top
lieutenant.
Then comes this: "The real danger comes from the agent Pakistani
army that is carrying out operations in the tribal areas looking for
mujahedeen." In other words, there's nowhere to hide. The Pakistani
military, which for years aided and abetted Al-Qaida, has joined Team Bush.
Such soft moans set the tone for the 13-page tome. Zawahiri sees
a tsunami rolling straight toward the jihadis, and he is not happy.
He doesn't say so directly, but he blames Zarqawi for much of
the mess. He warns that the gruesome tactics of Iraqi terrorists, such as
"scenes of slaughtering the hostages," have backfired. "More than half of
this battle is taking place in the battlefield in the media," he says,
explaining patiently that you can't make converts of corpses.
He also acknowledges that Iraqis hate the insurgents — which is
why he feels compelled to ask rather pathetically whether the masses might
accept domination by a bunch of non-Iraqi Muslim extremists.
Yet, nothing tops the letter's parting lines. They disclose the
note's real purpose — the thing the author repeatedly has avoided saying
because it strips away his pride and exposes his dishabille: "If you're
capable of sending a payment of approximately one hundred thousand, we'll be
very grateful to you." This is like a college kid's asking Mom and Dad for
help, only to have them report that they've lost the house and need five
bucks to gas up the car, so they can park outside his dorm.
Exhibit B: Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in Iraq agreed upon the text
of a new constitutional referendum, paving the way for a Dec. 15 election to
approve a new constitution, which will make possible a January vote to pick
a government. If Iraqis begin sporting purple fingers again, it's over for
the terror masters.
Exhibit C: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice quietly persuaded
the government of Kyrgyzstan to reverse its decision to kick American forces
out of the country and instead to sign a long-term deal giving the U.S.
military access to an important airbase. The agreement preserves a crucial
staging ground for operations in Afghanistan.
These three developments, along with news of a nascent economic
boom in Afghanistan (not just in the poppy fields) and a shockingly positive
assessment of the Iraq war effort by Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.,
tell a hugely important story: The Bush administration's strategy of taking
measured action against identified enemies has worked.
Our forces have killed or captured thousands of fighters. They
have gutted the leadership of key terror organizations. And they have built
goodwill within Iraq by proving that they're more interested in securing
than stifling human rights. While American soldiers rebuild schools and
oilfields, jihadis bomb mosques.
At the same time, the United States has managed to choke off
lines of supply into Iraq and destroy the terror network's financial
infrastructure. This explains why the acting head of Al-Qaida, an
organization previously awash in big bucks from the bin Laden family, has to
beg for spare change. He knows the jig is up, and a glimpse at the map says
it all: Afghanistan, free. Kyrgyzstan, cooperative. Iraq, trending
democratic. Iran, unhappy.
Harriet Miers makes for great pundit fodder, but the news from
Mesopotamia has far greater impact on the free world's fate and fortunes.
The unheralded truth is that George Bush's tactics and strategy are
working — as documented by the sweetest source of all, bin Laden's
right-hand man.
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Comment on JWR contributor, and syndicated talk show host, Tony Snow's column by clicking here. © 2005, Creators Syndicate, Inc |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
