When we are told that winning the war in Iraq is a step towards winning the war on terror?

Question

Is that as good as being told we will never win the war in iraq or the war on terror since they were not related?

Answer 1

Baby steps Stephanie - one thing at a time

Let's defeat one terror group at a time and after that see where we should go next

Answer 2

Such a very good question really! I think the first poster needs to take an enema or something with his whole Lib protecting the terrorists crap. Many chill out and live a little.
Here are the raw facts about Terrorism and the reasons why terrorism will always exist and never be "defeated". In the 1770's, a small group of colonists decided they had enough of the totalitarian government of Great Britain. The response was to use terrorism to get their attention. Through actions such as the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, and other events, these colonists ruffled the feathers of the King of England and he sent over the feared and powerful Red Coats to quell the insurgency! (BTW...it was referred to in journals of British officers as an insurgency!) One fateful day, the Red Coats marched to the villages of Lexington and Concord and met at both places with resistance in the village squares. The resistance was futile and quickly squashed but the militias were not stupid. Having learned a great deal from the Native Americans about hunting and survival, the insurgent colonists started to use "un-gentlemenly" tactics of combat. Remember, in the 1700's the rules of engagement included open field battles between armies. You did not hide behind a tree or a bridge for protection, you stood in the open in your bright red or blue uniform and said SHOOT ME PLEASE! You had the comfort of knowing most muskets were very inaccurate from a distance and the hope that you could shoot and reload faster than they could.
Now, the colonial insurgents started to use tactics that included hiding in the treelines for protection and feignt and runs getting the larger army to follow into a trap (have you NEVER watched The Patriot? This was one thing that hollywood depected pretty well.). In the day of the Revolutionary War, such tactics were considered TERRORISM (all youhave to do is read to find this word in journals!). This, of course, was not the first time terrorism (the act of creating terror in another) was used to benefit a weaker group. In the Revolution, the Colonists knew if they did not do things different there was no way they could stand up to the might of the British Army. So while Washington and the new Army of the Republic stood in fields and fought face-to-face with the enemy, you had a constant number of behind the lines attacks happening to disrupt the enemy and give the colonial armies every advantage they could muster.

Today, we look at terrorists with a bad heart and false mind. We think they are the most evil people on the planet but we NEVER look at their world view. Why is it that we constantly believe we are always right? Does might make right? Are we a perfect nation? Are we free of problems? what if the majority of those we are trying to democratize do not want a democracy as we see it? Have we even thought of the long term consequences of our actions? The war in Iraq now has nothing to do with Terrorism. The insurgents that we so readily refer to as terrorists are no different than the colonists of the Revolutionary Period of America. They are standing up for what they believe is right against what they believe is wrong. How can we fault them for that? The difference is their tactics and the way they do it. For them, these IED's and other weapons are the most powerful weapons they have. They are undetectable for the most part, effective, and cheap. In the Revolutionary War, hit and run was the best tactic the colonists had. It was undetectable, effective, and low cost (especially in loss of life!).

Everyone reading this is probably thinking that it is a stretch, unfortunately, as an historian, I do not see it that way. I see it as a group of people with certain ideologies that do not fit our "world plan" doing what they have to do to protect their ideology.
Assault my thoughts if you want too...but do the research and look it up and perhaps you will see there is always another way to look at the world.

Answer 3

Who says they are not related?

If you take 2 minutes to consider what Hezbollah does in Israel and abroad, in the form of terrorism, and where they operate out of and who they're financed by, what makes you think that an Iranian-influenced Shi'ite theocracy in Iraq will NOT support terrorism globally? What makes you think that leaving Iraq will abate terrorism in the Middle East, Europe or America? If we are able to help Maliki build a strong, democratic tradition in Iraq (where the people are much better educated and have a visible stake in a democratic and free nation- unlike Saudi Arabia, which doesn't), then we have set a precedent in the region for young, intelligent and currently oppressed peoples to seek the same result in their homeland, be it Afghanistan, Iran or eventually Pakistan. We are losing the psy-ops battle, but that does not mean that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terrorism, that is a completely inane and misinformed statement.

If we leave Iraq to a Shi'ite dominated theocracy, this is what you can expect:

a) immediate declaration of independence by the Kurds
b) immediate troop formations on the Turkish/Kurdish border, as Turkey seeks to destabilize a new Kurdistan or occupy it entirely
c) overt occupation of Southern Iraq by Iranian Revolutionary Guards
d) immediate funding of the Sunni insurgents in all of the former Iraq by Saudis and Emirates to fend off annihilation by the Shi'ite majority
e) Sunni militants pouring in from Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to assist in fighting against the Iran backed Shi'ite government
f) Price of oil skyrocketing to at least $100 a barrel within 6 months of a US exit from Iraq
g) Absolutely no consensus or momentum against Iran's nuclear program, thereby accelerating a weapons development program and further menacing Israel
h) Israel declaring a war-footing in preparation for a defensive action against renewed Hezbollah attacks backed by an emboldened Iran, or, even worse, an immediate attack on all Iranian nuclear development facilities
i) A likely coup attempt or at least violent rebellion in US supported dictatorships like Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
j) A massive disruption in equity and FX markets that would make the 2000-2001 recession look like a Mardi Gras parade

When you yell at the top of your lungs that you don't like something, without an alternative that is VIABLE, you look like a fool; in this case, those who are anti-war in Iraq or potentially Iran are not only fools, they are dangerously subversive. The world has changed, there is a rebellion afoot against Judeo/Christian peoples and the democratic capitalism that has served us well for over two centuries. It is time to fight for our own lives, not coddle the enemy by claiming our intent and vision is wrong in the Middle East. It is far from wrong, and now is the time to execute our planned makeover of the region with full force and undiluted intent. Otherwise, you will see the unrest that is plagueing France and the UK continue to rise in the US, and a dangerous socialist fever take hold that will destroy our nation in slow, methodical measures. We are at war for a good reason, and we shouldn't second guess that while the fight is still on.

Answer 4

We created that mess. The only person involved in terror in Iraq before we got rid of him was Saddam. He terrorized his own.

Now that he is gone, the terrorists from outside have come in and now the war is one of global terror.

Create an enemy, then fight him. nice.

Answer 5

in winning in iraq the terrorists will realize the USA will fight them anywhere they are...and the USA WILL NOT GIVE UP......THAT IS UNLESS THE DEMS GET IN...THEN IT'S A WIN FOR THE TERRORISTS...this is why the dems and the terrorists want the "right" to lose.

Answer 6

The only thing related between IRAQ and AL-QAEDA are the letters A and Q..... other than that only Bush, Dick, Rummy, Condi and Karl knows.... and its OIL....

Answer 7

if you have cancer, look to a cure that is based upon causes, not symptoms.
if you have terror, look to the causes to cure it, not the symptoms. WHY are they attacking us? that is the question that nobody dares ask or answer. easier to just hate and kill. how are we better?

Answer 8

oh ****, they are so related

Terrorists are the insurgency.
Osama said that the terrorists could not lose the war in Iraq against the US
http://www.intelmessages.org/Messages/National_Security/wwwboard/messages/826.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlCG32t7ZdvEGQw2sA.n2WPzy6IX?qid=20061029165916AAIw5cN

Answer 9

OK LIBB GO BACK TO WERE YOU CAME FROM!! DONT PROTECT YOUR PRECIOUS TERROISTS, YOU JUST SHOW YOUR IGNORANCE AND HATE FOR THIS GREAT COUNTRY!!!

Answer 10

How do you figure that they are not related. Are insurgents not terrorists. PLEASE grow up.