Today is an anniversary not only of violence and murder, but also of a great awakening.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 turned radical Islamic terrorism from a distant and abstract threat into a very concrete reality for all Americans. That day would end not only the naive, happy days of hassle-free plane trips, but also our general freedom from fear.
As President Obama makes plans to re-enter Iraq with force and fight the Islamic State, it is important to recognize how Wednesday night’s speech ties into today’s grim anniversary. Obama is attempting to recover the ground lost on his watch in what Americans once called “the war on terror.”
Just how much ground has been lost? Every inch.
The merits of the Iraq War aside, President Obama cut too many corners in getting out. He failed to obtain a status-of-forces agreement that would have left a residual U.S. presence. The Sunni Islamic State has thus easily filled the vacuum left by a weak Iraqi army and unpopular, corrupt, and increasingly dictatorial Shiite political leaders.
This chain of events has negated all gains made in both the Iraq and Afghan wars.
The Afghan War, recall, was waged not just to punish mass murderers but also to deprive an international terrorist network of its safe haven and base of operations. Today, the terrorists have their own nation and their own governing institutions. They have their own on-site sources of oil wealth and recruits, and even a well-armed and battle-tested conventional army. Whether or when this new terror-state launches attacks against the United States is simply a matter of what and when they want to try.
Islamic terrorists are in a much stronger position today than they were 13 years ago — not “on the run,” or “decimated,” or set back even slightly by the death of Osama bin Laden.
America, meanwhile, is back to square one. It comes as little surprise that the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll finds that 47 percent of Americans believe the U.S. is now less safe than it was before 9/11.
President George W. Bush described the risks of a power vacuum in Iraq in 2007. “To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we are ready,” Bush said, “would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region, and for the United States. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al Qaeda. It would mean that we’d be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. It would mean the terrorists would establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan. It would mean increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous.”
Bush made few correct predictions about Iraq, but these have proven horribly true. And this is why President Obama is now setting out to fight a new war.
