Okay, We've Defeated Al Qaeda In Iraq. Now Who Will Hawks Say Is Main Enemy In Iraq?
October 15, 2007 -- 10:50 AM EST // //

Today's Washington Post reports that the U.S. military believes it may have defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq. As Atrios says, this is good news but for the fact that no matter who gets defeated we're never leaving.

There's another layer of amusement in the article that's worth noting, however. It turns out that our defeat of Al Qaeda has actually created a dilemma for the War Powers that Be and their most fervent supporters:

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.

But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved.

In other words, officials admit that it's inadvisable to say outright that we've defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq, even if we have, because then when there are more attacks and deaths, George Bush and John Boehner and Joe Lieberman's campaign to convince us that Al Qaeda is our main enemy in Iraq will be revealed as the pristine bamboozlement it's always been. And everyone will have to admit that there's a civil war going on there.

Remember, these good people have been telling us that they believe the main reason we're in Iraq is because we must defeat Al Qaeda, lest global catastrophe ensue. Here's John Boehner last month, equating the defeat of Al Qaeda with the achievement of Middle East stability:

We need to continue our effort here because, Wolf, long term, the investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here, if we’re able to stabilize the Middle East, it’s not only going to be a small price for the near future, but think about the future for our kids and their kids.

And here's Joe Lieberman a few months back, saying that Al Qaeda is Enemy Number One: "But honestly, who are we fighting there? We're fighting al Qaeda and Iran." There are other multiple examples of this, of course.

Okay, so if the belief of some generals that we've defeated Al Qaeda becomes publicly accepted reality, then what will these worthies say? When the next attacks and deaths happen, what new rhetorical scheme will they concoct to pretend that American troops aren't caught in the middle of a civil war?

It'll be amusing to see how they handle this one.

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