Rusted Sky

Maybe even a tipping point? It's hard to tell - but read the whole thing.

Michael Yon : Online Magazine � Blog Archive � Bread and a Circus, Part II of II

Other “Information Operations” were underway to not only show the people that food distribution had restarted but also that the Shia in fact had released the food for Baqubah. The distribution may have begun in fits and starts, but the information battle seemed to be a decisive win.

And so we started with 16 trucks, but before it was all over, they had sent 94 trucks of food to Baqubah. There was enough food, according to our Army, to feed 200,000 people for 30 days.

I recalled one of the bureaucrat’s comments, upon hearing that al Qaeda had scattered like rabbits out of Baqubah. He seemed at first not to believe that news, but once he got confirmation, he made a point to tell us what that news actually meant: if al Qaeda was done in Baqubah, al Qaeda was done in Iraq.

Press them out. Allow them no sanctuary, no place to hide or regroup. Give the people what they need - and they'll turn away from Al Quaeda, which gives them nothing but death and destruction.

I've often wondered at the religious fevor that seems so prevalent among the Islamists. Are they murderous because of that fevor, or is the murderous impulse there already and they embrace jihad because it justifies it and gives them a chance to slaughter without responsibility or remorse? If you were given the chance to do something hidden in the darkest desires of your heart, without any bad coming to you for it... indeed, to even have people cheering you on while you do it... wouldn't it be a very powerful incentive to open up your darkest desires to the light of day?

I've also wondered if that might not be a factor behind the apparent desires of the Democrats to lose the war. They'll see it as a win - even if it results in massive casualties in Iraq. And who doesn't like feeling like they've 'won' something?

Sadly - in order for them to 'win', a whole lot of people are going to have to lose, and lose badly.

But - what if the Democrats, who've staked damn near everything on transforming Iraq into a loss for our country, were instead the ones to lose? In their frustration and anger, what would happen? What could they justify doing? Would their fevor match those of the Islamists who kill themselves wholesale for the chance to kill an American?

Am I questioning their patriotism? Well, yes. I've no doubt they see the world as they want to see it, and want to mod and mold it into something that'll make THEM feel good. But... what about everyone else? Will the first Iranian nuke test set off an orgasmic shiver in the hardcore left, at the idea that FINALLY the evil US will get what's coming to it? Or will it wake them up and make them realize that - while they might not be able to stand the center/right in this country, they've got a hell of a lot more in common with the center/right than with the hardcore Islamic community who would gleefully kill them in a heartbeat. (Unless, of course, their unsanity takes a rather suicidal bent, in which case all bets are off.)

In September we're going to see what progress the Surge has made. By what I'm seeing, the surge has already produced some very significant, very good effects. And I expect in September we're going to be faced with watching a lot of the anti-war Dems who are very, very beholden to Kos and that crowd either turn away from the 'We're losing, and there's not a damn thing we should do to prevent it - instead we're going to try to hasten the defeat" meme, or embrace it more feverently and gain the approval of the anti-war groups while losing the support of the moderates in the party.

Truly, we live in interesting times.

J.