High Five

Happy BDay Iraqi Freedom! Five years on this essential battlefield in a truly global war on terror (quagmire for the quagmirists) the relentless march of Great Satan's Audacity (and penchant) for Victory continues to forward march.

Traditionally, phd's, exmilitary, pulitzer prizers and Statescrafters aren't as fickle, uninformed, and feckless as tweenage girls, politicians and lame stream medianites.

Yet even today on the Happy BDay Iraqi Freedom Day inappropiate handwringers, historical rewriters, who flout doubt and generally sound weirdly UnAmerican.

One new claim to fame about OIF was a horrendous flop is that no WMD were found in Iraq, thus victory will never happen. Fair enough.

Perhaps the Casus Belli is still Top Secret - even though the facts may have been around for a while. Flashback to January 2003. The Manchester Ricin Bust in Great Britain. A Scotland Yard Detective was killed in that op. What is interesting is that up til the investigation was complete, Great Britain pretty much insisted on one last UN reso to go to war.

Not after Manchester. In fact, history tends to point out that Uncle Tony said the "Heck with it - Hussein's gotta go and he's gotta go now" This could be interpeted to mean that one of Iraq's 18 suitcases of Ricin made it Great Britain. And that is plenty reason to knock Iraq out - all the way out.

Other critics point out how daydreamy it was to attempt to build a magical Disney Land like world for people who prob enjoyed being fodder for despots and who joyfully suffrered torment. Good luck with that one.

On the 5th year of Operation Iraqi Freedom - from a purely proud, shallow, audaciously optimistic, American perspect a very diff case tends to be built.

"Operation Iraqi Freedom" sent shock waves through other unfree, (some nigh unhinged) illegitimate regimes.

After all - if Great Satan could flat out knock out Iraq's military with Plan B , then the idea of what she could do after catching her breath and pivoting on her axis with Plan A and asking "Who's Next Y'all?" totally freaked certain places out of their everloving minds.

Like Colonel Khadaffy. He fessed up, gave up and straightend up - forsaking WMD witchcraft and eschewing terroristic lawbreakers in particular.

Or the ever practical pragmatic psychic mullahs who alledgedly gave up nuke chicanery.

Axis of Evil caught their breath, and realised they were in a horrible bind.

How on earth could the people of Syria sit next door and watch kids in Iraq argue with their teachers in class and without getting drug out and shot by the secret police? With a top heavy literate tech saavy bevy of kids - the very existence of which nigh guarantees regime change. Powerful meds - even for Cyber Police States.

Freedom to blow off the mosque, classes, demonstrations of love and support for the Dr. General Pres for Life - the Lion of Syria and hang out at an uncensored internet cafe? Or participate in any of the political parties sure to spring up with the sweet tempting lust of freedom of choice and casting a vote that actually meant something? Or even fire up a Face Book account?

For Iran, Iraq would eventually totally marginalize the idea that 'Preacher Knows Best.' A freely elected gov right next door that didn't deploy praetorian guards like the Waffen SS or the Revolutionary Guards .

Even sweeter (and ironically Teutonically - just like ancient fascist Axis) the Islamic Repub was totally surrounded and hounded by Great Satan in the flesh.

Over 200K Ray Ban wearing, tatoo bearing, humanitarian caring, culture sharing, combat daring, jam blaring, mullah scaring, globestomping, skoal chomping, no fear volunteers with the most sophisticated high tech weaponry on earth and a penchant for using it at will, without modesty and expertly.

Not surprisingly, when kryptonite hit Smallville, the Axis of Evil and their AQ fanboys had an urge for a surge of their own. Badr Corps, SCIRI, Mahdi Army and like a billion other Caliphaters moved in and took over (interesting too that official totals of 'insurgent' casualties has yet to be released - perhaps the number is incredible. May very well be - otherwise leakers who enjoy diplopolitical sabotage of America Unbound would have leaked it - unless of course it proved going to Iraq for jihad is not only dumb - but down right deadly).

Old school AQ bonds showcased Super Villans too. An arch enemy who left body parts on an Afghani field of battle (actually a targeted impact area) made it out to rehab near Bhagdad.

After a particular perverted reign including vids of butchering a helpless American - divine intervention ensured the last thing he ever saw was an American GI.

And the Original Gansta Enemy Number One - the most wanted 'Mad Imad' Mughaniyah. The most proficient killer of Americans in history - til 911. Operational father of the Mullah's Mahdi Army and Hiz'B'Allah.

To this day everyone blames everyone else, and Little Satan denies the hit but no one credits Great Satan with the kill. This is significant surely - the most wanted killer in the world mysteriously vaporizing in a secure sector of all spots? Revenge?

Despite American MP Generals not keeping tabs on the night shift, disbanding the Iraqi army or not shooting 50 or 100 looters dead, Great Satan tried the fun friendly super light boot print instead of a Soviet or Wehrmacht style occupation.

And honestly gave it a chance to succeed - to give people a chance and a choice to build a free country, a better life - a real future.

Sure hindsight is 20/20 - so what? The truth is pre Surge Iraq featured several things - like giving Iraqis a 1st hand look at what Caliphates (their choice - Al Qaeda ish or Iranian style) can offer.

Obviously, Caliphating of any variety totally sucks. And they can attest to that.

Also, Iraq was a future war lab. Fallujah is a significant point to this. Draw the the enemy into a trap and then crush them. This was also applied to Iraq as a whole. And it worked.

Transforming Iraq into an irresistable, giant sucking killing machine for Iranian minions, Syrian Agents, wannabe jihadis, and Saudi rejects. A 'disaster' that devoured and left foreign volunteers dead on the side of the road for a stranger to bury after devastating encounters with the uparmored sons of the Great Satan.

A quagmire that absorbed Iranian cash - over a billion bucks (not to mention Hiz'B'Allah's high maintance ) and not one emirate, caliphate, or theocracy to show for it - or a super Iran leaning shia majority in the Gov either.

A significant "No Thanks!" to caliphating theocracies that tend to preach ok - but can't seem to really run anything, heal anythng or project a desirable future.

Dr. Don Douglas points out

"War opponents will continue to berate and demonize the war. Today the Bush
administration is vilified for its foreign policy failures in 2003 through 2006,
but very few are willing to concede the huge foreign policy learning that the
adminstration undertook to set a new course toward victory. We are not done, as
General David Petraeus said this week, but the level of violence in Iraq over
the last year has dropped so dramatically that the conflict has all but disappeared from the front pages of the newspapers.

The notion of Iraq as FUBAR among implacable antiwar forces - as well
as mainstream journalists - will be difficult to dislodge.

The truth, of course, is that we're winning in Iraq, and while considerable debate
over the strength of al Qaeda or other anti-democratic groups will continue, the
fact remains that we can simply either recognize the phenomenal progress we've
made - and commit American resources and will to seeing the job through - or we
can succumb to a cost-sensitivity that will set back American foreign interests
more disastrously than at any time since Vietnam - an earlier, regrettable
retreat from war that left the world's correlation of forces dangerously
advantageous to the evil designs of Marxist-Leninist totalitarianism.

We cannot afford to do the same today.

There's no retreat from the struggle, no matter the political dynamics at
home. Our enemies won't rest until they've achieved their goal of the complete
and utter destruction of the United States, by any means necessary."

In this context, invading the heartland of Araby, knocking out the largest Arab army in history in 20 days - no less - attemping to conceive, birth, nurture and raise a functional egalitarian democracy was no mistake.

It is a brilliantlly worthy stratagem - as only Great Satan could create, sustain and succeed. No surprise either. It's in our bones - bred in our blood.

From Bunker Hill to Anzio, from Chickamauga to Mosul. Just like past conflicts that ground tyranny, slavery and despots into the dust - the cost in wounded and killed has been tough to bear - but victory will again ensure the worth of precious American blood shed on hallowed turf for the freedom and future of others - the ultimate in humanitarian concern.

"The battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, and it is just"

Just like the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic" soars in her last refrain

"As He died to make men Holy, let us die to make men free"

Happy 5th Birthday Iraqi Freedom.