Well, see, that's kind of the problem. It's not just al-Qaeda that's attacking American troops. Shi'ite radicals and Sunni groups that are not fans of al-Qaeda are equally not fans of the American population. I would like to think that we could all work together, but it doesn't appear to be happening just yet. I'm afraid we've lost a lot of trust over there.

I'm sure you're right regarding Sunnis not turning "FOR us", in any long turn sense. It's certainly a short term marriage of convenience, but that's how tribal cultures work. As long as we're both killing al-Qaeda, that's fine with me. These guys aren't going to try and kill Americans after we leave.

I also think the Shias aren't going to keep fighting if we can solve the car bomb problem, which is al-Qaeda. The Sunnis (non al-Qaeda) are pretty much done killing Shias, because they know they'll lose.

Finally, while the Kurds and Turkey could be a disaster, neither is living in a situation that could be improved by fighting each other. Hopefully, that fact, along with American political pressure on both sides, can keep a lid on the situation.

I dont know how to measure their relative strength.

I'm sure they'll cover that in the next newsletter but their inability to pull off mass murder operations and lack of a clubhouse would indicate that their weaker but I'm sure many of the terror symps would propose otherwise.

I mean, come on now:

do you know any thing about war besides the great communist struggle?

and

You must remember I also have a bible and it tells all about liberals and why they do what they do and even when their there going to do it

Capitalizing "Bush" but not "Bible" is another giveaway.

"killed 3000 Americans - openly had a backing Taliban gov't "

9/11 was pulled off by 19 men, with perhaps a support group of a few dozen more, and with boxcutters and ingenuity. That does not measure out to great "strength".

Having protection from the Taliban was something, but it doesnt speak to their inherint strength.

I dont know how to measure their relative strength. I just challange the original assertion that it seems clearly to be lesser now.

While I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert, I've read enough history to know a decent amount about war. I'm not a communist, though.

I think your a liberal , you sure sound like one, and if you are I know for a fact that you and your kind have undermined this war effort form the beginning only to gain power that you will never know how to weld!

Nope, not a liberal. I'm a libertarian. And actually I was supportive of the Iraq War at the beginning, as I thought that this Administration was being forthright and honest about their evidence and their rationale for invasion. Knowing what I know now, I certainly would not have supported it--hindsight being 20/20. But the past six years have taught us that the Bush Administration is much more concerned about loyalty and "looking tough" than it is about making the right choices and paying attention to details, expertise, and empirical evidence.

While it's true that the Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda, they are certainly not turning FOR us. Nor are they turning towards the Shi'ite majority. Al-Qaeda is actually the least of our concerns in Iraq. At this stage, I honestly do not know what we can do to help stabilize Iraq, especially with potential hostilities between the Kurdish north and Turkey looming over the horizon.

I doubt that really did much for them, besides giving them a sandbox to play in.

The Taliban weren't recognized by anyone but the Saudis, and didn't have a lot to offer Osama besides territory.

Today, al-Qaeda has a new sandbox, and presumably is still getting back-channel aid from Pakistan's intel agency (or "bad apples" therein), same as ever.

Ultimately, extremism has to be destroyed from within. The Iraq War my have created a catalyst for just that. If you're Sunni and have relatives killed by al-Qaeda, you're not only an unlikely recruit, but an enemy. Also, the routine suggestion that al-Qaeda has unlimited resources versus the U.S.'s $12 trillion GNP is preposterous. Our will is the only issue, not our resources.

The other thing I take issue with is the U.S. pissing off the rest of the world. No matter what we do, that will always be the case. People bitch about power. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Lots of bitching about Toyota. Did Toyota do something wrong? How about 2 million Europeans protesting Reagan's Pershing 2 missiles. Was Reagan wrong, or was it better that he pissed people off?

In what way was al-Q's strength measurable, and measurably stronger, before 9/11?

I dunno - killed 3000 Americans - openly had a backing Taliban gov't -

Or maybe if we didn't have an Administration that was so blisteringly stupid, brazen and incompetent that it could manage to tie its shoes without pissing off half the world or causing itself to trip......

And Tano's point is a good one. How many camps, etc., did it take for the 9/11 plot to be executed? Zero?