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London Telegraph Makes Gen. Petraeus Person Of The Year
Time magazine got it wrong, but London’s Sunday Telegraph gets it right. The Telegraph has made General David Petraeus its “Person Of The Year” and wrote a great piece about the man called General Petraeus: man with a message of hope.
He has been the man behind the US troop surge over the past 10 months, the last-ditch effort to end Iraq’s escalating civil war by putting an extra 28,000 American troops on the ground.
So far, it has achieved what many feared was impossible. Sectarian killings are down. Al-Qaeda is on the run. And the two million Iraqis who fled the country are slowly returning. Progress in Iraq is relative – 538 civilians died last month. But compared with the 3,000 peak of December last year, it offers at least a glimmer of hope.
Nonetheless, why should we choose to nominate Petraeus?
…the reason for picking Petraeus is simple. Iraq, whatever the current crises in Afghanistan and Pakistan, remains the West’s biggest foreign policy challenge of this decade, and if he can halt its slide into all-out anarchy, Gen Petraeus may save more than Iraqi lives.
A failed Iraq would not just be a second Vietnam, nor would it just be America’s problem.
It would be a symbolic victory for al-Qaeda, a safe haven for jihadists to plot future September 11s and July 7s, and a battleground for a Shia-Sunni struggle that could draw in the entire Middle East. Our future peace and prosperity depend, in part, on fixing this mess. And, a year ago, few had much hope.
It appears that not only are U.S. troops awed by Petraeus, but the British, Irish, Australians, and others are as well.
…it should be pointed out that British commanders hold Gen Petraeus in similarly high regard.
Several Northern Ireland veterans who worked with him in Baghdad this year came away with the opinion that it is now America, not Britain, that is the world leader in counter-insurgency.
I think it says a lot that our British friends recognize the positive turn of events in Iraq and the man responsible for that turnaround. In America on the other hand we have despicable groups like MoveOn.org who traffic in garbage like the now infamous “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” advertisement.
-Chris Jones
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for those who have led sheltered lives i might point out that the fruit salad on the general’s blouse are not “good attendance” awards. in particular the combat action, the master parachutist and air assault badges. none of those ribbons and awards come cheap, and often they call for all you have to give. “moveon.orgs” characterization of the general as “general betray us” is a disgusting, and cheap shot at a good soldier who has made a career of protecting their worthless butts.
“gunner”