Emboldening The Enemy

As soon as I heard the Iraq Survey Group's proposals I knew that it would serve only to embolden terrorists. Low and behold, they're already gloating about it.

Abu Ayman, senior leader of Islamic Jihad- "The report proves that this is the era of Islam and of jihad..."(With the Iraq Study Group report), the Americans came to the conclusion that Islam is the new giant of the world and it would be clever to reduce hostilities with this giant. In the Koran the principle of the rotation is clear and according to this principle the end of the Americans and of all non-believers is getting closer."

And then from Abu Abdullah, leader of Hamas' military wing-

"America must understand that with anti-American governments in Latin America and with Islam growing and reinforcing, including in the US itself, the next step would be a total defeat on their (American) land, not a relative one like they are facing in Iraq."

"It is not just a simple victory. It is a great one. The big superpower of the world is defeated by a small group of mujahedeen (fighters). Did you see the mujahedeens' clothes and weapons in comparison to the huge individual military arsenal and supply that was carrying every American soldier?"

So there you have it, in the words of Islamist terrorists themselves- it's not enough that America has been defeated in Iraq (and they haven't even withdrawn a single soldier yet), but it must also be defeated on its own soil. In one fell swoop the ISG has handed Islamist terrorists the victory that they could never possibly hope to gain on their own by merely combating the US military. Before the report has even become policy, the Islamists have accepted the victory it hands them.

Abu Naser of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades joins his jihadist comrades in writing up the Baker Report as a great victory-

"The Iraqi victory is a great message and lesson to the revolutionary and freedom movements in the world. Just to think that this resistance is led by hundreds of Sunni fighters who defeated hundreds of thousands of Americans, British and thousands of soldiers who belong to the puppet regime in Baghdad. What would be the situation if the Shiites will decide to join the resistance?"

Even as the ISG concludes that Israel's destruction is required for peace in the Middle East, although they of course don't use that terminology, the jihadists are preparing to achieve just that aim.

The al-Aqsa leader said his group learned from the "Iraqi resistance" that jihad will ultimately destroy Israel.

ISG, I'd like to introduce you to Neville Chamberlain, you seem to have quite a deal in common.

With Democrats planning on banning profiling and Republican refusal to enforce border security, the United States of America is wide open to attack. And as politicians dither and bluster and waste time on their petty squabbles, their enemy believes they have won a great victory- and that it is now time to move on to the next stage in their war.

Abu Ayman recognises that the ISG report may not be implemented but it doesn't matter any more-

the terror leader said the report shows insurgent actions are working.

"It is the dawn of the real Islam what we are seeing now, young people who are leaving everything in their countries and are coming to fight in Iraq."

Bush may yet reject the recommendations- he'd be a fool not to- but the fact that such a distinguished group has come to the conclusions they did has already done huge harm to the war on terrorism.