Stephen Green channels that other Steven today, musing on what victory will look like in this war, and whether we can plan to "win the peace."

Meanwhile, doc Russia makes a compelling case that we are in fact winning:

Well, we are now in no danger of Iraqi WMD's being used on american soil for the next twenty years. We are now establishing a foothold for democracy in the middle east. The map of the middle east, once covered in its length and breadth with breeding grounds for terrorists, has now broad expanses of areas where terrorists must focus their energy, and not a half a world away. Now, the terrorists are trying (and failing) to hold on to their territory in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Africa, instead of trying to destabilize and demoralize the US. Is that what the moments before victory will look like?

Would it look like Marines stomping in the guts of the last holdouts of the Taliban?

Would it take the form of fresh-faced soldiers lighting up Al-Qaeda insurgents?

Maybe the laughable idea (at least in 2002) that the Saudis and even the Pakistanis would be rounding up terrorists within their own borders?

Would victory include terrorists being rounded up both here in the US and in Europe? Would we be able to get the terrorists to fight our kind of war, and send them to their deaths at every turn?

Would we in fact have newspapers ever proclaiming that Al-Qaeda was on the run?

Would there come a penultimate moment when even the hardiest of martyr wannabe's can see that they are going to lose?

Be sure to read the whole thing.

While part of me hears the voice of Han Solo ("Great, kid, don't get cocky"). there is some real evidence that we are making significant progress, and we should be cautiously optimistic.

(Hat tip: Owlish).

Posted by: JohnL at 11:36 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for the linkage. And you are spot on that this is not the time to get cocky, or to rest on our laurels. It does appear, however, that while we still have a ways to go, this conflict is heading in the general direction we want it to.

Posted by: doc Russia at August 11, 2004 03:58 PM (vFMqj)

2 Careful with that 'penultimate' word there. It doesn't mean what you think it means. I got bit by it a while back myself.

Posted by: Ted at August 13, 2004 11:22 AM (blNMI)

3 One could argue (I'm a lawyer, I have to argue ;-) that doc R got it right. The penultimate moment is when the bad guys see, i.e., realize they are going to lose, and the ultimate moment is when they actually get blasted to smithereens.

Posted by: John Lanius at August 14, 2004 04:18 PM (gplif)

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Fellow Munuvian Ace has the goods on this awesome automatic grenade launcher:

Be sure to click through to the XM307's site and catch the video.

Posted by: JohnL at 11:11 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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