While reading through the
full text (PDF) of the declassified Key Judgments of the April 2006 NIE, something jumped out at me that I haven't seen highlighted yet.
Follow me down the rabbit hole...
From Page 2 of the April 2006 NIE Key Judgments:
Concomitant vulnerabilities in the jihadist movement have emerged that, if fully exposed and exploited, could begin to slow the spread of the movement. They include dependence on the continuation of Muslim-related conflicts, the limited appeal of the jihadists' radical ideology, the emergence of respected voices of moderation, and criticism of the violent tactics employed against mostly Muslim citizens.
Now, perhaps it's just my fevered imagination, but I do believe that the American intelligence community just asserted a consensus opinion that de-escalating Muslim-related conflicts would have a inhibitory effect on the spread of the jihadist movement.
Short version: Redeploying troops out of the Iraq theater of operations would have a positive effect on the propagation of terrorists and terrorism supporters world-wide.
At this point, I think the best thing we could do would be to stiff Halliburton on their profits for the next several quarters and use the cash to fund the Iraqi police forces and national guard. I'd like someone to explain to me why we aren't lend-leasing them our obsolescent M113 Gavin armored personnel carriers, which would be a hell of a lot better than the Toyota trucks and Subaru sedans I see the Iraqi police and soldiers driving.
Let's get these folks properly equipped, and get their reconstruction efforts and government apparatus funded and operational. Once that's underway, rotate our troops back to the major cities, then over-the-horizon to Afghanistan, Kuwait, and air bases within striking range. Our presence there is fueling a destructive cycle of radicalism locally and world-wide. It's time to pull back.
The NIE says so.