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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Austin Bay :: Townhall.com Columnist
Bin Laden's Slow Rot
by Austin Bay
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In late August 2004, after shutting off the recorder, I asked the British general to tell me how Iraq and coalition forces should handle the complex ethnic, sectarian and security challenge presented by Shia "Mahdi Militia" leader Moqtada al-Sadr. That month, Sadr's thugs had invaded Najaf's Grand Mosque and attempted to bait the coalition into bombing the shrine.

The coalition chose to follow the advice passed on by an aide of Shiite Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: "Let us deal with Sadr. We know how to handle him and will do so. However, the coalition must not make him a martyr."

The British general shook his head. "Dealing with Sadr will appear indecisive, as the Battle of Najaf appears indecisive. But in the long run Iraq will be better off if Sadr withers, or defeats himself."

Seven years ago, Osama bin Laden was a Big Man on the planet, a bearded stud with a Himalayan reputation among young Muslim militants from Morocco to Indonesia. Now, bin Laden hides in the Himalayas.

The Hollywood finale to 9-11 would have U.S. special forces dragging a chained bin Laden from his hideout, the frightened wannabe Caliph squinting in the harsh sunlight.

The Hollywood ending hasn't happened. Bin Laden may yet be arrested and brought to trial and convicted -- it should be done.

Bin Laden's slow rot may be the "Sadr strategy" writ large, however. The slow rot certainly isn't as emotionally satisfying as Hollywood's denouement. It has political consequences. "Bush can't get bin Laden" is a frequent taunt. But in terms of forwarding America's long-range strategy for defeating Islamo-fascism and helping Middle Eastern Muslim nations address their long-term challenge, bin Laden's slow rot -- in lieu of ascent to martyrdom -- may prove to be ironically useful.

Every war is a series of mistakes -- bloody, expensive mistakes. France's Georges Clemenceau provided a more elegant rendering of the terrible hell of it: War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory. Ultimately, winning any war, but especially this intricate, multidimensional war, demands perseverance and creative adaptation.

In war, the enemy makes mistakes as well, and al-Qaeda has made numerous strategic errors. Continued...
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About The Author

Austin Bay Austin Bay is author of three novels. His third novel, The Wrong Side of Brightness, was published by Putnam/Jove in June 2003. He has also co-authored four non-fiction books, to include A Quick and Dirty Guide to War: Third Edition (with James Dunnigan, Morrow, 1996).
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 11, 2008 - 5:03 PM EST
Bin Laden is Dead!
and Bush did not give Al-Q the benefit of a funeral. We have continued to hunt down terrorists long after Oscar Bin Laden has been gone and our world is a safer place for it.
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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 11, 2008 - 4:02 PM EST
Resurgence of Islam, Corrupt Governments
There have been some comments regarding the propping up of Corrupt Middle Eastern governments and the resurgence of Fundamentalist Islam. Below are my thoughts:

1. The United States did support an unpopular, undemocratic government in Iran for many years. There is a good chance the ‘Islamic Revolution’ in Iran would never had happened if we had not done this.

2. Islamic religious fervor in both Iraq and Iran is declining. I’ve read several articles on this, including the recent National Geographic Article on Iran. Young people in both countries are becoming increasingly jaded and disillusioned with religious fundamentalism. In Iran, ancient Persian and Zoroastrian customs are becoming more and more vogue among the rising generation.

3. In Iraq we are currently propping up a democratically elected government, which, by Iraqi standards, is somewhat less corrupt than you would normally expect.

4. The fact that we buy oil from, and sell weapons to (at regular prices), Middle Eastern dictatorships like the Saudi Arabia and Kuwait does NOT constitute propping up those regimes. We apply economic embargos on nations that are directly funding terrorism or that are massacring their own people in large numbers. By the standards of history, this is pretty good (and better than many nations). To expect a whole lot more is to hold the US to a standard that (though noble) has not yet been achieved by any nation in history.

5. For young, angry Muslims to blame their problems on the fact that the United States had not yet adopted such a fantastically idealistic standard (see number 4) is counter-productive for Muslims and disguises much of the true problem, of which the attitude of Arab and Persian leaders toward government, corruption, tribalism, and favoritism have played a huge role.
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