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Originally Posted by james t kirk
I guess it depends on where you get your information.
See, according what I am seeing, watching, and reading, Al Qaeda is more organized, more powerful, and has garnered more sympathy in the muslim world than ever before. (See Pakistan for example.)
Iraq is a civil war waiting to happen and things were far better under Saddam because he managed to keep a lid on the Sectarian violence.
Afghanistan is all but a losing battle to which no-one seems really that interested in doing what it takes. When Nato leaves, nothing really will have changed in Afghanistan. They basically despise westerners, and western values (now more than ever.) At best they might tolerate being in your presence.
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You're right, it depends from where your information source is. Liberal news sources (those that want Iraq and Afghanistan to fail) portrays exactly what you say.
My point of view comes directly from the fact that I was in Iraq, in the worst part nonetheless, for 15 months. I saw it go from "a living hell" to "not so bad." Now obviously I wasn't in the entire country, but I was in an area named the "Triangle of Death" because Al Qaeda and insurgent fighters massed there because that's where they had their strongest support. By the time we left, you could walk around without your body armor and not even worry. Now were we a little naive to do that? Probably, because it wasn't *that* safe, but it was pretty safe.
Iraq *was* a civil war waiting to happen until Gen Petraeus changed the strategy in Iraq. I haven't heard the term Civil War and Iraq used in the same sentence in over 18 months.
You say that things were better in Iraq under Saddam? That couldn't be further from the truth. While yes, the sectarian violence was almost non-existent under Saddam, what the news source might not tell you is why. So why you ask... If there was sectarian violence, guess what Saddam would do? He'd send in troops and kill them! How is that better living under Saddam?
Al Qaeda is *not* gaining sympathy from the Muslim world. As a matter of fact Al Qaeda in general never had the sympathy of the Muslim world. They have had the sympathy of radical Islamists the whole time. The same people that support Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. So not exactly that comprehensive.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, I'm not sure about. You may have seen in the news of late that violence there has increased in the past few months. That is a fact. What the news isn't telling you (any more) is that a lot of the foreign fighters that were fighting in Iraq have shifted over into Afghanistan because they realize they can no longer aversely affect Iraq. So yes, you'll see a spike in violence in Afghanistan, however, when US forces will be drawn down in Iraq, more will be committed to Afghanistan, and I believe that will calm things down.
Sorry of the disorganized way of my post, I was trying to respond to each of your points.