And all the more reason that the democrats whining week in and week out do nothing but bolster the people that the rest of us calls the enemy.

The only light I want Zawahiri to see at the end of a tunnel leads to that little girl from Poltergeist.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

I've long argued that the terrorists are going to claim victory - and view themselves as having won - no matter when we leave Iraq or the circumstances under which we leave.

As such, Bush's wanting to stick around so the 'terrorists don't win' is pretty silly.

Bush's desire is to stick around long enough for the Iraqis to solidify their army and police force and for the democratic to take root so the terrorists can't easily dismantle it and therefore actually win. I see nothing silly about actually completing the assignment.

Oh horseshit. They don't "view themselves as having won".

Everybody knows that guy, the one who gets waxed every time he steps on the court so he hasn't in years. But if he wins at 8-ball or Trouble, all of a sudden he remembers when he dominated you at basketball. If you protest, he just repeats the claim louder. If you nod and smile along, he grabs people from the street to tell them how he beat "this big SOB" at basketball.

He's not fooling us, he's not fooling himself. But I do suspect this is music to the ears of a certain segment of the American population who call themselves "progressives". You know, I think if I found myself wanting to believe this guy I'd just kill myself.

I believe this kind of thing is cultural. My entire life I've witnessed a never-ending string of outrageous and absurd pronouncements by ME despots and self-styled blowhards. If I am correct, then it follows that someone who has lived their life there is perfectly aware of this and has developed the proper filters. We westerners are only now getting used to this sort of demagoguery courtesy of Messers Dean, Kennedy and Schumer.

I don't see how any sane person could believe Zawahiri's claim of victory against the US.

Bush makes scheduled public press conferences while Zawahiri releases poorly shot video tapes from a cave. Who's the winner now, bitch?

Muslims generally, and Arab muslims in particular, have gotten rather good over the past few centuries at claiming victory in the face of abject defeat. That's one of the benefits of never having a centralized authority or commander -- no single person can actually capitulate for the entire group. There's no ceremony on a battleship where Osama or Zarqawi or al-Zawahiri would sign a Articles of Surrender; they will claim "victory" as long as they are alive.

Ultimately (as with Japan in World War II), it's about saving face and retaining the respect of your followers. They know they got their asses handed to them on the battlefield as well as we do; but they have to put up a brave front for the foot soldiers to keep up morale.

That light you see at the "end of the tunnel", Z-man, just might be an FAE at your cave entrance.

Or maybe it's just a dream sequence, gerbil's-eye-view of the flashlight used on the body-cavity search they are doing on your arrival at the CIA "facility".

I think the US military's press releases ought to mimic the MSM's post-"Mission Accomplished" body count:

"This is the [Nth] terrorist coalition/Iraqi forces have killed since al-Zawahiri declared victory in Iraq."

Nothing wrong with taunting the enemy. Or the 5th column.

There's no ceremony on a battleship where Osama or Zarqawi or al-Zawahiri would sign a Articles of Surrender; they will claim "victory" as long as they are alive.

If you remember the end of Gulf War I (which actually never ended, just a cease fire) Hussein did in fact sign a very public document making an unconditional surrender, giving up any claim on Kuwait and agreeing to inspections among other things. And still he claimed victory.

There is historical precedent for this.

King Arthur: [after Arthur's cut off both of the Black Knight's arms] Look, you stupid Bastard. You've got no arms left.
Black Knight: Yes I have.
King Arthur: *Look*!
Black Knight: It's just a flesh wound

Z saying this is no surprise. Neither is it a surprise when Dems say that W is finally listening to their demands to pull out and admit failure.

The only people in the world that will acknowledge our victory there will be the Iraqis & Afghans themselves, and the right side of the US.

But then, they are the only ones that matter.

Is that realy the light at the end of the tunnel he sees or is it the place with the flames is he looking at heaven or hell?

The light is mounted on the front of a steam locomotive. The guy shoveling coal from the tender has a strange name, Baghdad Bob.