Isis Is On Its Way To Defeat

The Sunni Arabs Began To Realize That They Had Made A Huge Mistake By Not Voting In The Election Of 2005 And By Not Being Part Of The New Iraq. They Had Reasons For This: They Were Effected By The Disestablishment Of The Military And By De-baathification (the Dismantling Of Saddam Hussein's Party) In Winter 2007-2007. They Increasingly Recognized That Their Future Lay In Being Part Of The Solution Rather Than A Continuing Part Of The Problem.

First And Foremost Is To Not Allow The Reestablishment, If You Will, Of An Extremist Sanctuary That Can Export The Kind Of Terror That Ended Up With Terrorists Taking Down The World Trade Center And Plowing Into The Pentagon And A Field In Pennsylvania. That's The Point: We Started This War Because The Sept. 11 Attack Came From This Area. And We Do Not Fight Alone, But With Some 40 Allies Who Share That View.

Al-qaida In Particular Remains Dangerous, And There [in Iraq] Is Some Residual Militia And Special Group Presence. There Are Still Between 20 And 30 Attacks Per Day, Still Periodic Car Bombs And Still Loss Of Innocent Civilians.

The Art Of Coalition Command - Whether It Is Here In Afghanistan, Whether It Was In Iraq Or In Bosnia Or In Haiti - Is To Take The Resources You Are Provided With, Understand What The Strengths And Weaknesses Are And To Employ Them To The Best Overall Effect.

The President And I Sat Down In The Oval Office, And He Expressed Very Clearly That What He Wants From Me Is My Best Professional Military Advice.