Good on the Telegraph for naming Gen. Petraeus as its Man of The Year. (You know the Weekly Standard did of course.)Well, there is someone else who manifestly thought it could be done. Taking nothing whatever away from the General, I have to give the edge to the man who hired him. When the full weight of the world and domestic opinion was after him to pull out and give up and be done, the man fired his failing generals and found someone who would fight to win.To appreciate the scale of the task Gen Petraeus took on, it is necessary to go back to February 22, 2006. Or, as Iraqis now refer to it, their own September 11. That was when Sunni-led terrorists from al-Qaeda blew up the Shia shrine in the city of Samarra, an act of provocation that finally achieved their goal of igniting sectarian civil war.
A year on, an estimated 34,000 people had been killed on either side - some of them members of the warring Sunni and Shia militias, but most innocents tortured and killed at random. US casualties continued to rise, too, but increasingly American troops became the bystanders in a religious conflict that many believed they could no longer tame.
Except, that is, for Gen Petraeus.
Here's the man of the year's message for New Year's Day.
During this hopeful time of year, we remain mindful of the courage and resolve of the fine men and women who protect our country and defend freedom's cause.As we welcome this New Year, we move forward with trust in the power of the American spirit, confidence in our purpose, and faith in a loving God who created us to be free.
