California Conservative

I’ve written about Sen. Biden’s op-ed, challenging much of his information based on what Sen. Lieberman said after returning from Iraq. I’ve now found several articles that discredits Sen. Biden’s information. Let’s start by comparing Rowan Scarborough’s Washington Times article, titled “U.S. Decimating Foreign Fighters,” with Biden’s op-ed.

Biden writes:

There is another critical question: As our soldiers redeploy, will our security interests in Iraq remain intact or will we have traded a dictator for chaos?

Then Scarborough’s article:

The U.S. is seeing significantly fewer foreign fighters on the battlefields of Iraq, because the coalition has killed or captured scores of terrorists in recent months and is doing a better job of securing the long border with Syria.

It seems like Biden’s op-ed isn’t based on facts as much as it’s based on wondering if worst-case scenarios might happen. Scarborough’s article cites specifics that tell us that terrorists will be killed before they get a chance to topple Iraq’s government and that the once-porous Iraq-Syria border isn’t porous anymore.

You can attribute much of the border security improvement on the dramatic impact of Operation Steel Curtain, under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch.

Here’s another way that the military is impacting border security:

Defense sources said the deployment of newly emerging Iraqi brigades along the Syria border and better aerial surveillance has slowed the flow of foreigners. “It appears there has been a downturn, and that is partly due to increased security along the border with Syria,” said a U.S. counterintelligence official, who asked not to be named. “Syria was the primary entry point for most of those foreign fighters. Stepped-up efforts to stem the flow is having an impact.”

In other words, Biden’s fears are based on a pessimistic mindset and his theories than on facts on the ground.
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