Out Of A Vacuum

clipped from tank.nationalreview.com Another factor, the officials say, is that European Muslims lacking military training and good Arabic-language skills are neither needed nor welcomed by Iraqi insurgents - unless they are willing to be involved in suicide missions. And successful suicide bombers don't bring back much experience to Europe. To risk making light of a decidedly "un-light" subject, Iraq has proven more "boom" than boon for the Europeans who sought their jihad on Iraqi sand. The other side of the coin (pardoning the COIN pun) remains that Iraq has also become a counterterrorism and counterinsurgency proving ground for our own forces, services and agencies, with the experiences paying off in future theaters within this same conflict. But if one reads, watches or listens to the dominant news outlets, all that can seemingly be heard is our own costs and the enemies' benefits and gains. Somehow, apparently out of a vacuum, al-Qaeda is cornered in Iraq.