Investigators have found evidence that the attack in Mosul was a suicide bombing. This news is extremely disturbing as it raises questions as to how a suicide bomber would be able to get inside a US chow tent with a large amount of explosives. Had the attack simply been a lucky hit by a rocket it would be disturbing enough, but a suicide bombing raises all sorts of questions.
Given that the base was home to both US forces and Iraqi forces, it is entirely possible that the bomber was either an Iraqi National Guard member or someone impersonating an Iraqi soldier. It is clear that there was a major failure of security at Forward Base Mosul, and it is absolutely imperative that measures be taken to ensure that acts like these do not happen again.
The terrorists operating in Iraq will stop at nothing to prevent the elections from going forwards, which is why it continues to be critical that our resolve be greater than theirs. The terrorists know they’re losing, their attacks against the Iraqi people are indications that their strategy is not to win hearts and minds but to intimidate and suppress the Iraqi people. They also are trying to use attacks against American soldiers to move public opinion against the war — a strategy that must not be allowed to succeed. We now have an obligation to the Iraqi people to finish the job we started, and if we leave before that job is done both Iraq and the US will pay the price. The Bin Ladenist ideology believes that America is a paper tiger that can be defeated by attrition. It was a lesson he saw put into practice when the US ran from Mogadishu and handed Islamic terrorists a victory that emboldened them to engage in nearly a decade of ever more audacious attacks. Those who would allow history to repeat itself once more would put all of us in danger.
