2011: A Pivotal Year

The 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C, were acts of unprovoked aggression. Al Qaeda preceded these attacks with others and with a public declaration of war upon the United States. Responding in selfdefense was warranted and justified. How we responded has been a matter of much discussion. Historians will ultimately sort that out. The real issue is this: We must now face reality as it is, not as we wish it would have been.

In that light, 2011 becomes a pivotal year. In Iraq, 2011 may mark the end of. U.S. military presence. In Afghanistan, 2011 marks the beginning of a conditions-based drawdown. With respect to the larger war against al Qaeda and its affiliates, 2011 may …