Unseating al Qaeda

Colonel H.R. McMaster was profiled on 60 Minutes tonight. The story was about reclaiming Tal Afar from al Qaeda:

"Anybody who wants to come to Tal Afar as a terrorist, I say, 'Bring 'em on,'" McMaster replied.

"Is that a yes?" Logan asked.

"If anybody tries to operate in Tal Afar, they're gonna be detected and …" the colonel replied.

"But is that a yes, colonel? Are they trying to come back?" Logan asked.

"Oh yes. Of course the enemy is trying to come back. In an insurgency, there’s not going to be a big decisive battle and then the white flags come out and it’s over, OK," says Col. McMaster. "But what we have here is as close to that as you really can get."

The story is generally a positive one. The success is important. Colonel McMaster was also interviewed recently on Frontline.