Cut and Run Democrats- Sending the wrong message

Whether out of stupidity or politics (or a combination of both), the liberal factions in our Senate and Congress are sending a terrible and very dangerous message to our friends and foes abroad when they call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Every single Presidential candidate pledged as much, during the recent Democratic debate, and they undoubtedly will, if they are elected.

No matter how often we are vilified, our flag burned or told how much we are hated, the world still looks to the U.S. for support during times of trouble. Our uncompromising, unflinching belief in freedom and democracy is a beacon of light in regions that are subjected to oppressive darkness. They expect our help, like an older brother coming to the aid of younger siblings being bullied. So what happens when that "older" brother just walks away, leaving them to fend for themselves? How would you feel? Abandoned, helpless, angry, and very reluctant to trust that 'brother' again. I realize we shouldn't have to police Iraq (or anywhere else, for that matter), and the Iraqis should make a concerted effort to take on that task themselves, but they're not ready. Yet! You don't remove a cake from an oven when it's half baked. So we shouldn't be walking away simply because the American people don't have the stomach for war or sufficient enough resolve to finish the job. By 'walking away' we will lose the trust and faith of all our friends.

But even more troubling, is the message we're sending to all the 'bullies' of the world: the insurgents, the terrorists, the despotic leaders. We will, in effect be telling them that we are weak, that we don't have the will or courage to stay the course and that all they have to do is wait it out a while, and eventually we'll give up, cry 'uncle', pack our bags and leave. As we have in the past.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard said that Congress' recent vote to withdraw U.S. troops was "probably not helpful to the general situation in Iraq. I think it is wrong, and I don't think it is doing anything other than giving great comfort and encouragement to Al-Qaeda and the insurgency in Iraq. They are looking at all this, they read newspapers, they see it on television and they say, 'The American domestic resolve is weakening, therefore we should maintain our resolve.' If there is a perception of an America defeat in Iraq, that will leave the whole of the Middle East in great turmoil and will be an enormous victory for terrorism."

This is one Iraqi's fear re. the consequences of pulling out too soon: "I said it before and I say it again; this war must be won. If it is not the world as you in the United States know it today (and as we here in Iraq dream for it to become) will exist only in books of history. The forces of extremism that we confront today are more determined, more resourceful, and more barbaric than the Nazi or the communists of the past. Add to that the weapons they can improvise or acquire through their unholy alliance with rogue regimes, combined with their fluid structure and mobility… well, they can be more deadly than any forces we have faced in the past. Much more."


Pelosi with her "screw you Bush" look, in her lovely head scarf on her recent visit to Syria.

With the likes of Reid and Pelosi (and their politically motivated antics), they're not only undermining any progress there might be in Iraq, but they are also alerting our enemies to the fact that we are a nation severely divided. And you know the quip... 'United we stand, Divided we fall.' Reid's irresponsible declaration that: "The War is lost", only serves to embolden our enemies. What more do they need to hear? Jackson Simpson, in The National Ledger, says of Reid: "In a speech today he continued his defeatism and blamed President Bush by saying, "70% of Iraqi children are suffering from trauma like nightmares, bed wetting, stuttering and fear -- that some say could paralyze an entire generation that we had been counting on to harvest the seeds of democracy." You can't make this stuff up. He then went the predictable route of comparing Iraq to Vietnam saying, "The Philosopher George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Yes, Harry, but you need to go a little further back in history than the Vietnam War for Santayana's quote to have any relevance, whatsoever.