The folly of ignoring history's lessons

As the junior senator from Illinois prances about on the world stage this week, making friends and captivating the "mainstream" media, I find it awfully ironic that he is able to do this with any degree of personal safety.

Oh, but, that's right. The surge worked. So, now, all the cut-and-run folks can actually show up in Baghdad in their tie-dye and Birkenstocks without too much risk of getting blown into atheistic oblivion.

Why is it the same folks who just love to play Monday morning quarterback about how we went to war with Iraq are the same folks who are wearing blinders when it comes to the success our troops are currently enjoying over there?

They really do need to crack a history book or two or three.

Don't they understand a rapid withdrawal of American military might from Iraq will create a tremendous power vacuum in which Al-Qaeda and Iran will be able to launch terrorist attacks on regional democracies AND on the U.S. homeland itself?

Read a little Florida history, and pay particular attention to the lesson Old Hickory taught the Seminoles.

Don't they understand that failure to win this round in Iraq can only result in Iraq War III?

Read a little about Woodrow Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles.

Do they really want to pass such grave obligations to future generations?

That would be a cop-out nearly without parallel in the pantheon of American history.

If he is drinking that kind of Kool-aid, the Democratic nominee is too naive to be our president.

5 years in Iraq

Yesterday marked the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war.

The dominant media used the occasion as might be expected, following their mantra of "hide the heroes, hype the heinous." We got a reminder of the casualty figures (3,987 US troops, 170 Brits, 33 Italians, 21 Poles, 18 Ukrainians, 13 Bulgarians, 11 Spaniards, 7 Danes, 5 Salvadorans, 4 Slovaks, 4 Fijians, 3 Latvians, 2 Australians, and the list went on). We were also reminded of the cost, which now varies between 2 and 4 trillion dollars depending on which pessimist you believe.

What you didn't get was any detailed list of the successes in Iraq since 2003. Sure, you may have gotten some vague concession about the troop surge cutting the level of violence. But, certainly no specifics. And, I for one NEVER saw any media types go thru a list of the very good things that have happened since the war started.

So, to make up for the gross oversight, here's a list of some good things that have happened as a result of this war:

1. Saddam Hussein and his key henchmen are dead or out of power. His sons were also killed, extinguishing any fears of them potentially continuing his reign of terror.

2. Democracy has been established with the adoption of a new constitution in 2005. Some TWELVE MILLION Iraqis came out to vote in the first free election ever held in their lifetimes in December of that year.

3. Coalition forces now control the flow of oil. Not only is it no longer subject to the whims of a maniacal dictator, it did not fall into the hands of terrorists or their state sponsors in the neighborhood.

4. A vital toe-hold has been established in the Middle East that allows the US to more effectively wage the overall War on Terror. Coalition forces have captured hundred of extremists including key al-Qaeda leaders and operatives.

5. The fear of potential weapons of mass destruction being launched out of Iraq has been removed. Whether or not they existed at all is still a bone of contention, but at least the threat isn't there any more.

These are just one man's general observations. The real experts, the boots on the ground, have compiled more lengthy and more detailed lists in their posts back to CentCom--including the reconstruction projects that are delivering water and electricity, repairing/adding infrastructure, reviving commerce, and building schools and hospitals.

But, isn't it pathetic that you don't see any of this good news on your tv news programs or in the liberal print media?

Iraq progress report

I don't know how many of you socks stayed up late enough to catch El Presidente's live address to the nation on the success of the troop surge in Iraq.

Suffice it to say that progress is being made, much more remains to be done, but the success of the surge to date means several thousand of our troops will be returning home by Christmas (and will not be replaced with fresh units).

Overall, I'd say that was pretty good news, echoing the report delivered to Congress by General David Petraeus earlier this week.

So, imagine my surprise at the Democrats' response to the news.

Ok, ok, I was NOT surprised at all.

I've been saying for quite some time that the Dems have vested interest in seeing our mission fail in Iraq. They want our troops to have to withdraw in disgrace. I guess they see it as the best way to improve the pitiful public opinion of their Congressional leadership.

Just pathetic.

Here's an exercise for you. Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. On the left hand side, write down the names of everyone who have a stake in a stable Iraq. I come up with the American people, our troops, the Iraqi people, etc., etc.

Now, on the right hand side, write down the names of those who want to see democracy fail in Iraq. If you're an honest sock, you'll come up with Al-Qaeda, Iran, Syria, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, etc., etc.

Like it or not, Dems. You shall be judged by the company you keep.