Retreat & repeat

For the sake of argument, let's say former CIA Director George Tenet is right in his book and that Vice President Dick Cheney pushed too hard with questionable or inaccurate intelligence because of a predisposition to go to war in Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein. So what? We can't go back and fix the mistakes of the past. Only two choices are available: victory or defeat.

Let us assume the Democratic left is right and we should pull U.S. forces out as early as Oct. 1, or perhaps a few months later, but certainly before the next president takes office, because the Bush administration's policy in Iraq has completely failed and, in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, "the war is lost."

What next? Does the United States not suffer a loss of credibility in the world's eyes for again failing to finish a job it started? Do the millions who voted for the first elected government in Iraq conclude they risked their lives for nothing? What would be the consequences of pulling out before Iraq is stabilized sufficiently to stand on its own? And, most importantly, what would a U.S. retreat do to the confidence of the enemy that wishes to dominate the world by force?

We have the answer to that last question. Statements declaring all but victory for the Islamists are posted on numerous Islamic websites. Ubaidah Al-Saif with Al-Fajr Media in Iraq, part of what is called "The Islamic State of Iraq," said on April 25: "The plans of the cross worshippers and their henchmen have collapsed." He quotes Reid as saying, "The Iraqi war is hopeless and the situation in Iraq is the same as it was in Vietnam."

Al-Saif declares American morale is declining and ". . . our battle against the enemy is first and foremost the will to fight and the length of the battle does not rest with the cross worshippers." He calls for his fighters to "be patient" and Allah will give them victory. Patience is not one of America's virtues.

Do the war's opponents realize, or care, that every critical statement they make is reported by the enemy's media and passed on to homicide bombers?

It's shameful that so many Democrats running for president appear ready to accept defeat and retreat if it advances their presidential prospects, no matter the prospects for the security of Iraq, the Middle East, and the United States. -© 2007 Tribune Media Services, Inc.