Posted by
Purple Smoke/ Broken Mirrors on Thursday, June 14, 2007 5:31:42 PM
Americans are fed up with the Iraq War. Even we Iraq War supporters don't know how to answer when asked how we view the Iraq War in its current state. On one hand we don't want to give the media or Bush haters any ammunition to further undermine support for the war, but on the other hand we want to register our disapproval with the politically correct manner in which it's being fought. If we answer "No" to the question about if we approve of the way Bush is handling the Iraq War it will be painted with a broad brush by the Democrat Party as "Americans want us to pull out of Iraq now." So how do we let our voice be heard?
There is really only two choices in Iraq, and it must be made now. Our first choice is the Democrat plan. Pull out, redeploy, withdraw, or whatever the favored, poll-tested term is at the moment. Obviously this is a bad choice with regard to our future security, but it may bring an "opportunity in the lap of the [next] President" to show his/her leadership. Of course it may be in the form of another 9/11; but it would allow Hillary to show her firm, determined resolve in the face of a national emergency. Did I just say "Hillary"?
The second choice is to win the war. Nobody is seriously looking at this option right now, although a majority of Americans favor such a decision. Bush claims he wants to win the war, and I believe him. But he is not willing to do what is necessary to win. He is hoping it just kinda happens that way. He'll push a little surge, bring in the funding for the troops, and try to finagle a political solution. He'll do all those things. That may bring about a victory if we have twenty or so years to accomplish it, but we don't. We have exactly 19 months or until September if you are waiting for General Petreaus' report.
Bush is trying forge a middle path or third option, one in which we (for the most part) stay on defense - patrol neighborhoods, go house-to-house in a few hotspots, take out an occasional building, and hope and pray the Iraqi Congress doesn't go on vacation before solving the problem before Iran really gets involved. What he is hoping for is the miracle that, for the first time in history, a defensive strategy will bring about victory.
If we want to win this thing before the next President is inaugurated it's going to require some tough decisions regarding how high we value Iraqi civilian life vs. the political realities of losing or being stuck in Iraq for the next couple decades. And I don't mean nukes. I'm not a wacko. We need to go on offense. I believe we need to use more airpower and lower the threshold for proof of the whereabouts of terrorists, insurgents, and all-around troublemakers. Of course this will result in more civilian deaths and all the pleasurable consequences that go along with that - pictures plastered all over CNN, European outrage, UN condemnation, Democrats breaking out in hives, etc. While we listen to the self-righteous indignation of the left and most human rights groups (is there a difference?) we'll notice that the sound of bombs and gunfire in Baghdad will have diminished.
That's the choice. If we win we'll enrage the left, and some Iraqi civilians will regrettably lose their lives. They are losing them anyway - just not by us. Or we can continue the current path which will not bring us to victory before 2009. Or we can pull out now.
Some choice, huh, Mr President? It may bring some comfort to you to know that it has been faced before by Truman and Lincoln. We're praying for you.