Democrats dare not win this debate
It is either fortuitous or calamitous, depending on the outcome, that the sixth anniversary commemoration of 9/11, Petraeus' Iraq Report, and Osama bin Laden's mocking video imploring Americans to "embrace Islam" should collide in time.
Many in the Democratic leadership have long determined that the Iraq war is a lost cause and now consider the Petraeus report a work of the White House. Accordingly, the next five weeks will be a critical period filled with political theater, debate, and the cherry-picking of facts by Democrats to support their repeated calls for an immediate or a set time table for withdrawal of troops, despite signs of real progress in Iraq. The surge is working!
Will an uninformed, impatient public led astray by biased media reporting -- assisted by strident anti-war Bush haters, advocates of appeasement who deny the existence of evil doers, and politicians who propagate defeat in Iraq under the protective cloak of patriotism as their ticket back to the White House -- win the debate in ensuing weeks? I certainly hope not, for the outcome will determine the future of generations of Americans.
Do the American people understand whom we are fighting? Hopefully Vietnam has not become the template for future wars where premature withdrawal was considered honorable and preferable to a goal that spoke of victory. America and the West, even after six years, are still in the midst of a global conflict against al-Qaida and its enablers. The Iraq theater has become the battleground for the most active and dangerous members of al-Qaida. It is not a war that will end if we leave Iraq, for we are engaged in a war of ideas against an enemy with firmly held religious convictions that seeks to destroy us and any part of the world that does not espouse fundamental Islam. Short of America's conversion to Islam, the war will be a long one against radical jihadists. (There has been jihad since the 7th century to create a Muslim caliphate that would stretch across the globe.)
The consequences would be enormous if America retreated from Iraq. Not only would the move invite more attacks, but it would also cause our allies to question this nation's commitment and could result in having to go back at a future date to deal with the chaos caused by our premature withdrawal of troops and support. Already Iran's Ahmadinejad has telegraphed his plan to fill the vacuum when America waves her white flag of surrender.
My flag waved proudly as I attended an event in Lake Forest to commemorate the 6th anniversary of that horrific day back in 200l. May flags all across America continue to be displayed in keeping with the final words of our national anthem, The Star-spangled Banner: "O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." Hopefully America has not lost its fighting spirit. Great countries have great responsibilities. Furthermore, success in Iraq is necessary for the security of America.
Nancy J. Thorner
Lake Bluff