Thoughts on the War

In the words of Joe Lieberman, "Al-Qaeda, after all, isn't carrying out mass murder against civilians in the streets of Baghdad because it wants a more equitable distribution of oil revenue. Its aim in Iraq isn't to get a seat at the political table; it wants to blow up the table -- along with everyone seated at it."

With all the disgusting political maneuvering being played out this week at the expense of the ones who are actually fighting the war, this was a refreshingly rare read.

We are not the enemy. Terrorists are the enemy.

I think people are starting to get fed up. I know I am.

I'm not exactly a Bush cheerleader, and I'm definitely not a military strategist, but even I have a basic grasp of national security policy.

Even democrats - who historically have been experts at feigning unity at all costs in order to achieve political ends - have started to throw their own under the bus when it becomes apparent that they have slipped and spoken too much of the truth.

Apparently you can go too far with anti-war rhetoric. People are smart. The idea that you can claim to "support the troops" while at the same time spewing vitriolic contempt for their country and their mission is asinine. And while this is typical behavior for most liberal democrats who find it difficult to imagine that anyone but them could be capable of rational, independent thought, the reality is that most Americans (and most Iraqis) don't want us to lose this war. And they definitely don't want the soldiers to be defunded.

More brilliant, although now dated, commentary, this time courtesy of Michael Barone (whom I had the great honor of meeting at AEI in 2004):

The alternative is to get Republican votes. But only two of them voted for the March bill, and few are likely to support anything but a "clean bill," with no deadlines, goals, or benchmarks. But that would enrage many Democrats. The CodePink group and other antiwar organizations have already been staging demonstrations in Pelosi's office. They'd get really angry if a Democratic House passes a "clean bill."

The Democrats will face the same problem when George W. Bush vetoes their bill. They would like to end the war, but they dare not end funding to the troops. They can hope that the sympathetic mainstream media will put the blame on Bush. But they can't help remembering that the last time an opposition Congress refused to meet a president's demand to fund the government, it was the speaker-Newt Gingrich-not the president-Bill Clinton-who plummeted in the polls.

Unfortunately, thanks to some of the most spineless Republicans ever to hold office, we now know that Pelosi, Reid and the Democrats were able to do just that this afternoon: pass a bill that would defund the troops, ensure America's defeat, threaten our national security, and otherwise declare to the entire world (including our enemies) that we are more than happy to give up and go home when things start to get tough. That we have no honor or conviction.

The dirty little secret is, even though most people think things are going badly in Iraq (mostly because that's all they are told day after day), the vast majority want President Bush to succeed.

That's why I think we should just let them keep talking. Eventually, extreme liberals always show their true colors, and they have done exactly that this last week. Most Americans are patient, but when it comes down to it, they're also patriotic.

I can't imagine they'll stand for this much longer.