What If We Win?

Joe Lieberman might be the only democratic leader to survive if all of his colleagues are wrong. Democrats have now worked themselves into a position that the only way for them to succeed is for us to lose in Iraq. Even my friend and your columnist, Ed Cone (normally a voice of moderation) has now joined the Monday morning quarterback crew stating, “the State of the Union is strong…the weakness that bedevils us is the speaker of those words.” It was once true that the leader got a little credit when things went right, but not today.

The three things that the anti-war crowd have failed to acknowledge are: (1) their short memory, (2) their short list of ideas and (3) their failure to see our soldiers fighting a righteous cause, a cause that was once their own. It was 2003 and 9/11 was still painfully close. Saddam himself thumbed his nose at the world and particularly the United Nations, and virtually everyone in America said this was a righteous war against a tyrant of evil. He was the salesman that proved he had weapons of mass destruction because he said and acted like he had them, like kicking out UN weapons inspectors. Even Hillary said we should take him out, even if we have to go it alone. Times change!

So now all the quarterbacks have said we are fumbling “but we still support the troops.” How can that be? Their only idea is to pull out and they only disagree on when. How can losing the war support the troops? What about the troops that have died and been maimed? Was their ultimate contribution for nothing? Many politicians and the media have a grave leadership responsibility here and they have failed. Why do our enemies remain emboldened? It is not their military victory, it is their emotional victory in the hearts of Americans. Who has given them this emotional victory? The Commander in Chief has never wavered from the goal: to win in Iraq so their people, once oppressed by Saddam, can be free and have the same rights as you and me. In 2003, 90% of Americans had this righteous objective. Today, lead by anti-war politicians and mostly by the media, 70% of Americans want to succumb to a beaten enemy.

So what do our men and women in harm’s way think? They certainly have more at stake in this fight than you and I. According to Oliver North, this is a new type of soldier. He says, “I have never seen as many soldiers in Bible study and prayer.”

They are enlisting and re-enlisting to provide a huge volunteer army, the best in the world. They are capable of adapting to fight, then training, then nation-building, then security for elections, then back to fighting. They loved their straight-talking Secretary Rumsfeld and they still support their Commander in Chief. Even though the press rarely portrays their success, they are still willing to die to protect the views of dissenters. Do you think they sense defeat or can they see victory? To them, they now see 20 million free Iraqis who have produced several free elections, a new constitution, and leaders with hope. They also must fight desperate men of terror - men willing to kill civilians and even their own countrymen to stop the spread of freedom.

If these brave men and women succeed in the next year and a half, then only one democratic politician can take some credit - the only true statesman who continues to stand by his word, his troops, and his Commander in Chief, Senator Joe Lieberman. Never discount what God, a willing army, and a few steadfast leaders can do when faced with a righteous cause.