As If We've Never Been Over This Before ...

While hardly a new outcry, the Associated Press reported today (11/17) that a "House Democrat calls for immediate troop withdrawal." Other Democrats have been echoing this same sentiment for some time, but now some Republicans are getting in on the action. A senate bill would require the President to "explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq."

Both of these ideas are not the most helpful one could imagine. In fact, they could even hurt the war effort, our country's security, and its credibility.

1. Leaving Iraq immediately is a bad idea. Even so, John Murtha, a ranking Democrat in House of Representatives, stated:

(a)"This is the immediate redeployment of American forces because they have become the target." He then continues by saying, (b)"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

My responses are as follows:

(a) American military forces have become targets in Iraq. This is true. We are in a war! If we withdraw our troops, will the terrorists simply disappear? Not in the least. They will simply find new targets. If they target Iraq, their military and civilians will suffer significantly more. It is also quite possible that terrorists will continue to target Americans ... on our own soil. Iraq has become a terrorist magnet. With American soldiers gone, America itself will become a powerful attraction.

(b) As a Vietnam veteran, Murtha should understand the problem with this statement. War isn't like the movies. It is incredibly hard (if not impossible) to calculate. When war becomes hard, it doesn't mean that efforts have failed! It simply means that we have to "Adapt and Overcome." War hardly ever goes as predicted. To say that it should shows ignorance on the part of the speaker.

In short, leaving Iraq immediately is a bad idea. It gives terrorists a victory over the United States, quite probably emboldening them for bigger attacks. Iraqis would suffer. Their infrastructure, government, and military isn't ready. George Bush has repeatedly explained how you can't just create a working military force overnight. We have seen progress in the War on Terror. Freedom comes at a great cost as our forefathers knew, and as the Iraqis are learning. Security costs too, as American's seem unable to understand.

2. Revealing war plans isn't a good idea. Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of War that, "Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move."

George Bush cannot be more specific than he already has been without endangering the lives of our troops abroad. War plans are for generals, not the press. The long term strategy has been already presented to the nation: train up the Iraqis to run their own nation and protect them in the process. The plan is working! We have even seen the beginnings of democracy starting to spring up in Iraq. They have a new government; they have made a constitution; they have voted for the first time ever. This is undeniable progress.

So, if we are progressing in the war on terror, why all these complaints? Why doesn't the average American or even the politicians in government understand that we have to be in Iraq for the long haul? We have a responsibility that we cannot just walk away from in Iraq. It is a responsibility to democracy and human rights for their people and a responsibility to security and freedom for our own.