Anyone who’s followed my arguments on Iraq over the past few years knows why this makes me smile:
BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq has sent teams to four countries that have military pacts with the United States ahead of entering a similar deal, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Sunday.Â
“We dispatched four technical teams to Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Japan to see how they did in these countries,” Zebari told reporters on the sidelines of a visit by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
In discussing Iraq, I’ve made reference to three of those four countries numerous times, as they are all countries that were occupied by the U.S. to their great benefit. Now Iraq actively seeks to emulate their military force agreements with the U.S.. The parallels continue to become more apparent.
And this… well, a year ago most would have scoffed at the idea the Democrat candidate would suffer slings and arrows from the likes of the WaPo editorial board for his withdrawal position.Â
UPDATE: Our old friend Mohammed Fadhil from Iraq The Model pours it on in an op-ed in the WSJ:
Toppling Saddam’s regime was half the way to democracy, and now it’s become clear that protecting the newborn democracy is just as crucial a job as overthrowing the dictator. There’s absolutely no doubt that the American presence in Iraq has been the biggest factor in protecting Iraq from coup attempts by extremists – be it al Qaeda to declare an Islamic state, or the hard-line Shiite movements.
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I can’t decide what the gracious way out of this is. I’ve been steaming mad at the naysayers and defeatists for years now, because it was obvious from most objective standards that Iraq was hardly ruined, and it’s been undeniable for some time now that it was getting even better and the country and its people are in the best shape they’ve ever been in.
Part of me wants to offer an olive branch to those on the other side now. Part of me is still very angry at them for putting politics above freedom.
Dean, this is bigger than their politics and your anger. I understand your anger, seriously; but at this point, if the Iraqis and our military keep things on track and then a Democrat President claims credit for "fixing everything", I’ll be happy. Well, not happy, but satisfied, and willing to let them claim unearned credit.
And you know what? I’ll bet President Bush will be just as satisfied. It’s clear that he’s not interested in approval ratings, just in seeing the Iraqi people grow their democracy. I think for quite a while now, his goal has been to wrap things up well enough that no matter who’s in charge in 2009, success will stay on track.
Yeah.
Part of me wants to hit them hard for this during the campaign season. But part of me wants to see a Democratic President just so the "getting Bush is more important than victory" caucus is forced to shut the hell up; President Obama is unlikely to really make good on his irresponsible suggestions that we pull out with all speed. I hope.
A year from now, if we have a President McCain, nothing will have changed domestically. There will be progress in Iraq, and the Democrats will redefine "progress" so that there is no progress and they can blame President McCain. If that’s the price of continued progress in Iraq, I’ll take it.
But if we have a President Obama, then 2009 will be the I Told You So Year. Either President Obama will support the Iraqis in their continued success and let our military do their job, and the Democrats will claim credit for the success and say "I told you so"; or President Obama will live up to his promises, withdrawing the troops and abandoning Iraq to the forces of terror, and I’ll say, "I told you so." On the whole, I would rather be hearing it than saying it. I’ll know the truth; and deep down, so will they.
Last night I had a long-winded response to this that got erased after the Kid borrowed the laptop and "promised" to keep the window open. Suffice to say it got lost.
But my anger remains.
It’s been hard to support this war. I’m not sure whether the Adminstration is completely to blame for not doing a better job on the publicity front, or whether it shares responsibility with the fact that it had been decades since an adminstration had to handle the day-day dripping of enemy and anti-war propaganda.
I was born a Democrat and even voted for losers like Mondale and Dukakis, yet I don’t think I could ever forgive a party that courted America’s enemies the way they have. I can’t forget the rush to defeat by the likes of Harry Reid, the embracing of the Iraqi insurgents by Michael Moore, the complete willingness to sell out not only American soldiers but the entire Iraqi people for political gain.
I can’t recall any other conflict where the a political party so blatantly support our nation’s enemies except perhaps the Democratic party during the American Civil War.
As each month passes I see Iraq becoming stronger and more self-sufficient, and I relax just a little bit more. But I will not forget that tens of thousands of Iraqis and American soldiers are alive today despite the best efforts of the Democratic Party. War is not the only killer. As we have seen in places like the Killing Fields of Cambodia and hell-holes like Burma and Darfur “Peace” kills just as terribly.
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