Iraq Attack

As Democrats today proposed to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq in 16 months, China hurled its own salvo's:

China on Thursday criticized the United States for trampling on Iraq’s sovereignty, using its campaign against terrorism as an excuse to carry out torture and violate the rights of its citizens.

The charges came in a report titled the “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2006,” China’s response to US criticism of Beijing’s human rights record in a report released Tuesday by the US State Department.

While it is true that many will smirk and shake their head at the thought of China accusing any nation of human rights abuses, these blows come at the same time Gordon Adams, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars writing in Foreign Policy, estimates that the United States is spending money at a rate of $250,000 a minute in Iraq. Ouch.

China's criticisms are no surprise, they are playing good cop to our (percieved) bad cop. Why not capitalize on our bad press? Their moves are calculated and obvious.

The dollars we are spending in Iraq, if accurate, are breathtaking. It is easy for Americans to stop and think what we could have done with all that money channeled somewhere else... erase poverty? Combat global warming? Pay down the debt? It is true that the number is staggering, and we also know that the figure will continue to grow.

However, put aside the monetary loss in dollars and cents, and it is difficult to quantify our immeasurable gains/losses with respect to world perception. I do not mean whether or not the world likes us - which is certainly important. Rather, how can we measure our enemy's perception? How much fear have we stricken into their souls? How many terrorist attacks have we deterred by tying up fanatical jihadis in the desert? How closely are North Korea, Iran, Russia and China watching our steps?

In the West, our perceptions of life, liberty and happiness are not comparable with other lands. We value life more than many other regions of the world... but not because we have a superior culture or values. Life is taken much more often in developing countries around the globe, and thus death is viewed differently. So is power.

It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world would occasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are doing with the same set of facts.

~Bill Vaughan

Our Islamic enemies in the middle east; the insurgents and jihadis - have a radically different view of death (as glorious in the name of jihad, which will reward them with 72 virgins in heaven). Yet, they also have a radically different view of life. Not only do they wish to be ruled under the thumb of strict Shari'a law, bound by the letter of the Koran, but in daily life, throughout the wilds of the middle east, power carries the day.

Power brings us full circle to Iraq. The United States has shown the world that we can invade a malignant dictator's country, occupy it with 100,000+ troops, support a democratically elected government, and still lose less than 3,300 soldiers in over four years. That must send chills into the Sunni, Shi'ite, Communist, repressive authoritarian bones of our enemies. The knowledge that a superbly equipped and efficient American military machine has stood up to Islamic fascism, looked into the eye of false prophets and zealous clerics while taming a dangerous foreign land is not to be underestimated.

All of this taken together has me perplexed. Why Democrats in Congress have:

proposed legislation Thursday that would have U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by August 2008 -- or sooner if certain benchmarks of progress aren't met.

The troop withdrawal timetables are embedded in appropriations legislation that provides money for care of wounded troops, for better equipment and training, and for expanded operations in Afghanistan.

The plan will "refocus our military efforts on Afghanistan and fighting the war on terrorism where it began," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.

Democrats may be right. If these benchmarks are met, the U.S. could surely safely stand to slowly pull out of Iraq. But it begs the question - wouldn't the president remove our troops if the country was stable? What leads Pelosi, Murtha, et. al to believe that they have more information than the President on this matter? Why would a Congressman want to micromanage a war? I would not want that responsibility if I were in Congress.

By playing the silent, supportive role, Congress could reap greater rewards. If the war goes well, they can claim that they've been supporting it and have supplied funding. If the war turns even more sour, they can blame the President. It's virtually a win-win for them. Yet, by interjecting their own spin, their own detailed plans, they are setting themselves up for an equal share of the blame should Iraq spiral out of control. Their rhetoric also helps to vindicate the terrorists' thinking.

Lastly, I do not necessarily fault Congress for taking an active role, but the aggressive manner in which some, like Representative Murtha, have virtually thrown a monkey-wrench into the debate through bumbling words "Our troops live in palaces," to trumping their own leadership by grandstanding and offering multiple plans for action. If Congress wants to support the troops, do so by formulating a coherent policy, one that will not require the Congress to micromanage the war.

Loose talk about the troops, rambling interviews on movecongress.org, and desecrating soldiers' memories by calling their lives wasted serves no purpose.

The quickest way to end a war is to lose it.
~ George Orwell

Whoever does not have the stomach for this fight, let him depart. Give him money to speed his departure since we wish not to die in that man’s company. Whoever lives past today and comes home safely will rouse himself every year on this day, show his neighbor his scars, and tell embellished stories of all their great feats of battle. These stories will teach his son and from this day until the end of the world we shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for whoever has shed blood with me shall be my brother. And those men afraid to go will think themselves lesser men as they hear of how we fought and died together.
~ Shakespeare, Henry V