Wait it Out

My timing this morning was almost as bad as Al Gore`s; I confidently declare that the troop surge is working, and here we have a deadly attack in the so-called ``Green Zone``, the safety parimeter heavily patroled by U.S. forces. Of course, this attack gives ammunition (I wish the President`s critics would give more ammunition to our troops and less to themselves for political purposes) to those who say that we cannot win, that war is unwinnable in general, etc.

Robert Novak, an inside-the-beltway journalist, had this to say about the surge in general:

Iraq: The troop surge in Iraq is getting mixed results, but so far most of the feedback is negative.

The heightened U.S. troop presence, according to the top commanders, appears to be pushing the violence out of certain areas, but it has increased in others. Meanwhile, U.S. troop deaths are skyrocketing, with very little attention being paid to this fact at home. The first quarter of 2007 saw 244 deaths, far more than the same period last year. On April 10, the Pentagon reported 35 troop deaths in the first 10 days of this month. The grand total is approaching 3,300.

Well, gee Mr. Novak, did anybody think it wouldn`t move out of certain areas and into others? What happens when law enforcement cracks down on crime in select neighborhoods? OF COURSE the terrorists are going to move to easier pastures. The whole point is that they are on the run, fleeing our forces. We can`t just lay back and wait for them to come to us anymore than the F.B.I. can wait for John Gotti`s crime family to resettle across the street from the Bureau; they have to be pursued. Also, why should we expect less troop deaths when we are aggressively chasing them? How many cops are killed in Dunkin Donuts? You may have less police deaths there, but you aren`t getting the villains. We should expect an increase in casualties if we are doing our job properly.

The real problem, though, is that the enemy knows full well that he can wait us out. The key is to attack and run away, hiding like cockroaches until the next sneak attack. In a year or two the Democrats will get their way, and the terrorists know that. How can they be demoralized, be beaten if they are constantly being told BY AMERICANS that America cannot win and must run away with tail firmly planted between legs? War is all about psychology; the loser generally sees a hopeless situation before they give up-and that means a unified enemy. The sissies in the anti-war movement, in the Democrat Party, keep giving moral comfort to these killers by talk of ``redeployment`` and claims that the war is unwinnable.

What they fail to see is that this will lead inexorably into our own back yards if we quit. These people are not going to let us take our ball and go home; they fully intend to make America hell on Earth, to punish the ``Great Satan`` for what they perceive is a wrong done to them. (That wrong consists of not letting them conquer the world for Allah.)

When the Soviet Union was beaten in Afghanistan, the West rightly concluded it was because of pressures applied on the corrupt Soviet system and U.S. aid to the resistance in Afghanistan. What the Islamic world concluded was that the Mujahadeen, the Holy Warriors of Islam, destroyed the Soviets through their mighty resistance, and they believe they can do it to America as well. If we leave Iraq without finishing the job we will verify this belief and, heady with their perceived victory, they will launch an aggressive campaign against our interests throughout the world. Meanwhile, anyone willing to fight on our side will run from us, since we will have shown ourselves to be the cowards the enemy claim. Civilization hinges on our success in Iraq, but too few people understand this.

The surge will work if we stand united, but will fail if those self-seeking scoundrels who seek political profit from our failure carry the day.