taking the fight out of america..

it was just a matter of time before the weakness at home started to translate to weakness abroad.. over the past few days, we've seen our elected officials call for withdrawal from iraq. we've heard them called terms such as 'american hero' and 'patriot' as well as less flattering terms such as 'coward.' now look, i'm not here to impugn the military or public service of any former soldier or current politician, however, i believe it is neccessary to point out a few things.

first, i think that congressman murtha is misguided. his call for an 'over the horizon' military presence shows no understanding of the role the us military is playing in iraq. i think murtha does some great work with our servicemen, but i think he would be well served to go back to iraq and talk with the soldiers in the ground. i honestly believe he has spent so much time at walter reed that his view of reality is skewed. war is ugly. war is mean. we don't want to be at war. but this war is not one we can quit. instead of claiming that the us is the 'enemy' in iraq, he needs to get over there and look at the work being done for the iraqi people, the rebuilding of iraq. he needs to support the positives that have gone on in iraq - the elections, the constitution, the rebuilding of the infrastructure, the schools.. the list goes on. yet, he has succumbed to the convenient state of mind of the day. if it's hard, quit. if it's difficult, stop doing it. he and his supporters are acting like a gen-y pothead playstation player rather than a leader.

it's even more confusing to see military hating liberals line up behind this hero of the vietnam war. the same people who sold him and his brothers out in that war are now lining up behind him to support his point of view. you would think that would sound an alarm for the distinguished gentleman. apparently not. fortunately, (and yes, i geeked out and watched c-span for the debate on pulling troops out) on the other side of the aisle, there are heros from korea and vietnam who have not forgotten the feeling they had when a weak minded congress sold out our armed forces in the early 70's. they set to work reminding the distinguished gentleman from pa. that the work is not done until it is done.

rep jean schmidt from ohio quoted a marine in her time speaking on the floor:
"A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bop, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body – that we will see this through"

ms. schmidt was impugned for the comments of one of her constituents. yet, that marine has it right. cowards do run. no one is saying that mr. murtha is a coward, however, it sure seems to have hit close to home for him and all of his friends who are wanting to run.

it's interesting that everyone wants us out of iraq right now, yet there are no calls to remove our forces from germany or japan - where they've been for 60+ years. there are no calls to immediately withdraw from south korea, where they've been for 50+ years. the truth of the matter is that it takes time to take people from one way of life and create another one for them. ( it took more than a decade to rebuild europe.) it's made especially difficult when there is an insurgency funded by foreign persons of interest.. fueled by foreign fighters looking for their 72 virgins in paradise. congressman murtha is also incorrect in his assessment that the us is the target in iraq.. the true primary target for insurgents in iraq are the iraqi people - not the us soldiers. us soldiers are not hanging out in mosques - yet it was 2 mosques that were attacked just the other day. iraqi people are dying in far greater numbers - esp police and military members - than our soldiers. as a matter of fact, the us marines lost close to 8000 soldiers taking iwo jima - one battle over the course of a 45 days or so in WWII. we've lost 2100 in almost 3 years in iraq.. and it is unacceptable. but again, the issue here is resolve and hard work. the items that made this country great are quickly becoming greatly missed.

it's precisely this state of mind in this country that is undermining our status in the world. our allies question our resolve, our enemies solidify their understanding of our weakness. the same chorus of people who just 3 years ago were calling for regime change are now saying that saddam was not such a bad guy.. they are saying we had him pinned in and under control.. they are making the case that it's george bush who is the problem, not the tyrranical dictators who kill hundreds of thousands of their own people. as a matter of fact, it appears as if the left has a particular affinity for these types of people.. in vietnam, the leftists in our country pushed for a complete withdrawal - resulting in the murder of MILLIONS of south vietnamese, laotions and cambodians.. yet these same people are the voice who would champion 'human rights' if you would have coffee talk. these same folks today will tell you that saddam wasn't so bad.. that there were no weapons of mass destruction (ignoring the fact he used them on his own people).. that he was a threat to no one.. they would then conveniently insert a 'bush lied' idiom of some sort and some other juvenile saying.. and that brings us to where we are today..

we are now being told by our allies in the far east that they don't believe we have the resolve to win a war with china, should it come down to that. they see how we are incapable of sustaining popular support for a war in iraq. they see how we have lost our will to finish the job.. frankly, they see that a large part of america has lost it's will to do anything that is right.

the ultimate result of this erosion of confidence in our ability to do what we say we're going to do will hurt us in our dealings with our friends and foes alike. i've made the point that we don't have the will to finish a job anymore.. that we don't have the moral compass to hold true to our commitments. one point i have left out.. it's the point that the people encouraging our 'defeat' or withdrawal from iraq are doing this for one reason only.. they are doing this to regain the power that they have lost in democratic elections on our own shores. what's bad for america is good for them.