Stay The Course

IBD ^ | April 8, 2008

[Kaslin]

Iraq War: Gen. David Petraeus made it clear enough: We are winning this war, but we need to keep troops in Iraq because the job isn't done. But Democrats don't get it. To them, success means only one thing: leaving.

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"We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel," Petraeus told Congress on Tuesday. "The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."

In that one statement, Petraeus showed why the Democratic preoccupation with withdrawal is as naive as it is dangerous. Yet, Democrats cling to the hope they can make withdrawal of U.S. troops the be-all and end-all of Iraq policy. Sorry, but that isn't to be.

Petraeus' tenure as chief strategist on the ground in Iraq has been marked by brutal honesty — not to mention by extraordinary competence and success in bringing stability and democracy to Iraq.

That's why we heed him when he rejects the idea of imposing a timetable on troop withdrawals. Recall that last year's surge brought in some 30,000 troops. Today, there are about 160,000 in all, with most of the surge forces scheduled to return home by July.

But Petraeus says he wants a 45-day pause on withdrawals to see what the situation is on the ground. This is only prudent. Why let hard-won gains unravel?

Yet, some in Congress demand a timetable for withdrawal — information that might prove useful to our enemies, including both terrorist groups operating inside Iraq and outside enablers like Iran.

[berdie]

They fight us politically.

This will be another Viet Nam..in our Walter Cronkrike press.

I may put too much stock in Patreus..but I think the guy is real.

Did we pull Ike, Patton or MacAuthur in for a congressional hearings during war time?

[dsc]

“Did we pull Ike, Patton or MacAuthur in for a congressional hearings during war time?”

No, but Patton got sidelined for slapping a soldier — blame the media for that — and finally fired for a remark to the effect that most members of the National Socialist Party weren’t committed Nazis, but rather going along to get along — blame the media again.