“But I can guarantee you this: if we cut off funding for our troops and abandon Iraq, as many supporters of this non-binding resolution want to do, the consequences of our failure will be catastrophic.
“Last year, Osama bin Laden issued this warning to the United States regarding the war in Iraq. He said:
‘I would like to tell you that the war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever...’
“Think about this for a moment. Al Qaeda knows the stakes and has issued a challenge. Now tell me, what message does it send that we are afraid to meet that challenge? What message are we sending to North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and other enemies of freedom around the world?
He does address my point, it just doesn't make much sense. First of all we don't let Osama bin Laden write US foreign policy, aside from killing him and anyone aligned with him we shouldn't base our foreign policy on him.
More importantly, Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea are entirely different situations that we would be much better able to deal with if we weren't in such a compromising position in Iraq.
I realize that the Democrats who are pulling for an immediate withdrawal are extremely naive, but I don't think that demands for a more realistic mission in Iraq would be uncalled for.