Reclaiming the High Ground on Iraq

Given our success with the counterinsurgency operations and the stakes involved in the outcome of the war in Iraq, President Bush and other Republicans have a window to restate their case for the importance of Iraq in the War on Terror. They should seize the opportunity before war opponents have another chance to discourage the war effort.

Let's agree to disagree right now on whether we should have attacked Iraq in the first place. Let Democrats savor the prospect of using that issue for the 2008 elections -- if things turn back around for them and against our progress in Iraq.

But we're in Iraq now, and whether we win or lose matters -- believe it or not -- and when we begin to withdraw our troops matters because it will affect whether we win. But we shouldn't allow the answer to either question to be affected by disputes over the justification for our initial attack.

The preliminary success of the "surge" has greatly undermined the Democrats' position on a number of fronts, which is why they are trying to destroy General David Petraeus's credibility in advance of his favorable report. It is why they are developing new strategies to secure our withdrawal, such as backing off their demands for a firm withdrawal date to lure "moderate" Republicans into joining their cut-and-run scheme.

One of the things I fear most about this new found confidence over the fact that the surge is working is that the enemy is smarter than many acknowledge. They know and understand the dems, libs, and media better than most Americans. They are very adaptive.

They will soon recognize the successes we claim and the shortcomings the dems’ et al cite and exploit those. It’s a game of cat and mouse and the dems/media are in the middle tugging the public’s puppet strings. Al Qeada knows how to give the dems/libs/media what they need to influence the public to give in and give up, and Al Q will quickly adjust and exploit our enemy from within.

While acknowleding our recent progress, we should be focused on what comes next, anticipating how the enemy will adapt and how we can counter. We should not be gloating and celebrating. As several years have shown, there’s always change around the corner. I’m not trying to rain on the parade, but I think people need to stay focused, not overstate things, and not get caught off guard. If this swings back again, I don’t see another chance to save it.

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