Dan

Calabrese

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April 8, 2008

Tragedy for Democrats: Thanks to Gen. Petraeus, Victory Is Achievable in Iraq

The past month seemed like a hopeful time for Democrats – before an intense internal struggle turned in a direction that left them struggling for a way to deal with it.

What . . . you thought I was talking about the presidential campaign? No, sillies. Iraq. That’s where Basra appeared to be giving the Democrats just what they so desperately wanted. Shiite militias got boisterous and perpetrated an uprising, prompting a response from Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki that was less than overwhelming in its ferocity.

As things appeared to be spinning out of control in Basra, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama suddenly began talking about Iraq again. Yay! Violence is back! Just what we need to bludgeon BushMcCain and persuade the electorate that we should abandon a burgeoning democracy and let it spin into deadly chaos!

Good times.

Problem.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Iraq War Defeat Celebration. Remember political conciliation? That’s the thing the Democrats keep telling us is the be-all and end-all of the U.S. effort in Iraq, the lack of which is supposedly the reason all the security gains achieved by the surge are meaningless. Al-Maliki’s Basra counterattack, however mixed in its military results, has had the amazing effect of uniting Sunnis and Kurds in support of the Shiite prime minister’s effort.

This is one of the things that happen in democracies. Opposition parties stake out their positions and make their arguments, but they understand they need to come together behind the nation’s leader when the nation’s success depends on it.

Well, that doesn’t happen in every democracy. It doesn’t happen in the United States – a fact that will be on display today when Gen. David Petraeus, the man who has led the successful surge in Iraq, will come before members of Congress to give a progress report.

All three presidential candidates will be there. Petraeus will offer details of the success of the surge and make the case for why the U.S. needs to put Iraqi security and ultimate victory ahead of the politically generated goal of getting the heck out of there as soon as possible.

How, oh how, will Petraeus manage under the heat of questioning from Clinton and Obama?

Let’s see. Last September, Clinton essentially called Petraeus a liar (think about that one for a second) by telling him his optimistic reports of the surge’s likely success “require suspension of disbelief.” Judging from some of her recent statements in campaign appearances, she took her own advice and applied it broadly.

Now Clinton has rekindled the Iraq-is-in-civil-war story line, and shows her can-do American spirit by declaring: “I believe with all my heart that the American military has done everything they could do. They have given the Iraqi people the greatest gift of freedom, and now it is up to the Iraqis to decide whether or not they can use it and be responsible going forward.”

Sounds like a doctor breaking the bad news. “We did everything we could, Mr. and Mrs. Iraqi. Now I’d like to ask you about organ donation . . . ”

As for Obama, he wants to withdraw one or two brigades a month until we’ve completed our abandonment of a crucial economic and strategic partner in a crucial part of the world. Of course, Obama is also happy to tell you the lie that McCain wants the war to go on for 100 years, demonstrating that he knows nothing of America’s role in the world.

Perhaps Petraeus can enlighten Obama on the role America plays in post-war Germany, Japan and South Korea. But that assumes that Petraeus will actually get a chance to say anything useful in between the blowhard speeches of Democrats who saw their hope slip away when in Basra.

Even Moqtada Al-Sadr seems to know that the jig is up, and has acknowledged that if the government instructs his minions to disarm, he will have little choice but to do so.

Petraeus is said to have President Bush’s ear these days. Presidents tend to like generals who find a way to turn seemingly hopeless struggles into progress toward victory.

Would-be presidents, however, are another matter. If Clinton and Obama shut their mouths and listen a little today, they might learn something, and might gain some respect for the man who is putting America in a position to win, even as they’ve been doing everything they can to advocate for defeat.

This is Column # DC166.  Request permission to publish here.