North Star Writers Group

General David Petraeus has finished two days of being insulted, slandered, browbeaten and patronized by Democrats, which will have to pass for reporting to Congress on the progress being made by the troop surge in Iraq. What we found out, in the moments that those pompous, grandstanding blowhards and the lunatic protesters in the gallery let him get a word in edgewise, is that Iraq is coming along slowly but steadily, enough that gradual troop drawdowns are scheduled to begin by spring.

This is good news for everyone – except Democrats and their moonbat base, as they are completely invested in defeat, though not so much as to do the one honest thing and simply cut off the funding. That would make the Democrats solely and totally responsible for the most-likely horrific consequences. And they don't have the guts to accept that burden. So the next logical step in making it up to MoveOn.org, DailyKos and Code Pink for not doing as they demand (and keep the campaign donations flowing) is to rhetorically shoot the messenger, which explains their reacting to General Petraeus's plain-spoken truth the same way Dracula does to sunlight and crucifixes. And, in turn, their reprehensible behavior toward an honorable man doing his level best to accomplish a difficult mission. (Whom these same Democrats unanimously appointed. If he was so awful, why did they give him the job in the first place?)

In the two days Petraeus spent trying to give a report, Democrats spent their time not listening to him, accusing him of being a fool or a liar or both, calling him a Bush administration puppet and other assorted calumnies. Obviously, finding out what is really going on was the least of their concerns. Discrediting what he said was the foremost – whether it be by defaming his character, yammering on so he couldn't speak or wasting time dealing with kook protesters who only got in the chambers because Democratic staffers gave them gallery passes. (They certainly didn't get in via the luck of the draw.)

This is what passes for "oversight" in today's Democrat-run Congress – besmirching a good man and turning what was supposed to have been two days of information and insight into a total fiasco and a three-ring circus, simply because you don't like what he's saying and you're scared of the reaction of your own base. To conclude that Democrats are not fit to have power would make one both a master of understatement and the obvious.

In spite of all this, there was some very important news in Petraeus' report that should be noticed by us all but will go unreported and thus unnoticed by most anyway. And that is of how much Iran is blatantly interfering in our effort in Iraq, up to and including facilitating attacks on our soldiers.

Petraeus's report could accurately be characterized as a damning indictment of the mullahs in Tehran. (I counted no fewer than seven references to direct Iranian responsibility for violence in Iraq during Petraeus's prepared remarks.) When added to the regime's open pursuit of nuclear weapons and Ahmedinejad's calls for Israel's destruction, it makes for a lengthy list of charges.

Yet, far from considering action against Iran, the Bush administration is preoccupied with beating back liberal attempts to undercut the status quo in Iraq. (And, to be fair, has yet to take Iran seriously either, or so it would appear.) But if Petraeus is right, and I have no doubt that he is, the U.S. cannot win in Iraq without dealing with Iran. Perhaps there is a way to end their malicious interference in Iraq short of regime change. I certainly hope so. But if not, we must be ready and willing to do what is necessary with Iran in order to assure success in Iraq.

Nor can we risk creating an enormous power vacuum into which Tehran would eagerly leap with both feet by departing too soon. To do so would be the height of irresponsibility, callousness and betrayal. And given what we've seen the last couple of days, it would appear that we'll not only have to fight against Al Qaeda and Iran, but the Democrats and their base too.

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