Who really thinks the situation in Iraq will change because the Democrats are in power? I do, but not for the better.
It is ironic that so many Americans voted for a change they neither understand nor really care about. What Americans appear to have voted for is not seeing more reports of violence and dead soldiers on TV- that is, they voted to be insulated from events that are very much part of their own interests. Yet, what they have really voted for is a policy shift toward increasing the very problems that currently plague Iraq.
First, they have voted for the notion of telling our enemies that we plan to pull out of Iraq on an arbitrary and predicable schedule that our enemies can follow and manipulate. Whether such a timetable is defined by arbitrary milestones of troop levels or measures of violence or it follows a strict set of dates, such a timeline not only gives our military a script it has to follow, but it also gives our enemies goals toward which they can strive. How is such a change better for America? Our enemies are not dumb, and ‘staying the course’ was a major stumbling block to them. How will ‘we will leave when we accomplish the following things’ be better?
Instead, I believe the forces in Iraq will now react by manipulating us out of the region. If we say ‘we will leave when the violence decreases’ that violence will decrease. If we say ‘we will leave when there are 400,000 Iraqi forces’ that will happen in short order, never mind that most of them will likely be militia. Also never mind the message we send to the rest of the region. How different might Iran’s behavior be if that nation did not know there are 150,000 American fighting personnel right across the border?
What is worse is that this policy of a politically and arbitrarily determined timetable will not succeed. Instead, it will be mired down in politics both in America and in Iraq, ultimately making it no better- or worse- than the current policy. The moral here is that military policy should be determined by the military, not by the Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, Americans voted for the latter with its inevitable consequences. Have we not already learned the lesson of the consequences of fighting a war politically?
Second, Americans appear to have voted for changing the subject. Ironically, most of the current agenda proposed by the incoming Democratic majority has nothing to do with Iraq at all. Rather it has to do with weakening our economy by forcing a minimum wage increase, increasing our taxes to ‘make education more affordable’, concentrating on health care, social welfare, and the like. How does such a change of subject help America in Iraq? What such an agenda does do is distract the most powerful nation on the planet from the fact that it is at war with an enemy it cannot afford to be distracted from. Anyone who doubts such wisdom simply needs to remember 9-11. America was really distracted on 9-10 with things that had nothing to do with al Qaeda, fundamentalist Islam, or terrorism.
Such a change in focus serves only as an attempt to convince Americans that ‘everything is ok’, which is the greatest lie that will be told Americans living today. America and the world is not ok. Instead, we face some of the greatest challenges that have faced nations since the Great Depression and World War Two in the latest rise of leftism, totalitarianism, genocide, and fundamentalist Islam. These are problems that America must face head on, unflinchingly, and with a resolve that does not waver even for a moment. How does making education cheaper or establishing universal health cares accomplish such a goal?
Ultimately, if this statement has ever been true, America is less safe now than it has ever been. Unless the Democratic majority develops the will and the way to deal with the threats America faces, these threats will undercut everything that these Democrats claim they want to accomplish. No nation can have liberty or prosperity without first achieving security, and taking the fight to our enemies in Iraq Afghanistan, and all the other places in the world that fight may eventually have to go is the first, Constitutional priority of the federal government. If America has security, the rest of these issues will take care of themselves. If America does not have security, the rest of these issues will not matter.
So now the question becomes, what did America vote for on 7 November 2006, the reality of victory through legitimate change or the façade of normalcy that will be shattered by enemies who understand that vulnerability? At least we have a chance to make another choice on 4 November 2008 if our current choice proves to be wrong.
DLH
