Commanders in Disbelief
In what could be a scene from an old silver screen blockbuster, Gen. David Petraeus has once again shown he is the right man for the job at hand.
General Petraeus has a flair for the theatrical — which shows he understands his mission well. It will not be enough for Petraeus to quell the violence momentarily. He has to show that he has changed the paradigm on the streets of Baghdad, and he has to demonstrate it publicly and boldly in order to build confidence that the city has turned a corner in securing itself. (Source: Captain Ed)
Of course, politicians in DC have more important things to do than to secure the freedom for Iraqis. There’s an election in 2008, and a bunch of them are on the ballots. Freedom from tyranny and muslim extremists be damned.
Petraeus wants to show support for the Sunni tribal leaders and community as well. Ramadi, as the capital of Anbar, sits in the center of a storm of Islamist violence. In that sector, al-Qaeda and foreign terrorists play a much larger role in the insurgencies. Lately, the Sunni tribal leaders have shunned AQI and their foreigners and aligned themselves with the Iraqi government and the US, hoping to rid Anbar of the terrorist plague. These sheikhs need affirmation of the risk they took in doing so, and Petraeus’ bold visit gives then a very public endorsement.
Seriously, I am dying to know if any of the white flag Republicans are singing a new tune yet. Now that there is serious progress and effort towards the ‘benchmarks’, do they still want to cut and run?
Actually what is more important is that Congress show support for our troops.
That means:
- stepping back from the committee desks where they plan to grill every administration official and accuse them of lies
- Â spending their time at press conference podiums simply saying we are proud of the work our troops are doing and walking away before the “buts” come out
- Â putting national security and assistance to struggling democracies above a political party’s election promises, or that politician’s own selfish self interest
- And acting like members of congress, not commanders in disbelief
May God bless the United States military, Our coalition allies, and the brave Iraqis who are standing up for freedom and their country. Oh, and I applaud the members of Congress who have the courage to admit when they were rhetorically wrong, but most of all the ones who never had doubt in our military and the desire for freedom that exists with in every single human being.
Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement for one to let that desire to take over from the fear that was controlling one’s actions.
I’m afraid there’s more courage in Iraq right now, than in the United States Congress. But then again, Iraqis don’t live their lives based on polls.
