This election season, no issue weighs more heavily on the minds of Americans than the continuing slaughter in Iraq, still passed off as an integral part of the War on Terror. But that war was lost the second it was declared and what we need to begin fighting is the war against Islamic extremism. This begins with entirely redefining our mission in Iraq.
President Bush recently met with the top generals in Iraq, even as public debate is finally beginning to swerve toward pursuing a new strategy. This debate is healthy and years overdue, but some poisonous ideas have unfortunately emerged from it. Chief among these is the unthinkable notion of an immediate retreat, which would only make Iraq the premier base for Islamic extremism. Similarly, proposing an artificial timetable for withdrawal is the equivalent of waving a white flag. The newest suggestion is to partition Iraq into three countries, but further attempts at nation-building will solve nothing.
Perhaps the worst strategy of all is the one currently in place. Staying the course is no longer satisfying the American people, nor should it. Unfortunately, the chief objective has never been to defeat the enemy. The war in Iraq has always been a war of charity, and our government does not seem to care how many innocent Americans it martyrs under the mistaken premise that democracy in Iraq will make America safer. A safer America can be achieved not by trying to civilize our barbaric enemies, but by demoralizing them into a state of surrender.
It is time to stop sacrificing Americans for a paper government that is already managing to slide toward Islamofascism. Our strategists need to stop stressing about the politics of Iraq's sectarian culture and start stressing about the Americans returning home daily in body bags. Our government has poured far too many lives and resources into this na+
nor the Democratic options of appeasement and retreat will achieve this. This war can be won; in fact, the longevity of our republic requires it. And five years after Sept. 11 seems a better time than any to start fighting it. 17
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Joe Vance
