the Centrist

As the father of an infantry man on his third tour of duty in Iraq, my message to Sen. Kennedy (who called our troops in Iraq “part of the problem, not part of the solution)” on the eve of the Iraqi historic elections is not “how did you dare” , but “how dare you”. The single most devastating blow America’s brave men and women suffer is not the damage by the enemy, it is the rhetoric from Hollywood and Washington. It is ironic that the very most privileged people in our society are the people who respect and admire our military heroes the least.
Kennedy’s rhetoric reveals a hidden bigotry, that the desire for freedom is not universal, rather it is ‘reserved’ for only those in the West. Why else would one discourage Moslem Nations to ‘put down their swords and trade them for plow shares’, unless one does not think they are worthy of it? We have at hand the greatest opportunity of our life times for peace in the Middle East and stability in the world … and suddenly the words ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’ have fallen to the same fate as ‘patriotism’ and ‘Boy Scouts’ … they have become politically incorrect. With a plethora of leftist leaders behind him Sen. Kennedy articulated his reluctance to embrace people wanting the basic human right of determining their future at the ballot box rather than at the end of a gun. Since the election resulted in a turnout of 70-80% (America feels successful with anything near a 50% turnout) … could the press request that Kennedy admit he and the Democrats were wrong? After all, that is what they constantly require of this President.
Sunday marked the first democratic election in the history of Iraq. That follows on the heels of the first Democratic election in the five thousand year history of Afghanistan. America, under this President’s leadership, is resolved that freedom is the solution, not the problem and that will be America’s position, not imposition.
Not unlike the vote in El Salvador when the darling of the left, Communist Dictator Daniel Ortega and his thugs, were resoundingly defeated, has freedom been so valiantly upheld. It is tragic that our loses no longer toughen our resolve as we have seen with the Iraq voters. Kennedy and his minions in the world press are in no small part responsible for this indifference. They have misrepresented America as an Imperialist Nation … in the face of democratic elections granted in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Can any imagine a democratic election in either nation … or for that matter in post WWII Europe or Japan … without the presence of our military?
The Senator is not reticent to compare our conflict in Iraq with that in Viet Nam. He faults the failure of American policy, rather than the failure of American resolve. He speaks of our abandonment of that nation as a high point in our history, rather than one of shame. It is no longer politically correct to mention the fact that when we abandoned Viet Nam there was a blood bath second only to WW II. What if we followed Kennedy’s prescription? Just what would be the result if we pulled out and turned it over to the United Nations? Where was the United Nations, and for that matter the United States, in the Ruanda massacre less than a decade ago? It is nothing less than a travesty that a Senior Senator the likes of Kennedy, spin, while our soldiers and innocent Iraqi freedom fighters bleed.
So as my heart wrenches each time a casualty list is mentioned, as my gut tightens when I see another IED detonated near my son’s position, I ask the Senators who voted for the war before they spoke out against it … why? They understand we were attacked on 911 and that we are at war with those declaring a jihad; that the entire world, not just Bush, knew Iraq had WMD (the real question should be where did they go … not ‘were they there’?); and that a free Iraq in the ‘belly’ of the Middle East will do more against the jihad than any other action. As Sen. Kennedy pleads for a more “fair and realistic plan” one wonders what he could possibly be more “fair and realistic” than a people determining their own fate? And I ponder, can the left put anything above its desire for power?