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Clinging To Defeatism
From The Washington Times
Editorial
February 27, 2008
Senate Democrats yesterday provided yet another sorry illustration of the fact that they are thoroughly invested in the defeat of U.S. military forces in Iraq. This happened despite the growing evidence that the troop surge is damaging al Qaeda, and that the Iraqis are making remarkable progress on the political front as well. ...
[L]awmakers debated legislation introduced by Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin that would cut off funding for the troops in Iraq in 120 days. Moreover, the Feingold proposal would, after ending military operations in Iraq that are principally directed against al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (in essence, reviving that terrorist group from the dead), requires [sic] Mr. Bush to formulate a new plan for defeating al Qaeda.
The Feingold plan -- which is pushed by a coalition that includes MoveOn.org, former Sen. John Edwards and the Service Employees International Union -- is an example of what happens when ideologues become captive to their own hatreds and mythology. ... [V]iolent civilian deaths in Iraq were 76 percent lower last month compared with January 2007. Meanwhile, U.S. combat deaths were down by more than 50 percent. So, Democrats dismissed evidence of military progress by pointing to a lack of political progress. But in the past two weeks, the Iraqi Parliament approved three critical measures: partial amnesty for prisoners (more than three-quarters of whom are Sunni); provincial powers and elections to Iraqi provinces by October; a law allocating government revenue (more than 80 percent of which comes from oil) to the provinces. ...
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