A Nation Forgetting Its Quality of Courage

In 1961, we heard from the Democrats, “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Today it is the exact opposite in their quest for political power.

America once could count on Democrats to support spreading freedom, liberty and democracy, defeating despotic regimes and elevating our Brave Troops before the public eye. Since they voted to give President Bush authorization to invade Iraq, Democrat Party members have lined up to denigrate the effort, the President and victimize those same Brave Troops.

In what appears to be a total disregard for the words of President John F. Kennedy, quoted above, today’s Democrats continue their own “surge” to bring about defeat in Iraq, much as they did three decades ago to another struggling Democracy, Viet Nam.

From Presidential candidates to Party leaders, to lesser members, the party seems lined up to deny the Iraqi’s freedoms promised long ago by painting every effort in the ongoing battle successes as failures. Just as the Tet of ’68 Offensive was portrayed as a failure for American Forces, when it was a distinct victory in battle, President Bush’s Troop Reinforcement, known as the “surge” is being portrayed as a failure, when all indications are it too is a distinct victory for America’s Troops, the Iraqi Forces and citizens of Iraq.

It was just August of 2007, as news of the initial success of the Troop Surge was coming out, that top Democrats were caught strategizing on how to cast it as a failure, even though you wouldn’t know from the lack of coverage by the media. Even Senator Ted Kennedy, last living brother of President Kennedy, labeled the effort as an 'immense new mistake' just as it was getting underway.

By all reports and accounts, the surge has been working, violence is down and political progress is made, although not as President had hoped for. Casualties are down, even though Iraq is still a “hotspot” and Iraqi Forces are stepping up more.

Instead of being elated at any progress at all, Democrats seem prepared to repeat their maneuvers of the past, implementing the cries of “failure” and demands for “withdraw the Troops.”

Just this week, several Democrats sent President Bush another letter calling for yet another “New Iraq Strategy.”

As we have come to expect, Democrats label the effort as “a failure” now because “political reconciliation” has not been completed. America hasn’t achieved it in 230 years, yet we demand the Iraqi people accomplish it in less than two years?

In the letter we read,

“We are deeply concerned that you and the congressional Republican leadership are intent on staying the current course throughout your Administration and then handing the Iraq war off to future presidents.”

Can you imagine President Truman being handed a similar letter in 1945 as the Allies were gearing up to help rebuild and transition Germany and Japan from dictatorships defeated into thriving democracies? 63 years after the cessation of hostilities in that war, America still has over 50,000 Troops in Japan and over 85,000 in Europe.

That effort was “handed off” to 10 other “future president’s” without a care from the Democrat Party and is still ongoing.

Also this week, we have former candidate Senator Joe Biden, long a critic of Republicans and the Battle in Iraq saying,

“The purpose of the surge was to bring violence in Iraq down so that its leaders could come together politically. Violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together,” adding, as expected, “I believe the president has no strategy for success in Iraq. His plan is to muddle through, and hand the problem off to his successor.”

This would be the same Senator Biden who last year, as general David Petraeus was preparing to give the congressionally mandated progress report called the Surge a failure then saying,

“The surge has not worked and will not work because its basic premise, to give time for a strong central government to take hold, is fatally flawed,” and adding, “After misleading the American people that the troop surge would be temporary, limited in number and limited in duration, the administration is finally acknowledging the truth, the ‘surge’ is really an escalation with no end in sight.”

This, just as the “surge” was just reaching its full implementation.

In speech after speech, interview after interview, Democrat Party members line up to call for an “end” to our involvement in Iraq, which would most likely lead to defeat and failure in Afghanistan and the overall War on Terror, allowing radical Jihadists free reign of terror over that part of the world and eventually, the West as well. I have yet to hear of any of them calling for a “win” in this war, completely unlike Democrats in the 1940’s.

“Win” seems to have been removed from their lexicons, except in regards to elections.

Imagine the dismay President Kennedy would feel today if he knew, when he wrote on page one of his book “Profiles In Courage,”

“A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or reward that quality in its chosen leaders today,”

he was describing not only his own brother, but his party as well.