So why would our men risk death on foreign soil so far from home, and risk starting another war that might eventually have involved nuclear weapons? Because it was critical to show the Soviets that the West wouldn’t back down. Webb’s proud of his father’s role as a pilot in the Berlin airlift, as well he should be. “For more than three years my father was deployed, unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing,” Webb explained.

That’s eerily similar to the sacrifices being made today by more than 100,000 military families nationwide. They are also living apart, as loved ones risk everything in far-off Iraq. And, just as in Berlin, it’s critical that we win in Iraq, to show today’s enemies (radical Islamists) that the United States won’t back down.

Webb’s speech also cited the Korean War as an example to follow. “As soon as [Eisenhower] became President, he brought the Korean War to an end,” Webb explained, after noting that the conflict “had fallen into a bloody stalemate” under Truman.

That’s true, as far as it goes, but it’s worth noting that while the fighting ended, the war never did. There was no peace treaty, and to this day there are more than 30,000 American troops serving on the Korean peninsula, making sure the North doesn’t attack again. If it does, the U.S. is committed to help defend the South.

President Bush wants our troops to leave Iraq victorious, which is really the only way any country can afford to leave a war.

Americans once understood that, which is why more than 60 years after World War II and more than 50 years after the Korean War armistice, we’re a lot closer to bring our troops home from Iraq than we are to bringing them home from Germany or South Korea. Whether or not we still understand it will become clear within the next year.