We won the war against Saddam's regime and Iraq's military, and there is nothing wrong with Bush having announced that fact -- even if he is being pressured into backing away from that statement.
What is going on now is a concerted effort by terrorists lingering from Saddam's fallen regime and from other nations, trying to reverse the gains we've made. The Democrats talk quagmire, but they never complain about Bill Clinton's failed promise to remove troops from Bosnia.
The enemy fights dirty, using unorthodox methods and having unorthodox goals. Their purpose is not to defeat us militarily, but to chip away at our resolve, just like the Communists did during the Cold War.
Regardless of their ceaseless complaints about how we got there, don't liberals believe it's a good thing that we liberated Iraq? Don't their self-professed humanitarian and democratic instincts lead them to want to help stabilize the burgeoning democratic government in Iraq? If not, why not? If so, why won't they quit obstructing and join the effort to work through the difficult, post-war situation?
The task of building a democracy out of nothing would be formidable enough without terrorists working their sabotage at every turn. But if we care about seeing this through, if we are committed to improving the lives of the Iraqi people and helping them to enjoy political freedom -- rather than just paying lip service to abstract platitudes about liberty and democracy -- it's time we worked together toward that end.
It is nearly impossible to prevent all terrorist attacks -- ask the world's foremost experts, the Israelis. Failure to prevent all terrorist attacks in a post-war, unstable Iraq is not tantamount to losing the war. But undermining our resolve to stay the course is.
The more the Democratic hopefuls say we're losing the war, thereby weakening the American people's commitment and the morale of our troops, the more likely we are to allow our victory to be undone. But it's not just about Iraq. If we retreat there, we might as well surrender in the War on Terror.
Thank God George Bush is listening to his conscience rather than the daily polls.