Bad!

“The bipartisan Iraq Study Group plans to recommend withdrawing nearly all U.S. combat units from Iraq by early 2008 while leaving behind troops to train, advise and support the Iraqis, setting the first goal for a major drawdown of U.S. forces, sources familiar with the proposal said yesterday.

The commission plan would shift the U.S. mission in Iraq to a secondary role as the fragile Baghdad government and its security forces take the lead in fighting a Sunni insurgency and trying to halt sectarian violence. As part of major changes in the U.S. presence, sources said, the plan recommends embedding U.S. soldiers directly in Iraqi security units starting as early as next month to improve leadership and effectiveness.”

2008? Yeah just in time for the Presidential election. I know this is unavoidable, but politics be damned we are about to sell the farm over simple political bickering. While the Post notes that this isn’t to be carved in stone and can fluctuate, it still sends a message to the enemy that we are about to bug out. No matter what people say, remember it was Osama Bin Laden that stated that the US would not have the guts to fight a protracted struggle and would flee when the blood began to flow.

While I morn with others the 2500 service deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fact is that the ratio of troops to casualties is phenominal to this point - unheard of in a operation of this scale. Sadly though Osama was right as there are some of us who lack the will or the guts to stick it out and win, choosing instead to - yes - cut and run.

Still when it came to Iraq, it wasn’t whether we should or shouldn’t have taken out Saddam because sooner or later it was going to be done. We all know that and it’s time to stop acting like it’s not true.

Our invasion of Iraq did one very specific thing. It enraged the radical lslamic world and that is a GOOD thing. Let them get mad and let them continue to fight us. The fact is that an early withdraw - whether just on paper or not - is sending the wrong message, telling the enemy that we are in fact a punk civilization and are deathly afraid of conflict.

The whole idea of talking with Iran and Syria about “stability” in the region is complete insanity, but this is the kind of lunancy we can expect from those who do not understand that in war you win - there is no other option. Bush has proved his leadership in this conflict by defying the MSM and their leftist cohorts by telling them there will be no withdrawl until their is victory.

Truth is the ISG knows this which is another reason for the 2008 date, as they know this president will not cut and run. But the pressure will increase by those who - like in Vietnam - want the country to grovel before those who regardless of what we do in Iraq have sworn to destroy us.

In case you missed that I’ll say it again. No matter what we do in Iraq the war with radical Islam is on and isn’t going to stop just because we decide to pull up our skirts and run for the hills.

This struggle didn’t begin with Iraq, but Iraq has become the place where it can begin to end IF we have the guts to carry it on to completion. Four years is NOT a long time historically for a conflict of this magnitude and indeed time should NOT be of the essence. We are at a turning point as a nation and as a people and what we will see over the next two years will determine what kind of people we are and what kind of future we face.

To those in power - choose wisely.