The cult of castrophe--the flight of the chicken doves

Oliver North:

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival." -- Winston S. Churchill

Sir Winston delivered that line in the House of Commons on May 13 1940, in his first address as Prime Minister. As he was speaking, the French and British armies were reeling from Hitler's onslaught through neutral Belgium. It's a good thing Churchill didn't have "war heroes" like Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) and Rep. John Murtha (D.-Pa.) in Parliament. Otherwise Great Britain might have been compelled to surrender at Dunkirk.

Regrettably, Messer's Kerry and Murtha are but the most visible and strident members of an increasingly ambitious cult of catastrophe. Though they claim to "support the troops," this is no "loyal opposition." Instead, their party -- and a pliant press corps -- has pushed this dynamic duo to the fore in demanding that the United States abandon Iraq and forego any hope for success in the Global war on Terror. To them, and the broader capitulationist cabal to which they belong, there shall be no "good news" from the battlefield, every American casualty is regarded as a campaign issue, and only critics of the war have credibility.

It's apparent from last week's acrimonious debate in the House of Representatives and this week's raucous ranting in the Senate that their party's leadership believes that a steady drumbeat of dismal defeatism is the best way to return Democrats to power in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen -- but the "surrender now crowd" has unquestionably emboldened our adversaries and disheartened our allies overseas. A few recent examples....

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There is more, and of course, thecritics cannot respond to Col. North's piece because he is a decorated veteran. In fact, I am sure they will clutch to their bosom and forget all their chicken dove ways. Perhaps we should all the Democrats latest offer of surrender the flight of the chicken doves.