At the crossroads

Jules Crittenden:

...

... The fight against evil in this world is business as usual. It never ends.

We've faced this kind of choice before. We have not always chosen well. You know people who lived through such a time, when the failure to act against evil early led to more horrific bloodshed later. You may have relatives who died because of that. I do. In our lifetimes, we've never been more than a few inches from the abyss, however comfortable and safe our lives seem today. If you're an adult, then you've lived through a time when the evil of communism was held at bay. But only just, and millions died. Millions remain enslaved.

Which brings us to Option Two: Fight now. Fight harder. Expend our precious blood and money now, so we don't have to spend more blood and more money later. Fight now, while we can.

They're simple choices, not easy choices. But we are fortunate. The Democratic Congress, so eager to abandon Iraq, is fortunate. The world that seems to revile us no matter what we do is also fortunate. Because it will not be their decision.

We have a president who understands what is at stake. This week he will tell us what it is going to be. All signs indicate he recognizes the mistakes of the past, errors such as are often made in war, and he intends to do what is right. That would be the harder choice, to fight now, when we are tired and feel spent. But, as another American once said, we have not yet begun to fight.

Option One is to cut and run, are in the words of the cut and run chorus, redeploy. That has to be a word they have poll tested for framing purposes rather than a result of any brilliant strategic thinking. If you read what the Democrats in the chorus are saying, you can see their eagerness for defeat and retreat. That fits their political posturing so well. They also want it done quickly in hopes that their candidates will not have to take a responsible position on the war in the 2008 campaign. But, they do not have the courage of their convictions. They will not cut off funds and force the result they want. That is too much like taking responsibility and that is just not on their agenda.