The Democrat surrender lobby

NY Post Editorial:

With enemies like Democratic Senate Majority Harry Reid, the terrorists don't need friends.

Yesterday, all by his lonesome, Reid ran up the white flag in the War on Terror - at least in the Iraqi theater.

"This war is lost," he said. "[The troop] surge is not accomplishing anything."

And in the dark recesses of some damp cave, Osama bin Laden broke into a wide grin - even as Tehran's mullahs swapped high-fives.

Can't you just hear them: Hang tough, guys, it's only a matter of time here in Iraq - and then it's back to the Big Apple.

Meanwhile, Reid himself won't call for an immediate pull-out.

So must U.S. troops continue to fight and die for this lost cause?

He's even helping to ensure their loss - by refusing to provide them with sufficient funding to win. And by setting a deadline for their mission, which the enemy can simply wait out.

You'd almost think he was working for anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - or maybe Osama himself.

Yes, it's OK for an elected official to be pessimistic about Iraq and to dislike the White House's handling of the war.

But - again - what kind of a message will terrorists draw from Reid's bald declaration of defeat?

Just imagine if Reid and his fellow Dems had taken a different approach. Imagine if they had insisted - repeatedly, from Day One - that America is united in this war, that it will fight as long as it takes, until every last terrorist is defeated.

That, indeed, the enemy has no chance of winning.

...

You win wars by making the enemy conclude that his cause is hopeless. Reid and the Democrats seem bent on doing just the opposite. What kind of "leader" gives hope to the enemy and takes it from his own troops? The unfortunate answer to that question is a Democrat. It is why they should never be trusted with national security issues.

Michelle Malkin has new letters from the troops to Reid. They clearly have a different opinion about the status of the war they are fighting. While some Republicans have suggested that Reid's comments would demoralize the troops, it appears that anger and incredulity are the dominant emotional reactions.