Change in Baghdad not relfected in change in Washington

Pete Hegseth:

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Despite the incredible progress made by our military — which has opened the door for real and sustainable political progress in Iraq — the Democratic leadership continues to insist that we de-fund the war and bring the troops home no matter what. Beholden to entrenched and noisy anti-war interest groups, the Democrat leadership in Washington seems willing to cut-off much needed funding, placing our brave troops in harms way.

In response to these overtly political threats, the Pentagon recently made plans to lay off more than 100,000 DOD employees across America in order to re-allocate money to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What the Democratic leadership seems to forget is that these employees are responsible for training, equipping and supporting the troops in the field.

In short, for the sake of placating MoveOn.org and other radical anti-war groups, the Democratic leadership is willing to lay off thousands of employees in America and under cut the incredible success of our troops in Iraq. Such logic is perverse and infuriating, especially to courageous Democrats like Reps. Brian Baird and Jim Marshall, who have moved beyond partisanship to support the success being achieved in Iraq.

The troops in Iraq today — many of whom I served with in 2006 — are the finest fighting force the world has ever seen. And today, with a coherent strategy that finally compliments their tactical proficiency, they are defeating al Qaeda and Iranian-proxy groups. How members of Congress, sitting in their air-conditioned offices, can consider cutting off their funding is beyond comprehension.

The Iraq war has been difficult, and it has cost America dearly in lives and treasure. But now is not the time to play politics with the troops and their funding. If the "realities" of June had persisted until December, then talk of a phased withdrawal and funding restrictions would be reasonable.

But reality has changed, and the Democratic leadership needs to have the courage to acknowledge great success in Iraq, and swallow their pride long enough to do what is best for the troops and their important mission. Congress needs to fund the troops immediately, before heading home to enjoy a holiday season that our troops — and my fellow soldiers in the 101st Airborne — will spend in harm's way.

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Congress needs to get beyond the false memories of the anti war movement and give the troops the funds they need to finish the war. Winning in Iraq can pay untold dividends in avoiding future wars. The main reason no one challenges us in conventional wars now is because they know they can not defeat us. We proved that early on in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we demonstrate that they cannot defeat us in unconventional wars are insurgency we will have to fight fewer of them because enemies will avoid those conflicts too. If we cut and run we will face even more challenges in this world.