The American Spectator

Streetcar Line

(Page 2 of 2)

So as the debate begins in Congress, Iraq's duly elected unity government has just become operational, coalition forces act in dozens of raids based on a treasure trove of information captured from al-Zarqawi's former hideout, Bush has rallied the troops and met with Iraq's new prime minister, and definitive victory seems again well within the realm of reason. Some critics may legitimately advocate different tactics from those favored by the Bush/Rumsfeld team. (Frederick Kagan in the Weekly Standard makes terrific sense to me in advocating more troops and more aggressive action than Bush has been willing to use.) Those differences in tactics may indeed make the ultimate difference between success and failure of Bush's entire grand vision. But that doesn't mean that Bush's overall goals aren't worthy ones, that his basic strategy is fundamentally flawed, that his aims are hopeless, or that the fight was unnecessary much less counterproductive.

Flawed as he is on some matters, indeed as every leader is, President George W. Bush has been remarkably courageous, steadfast, and far-seeing in his conduct of the war against radical Muslim terrorists worldwide. The resolution before the House on Thursday gives well-deserved support for his efforts and aims. For all the right reasons, not just the politically right ones, this war is not just Bush's war but all of ours, and it is a war where the stakes are among the highest the world has ever known -- and Bush and his supporters are on the correct side of it. The moral side. The side that, in the House and in this nation and in the world at large, absolutely must prevail.

p> --------- br> *For a supportive, moderate Democrat's view concerning Iraq, see my blog post from Tuesday evening. br> --------- /p>

Quin Hillyer is executive editor of The American Spectator. He can be reached at hillyerq@spectator.org.

topics:
Constitution, Law, Military, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Oil