The American Spectator

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Streetcar Line

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If that response sounds too flippant, then consider that insurgencies are not by their nature somehow invincible. In modern times, insurgencies that once seemed at least as unstoppable as the violence in Iraq have been defeated in all corners of the globe, from the Communist insurgency in Greece after World War II to the failed Marxist insurgencies in Central America in the 1980s.

Moreover, the little-recognized truth from Iraq is that even once-dicey areas of that country have been successfully cleared of terrorists, with civil society in those areas already showing signs of taking hold, when American troops have remained there long enough to "hold" the territories after first "clearing" the bad guys out. What remains is not a battle to pacify an entire country, but just to re-civilize one large city and a two other provinces (out of 18).

Are American power and American ingenuity (backed by important help from Great Britain, Poland, Denmark and others) so atrophied that we really are incapable of securing one small region of a nation whose natural topography (unlike mountainous Afghanistan) does not lend itself to easy hiding places?

President Bush has never, not once, leveled with the American people about the amount of sacrifices needed to win a real war and to secure a peace. He has frequently claimed to have a "plan" for final victory there, but never clearly defined it. But to his great credit, he has both recognized and tried hard to explain the moral case for taking on the burden there. What has been lacking, though, has been an explanation as full of practical, nitty-gritty examples as it has been of sometimes-soaring rhetoric.

Tonight's address is the president's last chance to get it right. He must remind people of the initial, demonstrable benefits of the toppling of Saddam Hussein, including the resultant elimination of Moammar Qaddafi's developing nuclear program in Libya. He must outline what the other benefits of continued engagement will be. And he must be clear about what the costs will be, just as Winston Churchill told the English populace about the likelihood of "blood, toil, tears and sweat" in times far, far more dire.

Make no mistake: President George W. Bush has been brave and wise in choosing to fight in Iraq. This fight is a profoundly moral one. Bush's task tonight is to convince us of the truth that it remains a practical fight as well.

topics:
Military, Iraq, Iran, Oil