LOSING THE RHETORICAL WAR

I hate it when Republican leaders get sucked into accepting the media’s characterization of issues like our involvement in Iraq. Yesterday was a prime example.
Protesters from the “End the War Coalition” were out in Phoenix. President Bush spoke from Washington on the fourth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq, and talked about how the “war” was not going well.
Then on CNN I saw comedian Bill Maher talk about how we have “already lost” the Iraq war.
This is absurd. We won the Iraq war in about 5 weeks. We invaded Iraq and defeated their corrupt and dangerous regime very quickly.
Subsequently, the people of Iraq elected their own leaders. The elected leaders of Iraq support the United States. We are no longer at war with Iraq.
Meanwhile, our soldiers continue to be engaged by terrorists and other religious extremists who have their own reasons for wanting to make life miserable for us, for Iraq’s new leaders and for the people of Iraq.
At this point, we are trying to maintain order, eliminate terrorists who pose a threat to the new government, and stabilize the country so that we can leave. This is a very dangerous but necessary next step, and it tragically puts our soldiers in harm’s way.
But we must reiterate this point — no matter when and under what circumstances our soldiers are brought home, our military already won the war with Iraq.