Where There is No Will There is No Way
If it is true that where there is a will there is a way the opposite must also be true. Where there is no will there is no way…and that is where we are in America concerning Iraq. We are a people who have lost the will to fight and the courage to win.
This week, the Democrat controlled Senate began a new onslaught of defunding tactics designed to force an end to the Iraqi people's hope for a democratically controlled Iraq. Emboldened and strengthened by key Republican defections in the Senate, the Democrats may have their way. If they do we can be sure we will see an escalation of terrorist violence as Al Qaeda will interpret our withdrawal from Iraq as a sure sign of weakness. The difference between this onslaught and the last is the previously mentioned defection of a group of key Republican Senators; politicians who have joined the growing chorus of visionless leaders who use the phrase "redeployment of troops" when they actually mean retreat.
All of this is taking place in the face of incontrovertible evidence of Al Qaeda's presence and determination in Iraq. The tape released last week by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's second in command, was filled as usual with hate-filled, inflammatory rhetoric against Israel and the United States. In the tape, al-Zawahiri encouraged Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq to remain unified in their struggle against America and its allies. It is incredible to me to that the leader of our enemies in the war on terror understands the importance of unity and we don't seem to have a clue. This week, four more Republican Senators, (Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, and Susan Collins of Maine) indicated they are willing to bail on Iraq presumably leaving the country to fend for itself. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer (NY) gleefully predicted on Sunday's Face the Nation that "the dam is about to burst" for Republicans on Iraq. How ironic that while the leaders of our enemies call for and in fact touts their unity, the leaders of the free world are in freefall over Iraq.
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The Left in this country continues to scoff at the idea of Al Qaeda in Iraq. They claim the United States military are merely caught between warring Sunni and Shea factions who have been fighting for over a thousand years. The war in Iraq is a civil war they say, and they point to a lack of evidence of Al Qaeda fighters in the country.
How about this for evidence….just recently U.S. forces captured Mohammed Khalaf, the leader of the Mosul branch of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Last week, Spanish authorities arrested 11 people who have been charged with recruiting for Al Qaeda in Iraq. Al Qaeda fighters are being captured or killed in a daily basis as the full force of the U.S. military surge goes into effect. At least one of the doctors involved in the attempted terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow has been linked to a suspected terrorist training camp in Iraq.
But these inconvenient truths do not fulfill the political strategy of some Leftists who are bent on the destruction of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party. They would rather turn a blind eye to the facts in Iraq in order to gain a political advantage rather than facing up to the truth for the sake of our future security. The Left can't afford to be wrong about Iraq. If the President's policy were to see any measure of success (or simply get credit for the success that is occurring) they would lose their political advantage in the next election.
Some members of Congress say the best way to end the war in Iraq is to "sit down and talk" with our enemies. To gage the wisdom of that strategy all you have to do is read the words of Al-Zawahiri from the transcript of the latest terrorist tape. Speaking of the call by the United States to engage moderate Muslims in a dialogue on Iraq Al-Zawahiri said, "The removal of the Crusader Jewish invaders won't occur by peaceful demonstrations." He went on to say, "Reform and expelling the invaders from the countries of Islam won't happen except through fighting for God's sake." Our elected leaders need to wake up and realize we are not fighting against rational people who want to find a peaceful solution in Iraq. We are fighting against radical, Muslim extremist who have high jacked Islam, turned it into a ideology of death and destruction, and who want the same "final solution" Hitler sought for the Jews.
I fear we are on the verge of suffering a shattering defeat in Iraq. If defeat comes, it will not come because our military leaders are incapable of leading us to victory. It will not come because those who fight in the field are incapable of bringing about that victory. If our defeat comes, it will come because we have forgotten that the only way darkness can overcome the light is if the light refuses to shine. It will come because we have lost our will…. and without the will to win we will surely lose our way.
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Dr. Tony Beam is Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina.
