Do you remember the hardest days of the Iraq War, just a few short years ago? There were many U.S. casualties, as well as many deaths of innocent Iraqi civilians.
Democrats in Congress, taking political advantage of the war’s unpopularity, put intense pressure on the Bush administration to throw in the towel and rapidly remove our troops from Iraq, come what may. Even with American soldiers in the thick of the fight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., disgustingly went so far as to declare the war “lost” and to demand prompt withdrawal.
It is fortunate that Sen. Reid and those of like mind did not get their way. With the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq, stability began to return as the Iraqi people rejected the vicious acts of terrorist thugs who were trying to seize power. Elections — imperfect but basically legitimate — were held. Grudgingly, many in the media and in Congress had to admit that the tide had turned.
And now, a new milestone has been reached in Iraq. In December, for the first time since the Iraq War started, there was not a single U.S. casualty.
That does not mean all is well — much less ideal — in Iraq. A bombing there late in December killed 23 Iraqis, and there is no reason to think there will not be more attacks and more tragedies from time to time.
But think of the consequences if we had left Iraq to the terrorists when things were at their worst. We would be facing a terrorist-run nation with the goal of harming the United States and its interests worldwide.
We can breathe a sigh of relief that our nation did not choose that path and is reaping the benefit of staying the course.