No Time to Go Wobbly

In today's Wall Street Journal, Peter Wehner provides a ringing affirmation of the policy of trying to spread freedom throughout the Middle East, and a spirited rebuttal to those in the conservative "doom and gloom" caucus.

He also notes the progress being made in Iraq:

In 2005, Iraq's economy continued to recover and grow. Access to clean water and sewage-treatment facilities has increased. The Sunnis are now invested in the political process, which was not previously the case. The Iraqi security forces are far stronger than they were. Our counterinsurgency strategy is more effective than in the past. Cities like Tal Afar, which insurgents once controlled, are now back in the hands of free Iraqis. Al Qaeda's grip has been broken in Mosul and disrupted in Baghdad. We now see fissures between Iraqis and foreign terrorists. And in the aftermath of the mosque bombing in Samarra, we saw the political and religious leadership in Iraq call for an end to violence instead of stoking civil war--and on the whole, the Iraqi security forces performed well.

And he notes that 2005 was one of the most successful years for freedom in the Middle East since Freedom House began measuring it in 1972.

The piece is a must-read.