A Welcome Reminder

Frederick Kagan has some harsh words for the Administration's failure to get the security situation in Iraq under control, but he quite rightly he reserves his greates criticism for those who seem to believe that the only problem with securing Iraq is that the government isn't trying hard enough. In that line of thinking -- parroted by most Democrats -- America setting a "timetable" for withdrawal will somehow incentivize Iraqi leaders to solve their own problems.

Only to an occupant of a left-wing fantasyland -- the same type of person who believed in the good intentions of the Viet Cong -- could such a scenario even be plausible. Threatening to withdraw does nothing to help the good guys do what they need to do, and it does quite a bit to encourage the bad guys to hold on until the Americans are gone.

A lot of Democrats have seized on the approach out of a craven desire to transform their cut'n run instincts into a matter of principle -- a sort of "America helps those who help themselves." It's quite remarkable . . . a lot of the same liberals who, in essence, believe that America shouldn't confront the Islamofascist terrorists threatening Iraq are real tough guys when it comes to bullying the Iraqis who are America's staunchest allies.