More Misbehavior Before the Enemy

In today's Rapid City Journal, Sam Hurst provides more of what has emboldened our enemies and undermined stability in Iraq:

The influence of Iran is rising in the east. We have made heroes out of Islamic terrorists in a land where they were once hated. Our Army is exhausted, and our wounded poorly attended. We have wasted half a trillion dollars.

The president’s refusal to pursue a bi-partisan end to the war has brought us to the brink of a constitutional crisis between the executive and legislative branches.

But the best John Thune can do is fan the flames of blame. It is short-sighted.

Shame on you, Sen. Thune. You want a fight with Democrats, you better come with something more than cheap political rhetoric. This has been George Bush’s War. Now it’s your war, and “I didn’t know” is no longer an excuse.

"[H]eroes out of Islamic terrorists in a land where they were once hated"? What planet has Hurst been living on? Saddam was funding terrorism and providing haven for terrorist training camps before we invaded. The only reason terrorists weren't blowing up people in Iraq back then is because they considered it friendly territory.

And because Senator Thune supports the president's efforts to fight terrorists, Hurst chooses political pot shots over presenting a united front before our enemies. Thune picked no fight; national Democrats picked a fight with our own military efforts.

If we had stood together in requiring Saddam to meet his obligations, we might not have needed to invade in the first place. But, as they always do, liberals chose to side with evil, and Saddam was emboldened. Liberals again chose to nit-pick, bicker, back-bite and undermine our military efforts after the invasion, and terrorists have been emboldened.

President Bush deserves some blame for underestimating the terrorist activity that came after the invasion. But I think he underestimated the enemy because he overestimated the ability of our country to unite and put the national good ahead of scoring political points.

You can lay the current problems in Iraq squarely at the feet of liberals here and abroad who have undermined our national efforts from Day One until now. You have misbehaved before the enemy, and it has encouraged him.