Democrats, beware if you inveigle conditions for defeat in Iraq under the guise of a perceived mandate! Have you forgotten Vietnam and the "anti-war" label that bedeviled your Party throughout the 80's and the 90's? 

Currently Democrats in both houses of Congress are plotting ways to lose for certain in Iraq with their multiple exit plans and calculated ploys to sabotage the war effort.   It might rightly be concluded that most Democrats stand for retreat, defeat and surrender, with success a concept that seems beyond comprehension.  Why?  Because success in Iraq would destroy their feverish pursuit of winning back the presidency in ‘08.  

Regrettably, Democrats have been successful in painting Bush as the villain, calling it Bush's war.  But at what cost to our nation?  While Democrats dither, fiddle and play politics they are disregarding national security and the real enemy.

And who is the enemy?  It is a collection of militant, radical Islamic groups.  Here are a few hard facts that cannot be disputed:  (1)  Members (jihadists) subscribe to the universal restoration of true Islam under Sharia law; (2) they want to kill Americans and destroy our civilization because we are infidels--non-Muslims; (3) Iraq is center stage even as jihadists seek domination in countless countries across the globe; and (4) America (the Great Satan) is their ultimate prize. 

During a recent lecture replayed on C-span, Bernard Lewis, world-renowned Middle Eastern and Islamic scholar and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, warned that unless America brings freedom to Muslim nations, radical Islamists will destroy us.  In Lewis' own words:  "The appeal of freedom is our best hope and perhaps our only hope of surviving this struggle."

It is the foolish man who denies America is in this struggle so all of us can enjoy our cherished way of life.

Nancy J. Thorner 
Lake Bluff, IL