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05/17/2004: "Left wing treason"

Where I volunteer to answer phones on Friday nights, another volunteer is opposed to the war in Iraq. While I wouldn't call him treasonous, he definitely sees President Bush's defeat as a silver lining to our eventual loss in Iraq.

Our conversations did not start out as partisan. One of his early points was that Arabs think differently; they are more collectivist, where we are more individualistic. As such, when we humiliated Saddam Hussein, we humiliated all Arabs. A brief review of HEaling Iraq seemed to supported that notion.

Last Friday, he stated definitively that our efforts in Iraq were doomed and that President Bush is incompetent. I countered that the status quo was unnacceptable; Saddam was evil and WMDs are an increasing threat. He let me have that as the last word.

The reason I think of this was this passage from the Monday, May 17, 2004 edition of Nealz Nuze:

When Ted Kennedy and his Democratic sycophants say "Vietnam" Iraqis hear "America will abandon us again." How many Americans have died because of Kennedy's partisanship? How many Iraqis have withheld support and information because they feel they will be left to deal with the consequences when America bails out?

Yes, it will be difficult to win in Iraq. But we cannot afford to lose. Predicting that we will lose is a trait of the opposition, and doing so loudly is a trait of the disloyal opposition. I'm beginning to think that true patriotism demands a commitment to victory.