Staying In Iraq is Not Stupid

by Bob Clasen

It seems to me that the Democrats have become the stand up comedians of politics. They no longer have well thought out policies. Instead, they have comedians delivering one liners and zingers. The Democrat fantasy for the season is that Jon Stewart could be elected President. (See the new Robin Williams movie, Man of the Year). All of the reasons for their laughter at the Republicans are assumed, but never detailed. Jon Stewart and most of the comedians make jokes of how Bush is stupid, just like all Republicans are stupid, and the war is stupid, obviously, and no discussion is really needed, because anyone with any intelligence can just tell that the policy is stupid, can't they?

Assuming that Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction which were taken out of the country or buried while we were amassing troops on the border, and that our stated reasons for going into Iraq were erroneous, the fact remains that our intelligence agencies and most world leaders believed that he did have WMD. Hussein misled the entire world into believing that he had weapons of mass destruction, perhaps to deter people from attacking him. So going into Iraq was mistaken, but not stupid. I have listed quotes from all the leading Democrats and other world leaders who believed that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction too. None of these people were stupid, just misled. Many smart men found it hard to believe that Hussein would be willing to invite a second war with the United States over weapons that he did not even possess.

Now that we are in Iraq, the forces of Jihad have poured into Iraq to war with us there. Such has been proclaimed by Bin Laden and other leaders of the Jihadist movement. If we abandon the project unfinished, we will be declared losers and the "sick horse" of the Koran, and encourage further attacks against us. Fighting the terrorists in Iraq is not stupid and is better than encouraging them that we are weak and encouraging them to come back the U.S. to terrorize us here. Losing is not good policy.

We have overthrown an evil dictator, but left the country of Iraq in chaos. We have a moral obligation to help these people rebuild a civil society. Helping the people of Iraq to rebuild their shattered country is a difficult task; it is not stupid.

If Iraq is able to set up a democratic government that holds, that is a victory for the West, with its values of liberalism, freedom of the press and the rule of law against the forces of Islamic fascism, which wish to establish an autocratic religious government run by Mullahs. Helping the forces of democracy and freedom in the Mideast is not stupid, unless you no longer value democracy and freedom.

These all seem like very good reasons to remain in Iraq.

If any of you Democrats actually have reasons for your assumed certainty that Bush is stupid, Republicans are stupid, staying the course in Iraq is stupid, please feel free to educate us dim-witted Republicans. But please use small words.