Best sign yet things are going well in Iraq

I have commented on this blog and elsewhere many times that the world must bear much of the responsibility for the extension of the insurgency in Iraq. Because UN leadership including Annan and much of the security council had so much invested in opposing action in Iraq, they felt after the fact that their purpose was an "I told you so approach". Certainly the WMD find being limited and below the expectation of stockpiles allowed them to be quite smug as the insurgency developed and challenged the coalition forces. Knowing that there were documented stockpiles of WMD and knowing that Saddam refused to provide proof of complete destruction of said stockpiles did nothing to wipe the smirk off their face while pockets of both coalition forces and Iraqi citizens died day by day. The attitude was thick as liquid from the UN and world body that the US had "made their bed and now they must sleep in it".

After the fall of Iraqi forces and the capture of Saddam Hussein, the UN and world body had an opportunity to step in. With the caveat that they disagreed with the US invasion, they could have claimed the world needed to come together to support the people of Iraq in their quest to become a free people and to create free elections. When the insurgency was created, instead of joining the mindless chanting of "the occupiers brought this on" they should have denounced them as the thugs and terrorists, greedy for power and control, that they are.

The blood of innocent Iraqi citizens and coalition forces is on the heads of those who instead chose to give aid and comfort to terrorists for the sake of political gain. Those in this country who saw a chance to score big points against George W. Bush share in that guilt. With critics across the globe and in our own country, Bush was left to "stay the course" alone.

Now we have had two successful elections and the stage is set for a triple crown. We have just completed a successful joint military effort with trained Iraqis in rooting out a nest of insurgents in a town bordering Syria, and it seems now is the time for Kofi Annan to jump in and try to take credit for the final lap. The linked story shows Annan is preparing for a trip to Iraq to appeal for reconciliation. In a move resembling the antics of Jesse Jackson, Annan seems to sense the time is ripe to move in, demand an end and take the credit when it happens.

Well, the goal is success in Iraq. If Annan is the last Kofi bean to tip the scales, I will be happy. The bottom line is that the most important point in Iraq is that our troops come away with a successful victory instead of what happened in Vietnam. There with great sacrifice they fought to save those people from communism and stop its spread, only to be pulled back and watch them get slaughtered. A victory in Iraq will be a powerful message to the entire world, but so would a retreat. Which message do you want to send?