August 30, 2007

The Cost of Democrats' Defeatism

By Vasko Kohlmayer
Deborah Haynes, the UK Times' correspondent in Baghdad, has recently put her finger on perhaps the greatest difficulty we face in Iraq today: The reluctance of many pro-American Iraqis to help us, because they fear we may cut and run. This is what Haynes wrote:US troops have had some success in winning the confidence of members of the community by pushing out into previously unexplored neighbourhoods as part of President Bush's surge plan. However, many Iraqis refuse to believe that the American presence will stay for very long. These people remain fearful of offering up tips on where they know insurgents have placed roadside bombs because they fear being killed once the US troops leave. ‘I cannot help the coalition because I worry that the soldiers will leave and the terrorists will come back to kill me,' said Mokdat Ahmed Shahib, a 40-year-old security guard in the village.This fear is easy to understand given the current climate in America where a major political party is...(Read Full Article)