Nuke's

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious.(Vince Lombardi)

Consider this a rant, although I am very much in control as I type; I’ve been mulling this matter for several days.
What has this current Congress, the worst ever, accomplished(in terms of empirical results)?
Since taking office in January, irrespective of all the accolades, speeches, and self-serving statements, the only significant piece of legislation to pass in Congress, was the war funding bill. In contrast, they have launched three hundred investigations into the administration of President Bush.
That’s not what I would call doing the business of the American people, despite the satisfaction the liberals in Congress, and their constituents, derive from their much vaunted oversight responsibilities. Of course, we all know it is only political opportunism at work here, not a serious approach to good governance, or the best interest of the nation. If the leaders of the majority party were competent, we would hear substantive statements on the many serious matters facing our great nation.
Reflecting on the leadership of our current Congress, I will just leave Rep. Pelosi out of this post…she’s a total twit. Instead, I will focus on Sen. Reid, the pale and stammering leader of the Senate. We’ve all heard his declarations about the war in Iraq as being lost, that he believes it his “moral duty” to bring the troops home, but yet he doesn’t offer legislation that would end funding of the military involvement. Nor will he refrain from his daily sound bite collection of how bad things are, or hold his serpents tongue until Gen. Petraeus reports to Congress in Ten Weeks. The same Gen. Petraeus that the Senate unanimously approved for his current position for Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. It’s no secret what Reid, and the other political opportunist in Congress are doing, as described in this article:

Reid, who was bashed by Republicans for suggesting earlier this year that the Iraq war was “lost,” is lashing out at top commanders while putting the finishing touches on a plan to force a series of votes on Iraq designed exclusively to make Republicans up for reelection in 2008 go on record in favor of continuing an unpopular war.

Reid, the senators and aides said, does not expect any of the Iraq measures to pass but hopes the effort will drive a deep enough wedge between wavering Republicans and Bush that, by September, Republican senators will break with the president and help end the war.

“We want them to vote and vote and vote again” on Iraq, said a senior Democratic senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss party strategy. “They are going to have to vote on Iraq until they are sick of it.”

In essence, what the leftist in Congress are saying is, that quitting is winning…for them, not for the U.S., and most certainly not for Iraq.
This despite the numerous reports that show the surge is having a positive effect. One such report is from Kimberly Kagan:

In Washington perception is often mistaken for reality. And as Congress prepares for a fresh debate on Iraq, the perception many members have is that the new strategy has already failed.
This isn’t an accurate reflection of what is happening on the ground, as I saw during my visit to Iraq in May. Reports from the field show that remarkable progress is being made.

Another article that addresses the challenges faced in Iraq, comes from an interview with the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker:

Mr. Crocker’s comments are a useful reminder of the irrelevance–and disingenuousness–of much Washington commentary on Iraq. For proponents of early withdrawal, the “benchmarking” issue has provided a handy excuse to make the Iraqi government rather than al Qaeda the main culprit in the violence engulfing their country.

Considering that there are only three choices, in ending a war or conflict, what does Sen. Reid and his cabal think we should do?
Here are the options:
1)Win, and impose terms on the defeated.
2)Admit defeat and surrender to the winner
3)Call it a draw, and negotiate a truce
Of these three, number one is the only reasonable alternative, with the terms being the Iraqi government is able to sustain itself, with the foreign fighters defeated, and either killed or run out of the country.
If we admit defeat, as Sen. Reid has, and continues to do, who do we surrender to…ourselves? If it’s a draw, who do we negotiate with…ourselves? What do we tell the many, many Iraqis that have supported the U.S. and Iraqi efforts in establishing security in their country, that will be the targets of reprisal by the mufsidun…sorry dudes?
What has annoyed me the most, is the use of a negative(quitting and losing) as a positive(political opportunism). The liberals in Congress, and in this country, look back at the war in Viet Nam, and view favorably their efforts to undermine our efforts there. Another negative as a positive. I don’t understand defeatist, I don’t respond well to negative attitudes, and I resent with every molecule in my body, people that would willingly toss away our national dignity and self-respect, by walking away from a conflict because it will improve their political fortunes.
How does anyone come to the point, where they take an oath to protect and defend this nation, while making plans to undermine all that it stands for, so that their political fortunes will be enhanced? I believe people like Reid, and his supporters, have a distorted view of winning and victory, and that to them those words are meaningless, as national objectives. There was a time, that leaders of men viewed personal sacrifice as a small price, in comparison to the benefit of winning.
Winning and losing aren’t difficult concepts to understand, we knew what they meant before we began elementary school, and had their lessons reinforced countless times, throughout our lives. We have a tradition of winning in this country, and we like it…or at least, most of us do. Losing, on the other hand, is an inevitable outcome, for those that are involved in any competitive situation, whether it is war, a friendly game of pool, or hot dog eating. To compete has it’s rewards and punishments, and we learn from them all, but mostly we learn what we need to do to win, and that we don’t like to lose.
Quitting is something much darker and uglier, than trying and losing. It’s the worst of all possible outcomes, and speaks clearly of the poor character of a man or a nation, that is willing to accept this as an outcome. My father told us boys, early on, that “once a quitter, always a quitter.” He was right. We are faced with threshold moments, all of our lives, and they are defined as those moments when our lives are irreversibly changed, and we can never be the person we were before, if we cross the threshold. Some examples are learning to ride a bike or drive a car, the first day of school, the first kiss, first love, and first child. Quitting has it’s own perilous threshold, and once it’s crossed, that person will find it much easier to quit, whenever faced with difficulty. Much like a murderer, once that threshold is crossed, it becomes easier to do.
There have been times in my life, when I may have been well advised to quit on something, that proved to be too difficult to overcome, but I could not have lived with myself, knowing that I didn’t try hard enough. I’ve experienced the exhilaration of playing on championship teams, and those memories and feelings still please me. I’ve also experienced the soul crushing agony of losing, many times, but those memories only serve to fuel my desire to win, and I only remember I didn’t like the way losing felt, not the feelings themselves. I’ve never just quit anything, even smoking. I stopped smoking. It just isn’t in my nature, and that is what adds to my discomfort with the actions of the quitters in this country and in Congress.
While the quitters and defeatist in Congress continue with their demands that all is lost, and that we should bring our military home, those of us that don’t subscribe to their debasement of our values, should call for them to quit public office. Or be defeated.
As for Harry Reid, I don’t think he would ever have a Vince Lombardi quote adorning his office wall. Rather, he would most likely have this one, from the French painter Francis Picabia:

The only way to win is to fight on the side of your adversaries.

/rant off

*Addendum:Gateway Pundit asks a great question.*
Is there really any doubt that the War against Al Qaeda begins in Iraq?

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