Victory Delayed is Victory (and Honor) Denied
by Brady Wright
In a recent debate in New Hampshire, former Governor Mike Huckabee told Congressman Ron Paul that bringing the troops home from Iraq now would be a dishonorable homecoming. But Gov. Huckabee did not explain when exactly our troops will have the honor of victory they so deserve.
Regardless of one's opinion of the Iraq War, the truth is that our brave men and women have completed every objective they have been given. Let us recall all they have done and then consider whether they have earned an honorable homecoming.
● They quickly and decisively defeated the military of Iraq in one of our nation's largest and fastest military victories. Yet we are told they cannot come home with honor.
● They were asked to depose the brutal despot Saddam and they achieved that objective within days. Yet they cannot come home with honor?
● They were then asked to track down Saddam and his flunkies so that they could be brought to justice. Done.
● They were then told that we needed only to set up an Iraqi government to take the place of the one we had toppled. Mission accomplished.
● They were told that they needed to stay until democratic elections could be held in Iraq. Objective achieved.
All of these goals were met some time ago, and still our brave men and women are told they cannot come home with the honor they have most assuredly earned for themselves. It is an egregious affront to the service and valor of our fighting men and women that they are told that after all they have fought for, after all they have achieved, after all the battles they have won, that their coming home would be dishonorable.
Yes, there are still some who oppose us in and around Iraq, but this is a fact that is not likely to change no matter how long or hard we fight in the region. For example, Israel has been established for almost sixty years and has not yet exhausted the region of those who oppose her.
The war in Iraq has long since been won and it has been our mistake not to declare this victory. It is therefore time for us to openly declare the victory that our troops have won time and again. Every day we let go by without this declaration cheats them of their hard-won victory. Let us stop moving the goal posts, because victory delayed is victory – and honor – denied
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1 comment:
Excellent point!
I love when warmongering neocons have their own position turned around on them. They are the ones who claim that the anti-war crowd is "defeatist" and "appeasers" and "don't support the troops"...but as you've shown... there is an implicit assumption in their views that the soldiers haven't accomplished enough. THEY are the ones who refuse to acknowledge the military's worth.
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