Winning the Peace - Through sensitive warfare?

One of the mantras of the left regarding Iraq is that we went in without a plan to win the peace. This has become such a catchphrase. To me, it doesn't make sense. Militaries are supposed to win wars, not peace. Sure, the planning might could have been better, but no war is ever predictable.

Our country is going out of its way to make sure Iraq is peaceful. Many of the detractors think we should not have gone in at all. The anti-war crowd consistently decries almost anything our military does. They call them occupiers and shame on the government for putting them in harm’s way. Well, we’ve “occupied” Germany and Japan for 60 years, and now, when it is announced that we are pulling out of Germany, the libs oppose it? Go figure.

They say we should strive for peace at any cost. I agree, even if that cost means war. Conservatives believe in peace through strength. I find it hard to even coin a phrase that is the converse of that. Peace through appeasement? Peace through weakness sure isn’t reassuring.

They say that war is fundamentally and morally wrong. No one likes war. It is a terrible thing. However, blinded by a misguided indignation, these pacifists fail to see the world in clear, moral terms. The Bible says there is “a time for war and a time for peace.” Sometimes war is necessary to achieve peace. World War II was an example of that.

When a dictator like Saddam Hussein wages a war on his own people, killing them by the hundreds of thousands, does that not ignite their moral outrage? It absolutely should, but why, when good men seek to stop such evil, are they denounced instead? Do the peaceniks honestly believe that people prefer to live under tyranny? Can stopping a madman from terrorizing innocent people really be construed as “imposing on their culture?” Or, does their Chomsky Reader tell them that all is well under totalitarianism?

The radicals who do not see our troops as liberators do not, in essence, understand the concept of liberation. They revolt and demonstrate and carry out direct action here in this country on all manner of issues – a right guaranteed by the soldiers they now revile. They are allowed a voice. They might be arrested if they are really disruptive and some even seek arrest, but generally, their charges are minor. In an oppressed country, they would be shot.

They say that innocent people die in war. This is true. It has always been true. In fact, that’s what the terrorists set out to do. That’s what they did as they launched war on us September 11. Our military certainly regrets the loss of innocent life. They go to great lengths to avoid such tragedy. They don’t revel in it. Terrorists and their sympathizers do. (Remember Palestinians dancing in the streets on 9/11?).

They say that we shouldn’t go to war because we’ll be putting our soldiers in harm’s way. This, too, is a flawed argument. If this logic applied across the board, then we should pull our police and firemen off the streets too. We can’t have police cruising the gang-ridden streets. It’s dangerous out there! We can’t have firefighters running to save people from burning buildings! That’s Ridiculous!?! Right? Of course it is. They save lives by doing what they do. The truth is we are all concerned for our soldiers’ safety. We are concerned for the safety of our police officers, firemen, and first responders. We mourn the loss of every one that falls. But, they would tell you it is their job. It is their duty. Our military, law enforcement and responder force is a force of volunteers and God bless them for it.