Master and Commander

Dear Angela,

The Democrats cannot stop trying to micromanage the War in Iraq, despite the fact that they still have no plan for victory. First, they put forward their ’slow-bleed’ withdrawal strategy, which would have gradually reduced resources for our men and women in uniform while they were still in harm’s way. The resulting uproar from around the country forced them to backtrack.

This week, Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha waited until the President was out of the country before announcing their next attempt to take over the duties of the commander in chief: they want to set a date certain at which we will leave Iraq, whether that nation is stable or not.

We all want our troops to come home, not just from Iraq, but from every front in the War on Terror. But Republicans understand that how the war ends matters. Does it end with the United States being chased from the Middle East and leaving Iraq in the hands of terrorists? Or does it end with a free Iraq working as an ally against Islamic fascists? The terrorists are not naive, and they are not stupid. If we tell them that we will leave Iraq on a certain date no matter what, then they know that all they have to do is last that long.

And they will.

Even some Democrats are concerned with the Pelosi-Murtha attempts to force a withdrawal from Iraq.

According to the Washington Post, Democrat Representative Stephanie Herseth responded to the latest Pelosi-Murtha plan by saying “There’s a fine line that I hope will not be blurred between micromanaging the war and assuring accountability.”

Democrat Representative Dan Boren said, “It’s still micromanaging the war.”

Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha can put different faces on their plans. They can try to spin us every time they unveil a new version. But in the end, their only goal is to force the President to withdraw before Iraq is stable. The result would be disastrous. If we leave too soon, we will be leaving Iraq in the hands of vicious terrorists. Not only will they terrorize the Iraqi people, but they will turn Iraq into a base of operations. It will be like Afghanistan was before we defeated the Taliban, with one major difference: Iraq has oil, which would mean unlimited resources for our enemies.

We cannot allow that to happen. We cannot allow al Qaeda to reconstitute in Iraq. We must keep them on the run. And that means we must defeat the latest Pelosi-Murtha attempt to force an early withdrawal from Iraq.

Please write a letter to your editor today condemning the Democrats’ latest attempt to force a retreat in the War on Terror. And then call in to talk radio to help spread the word that we cannot allow Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha to try to micromanage the war while President Bush is overseas.

Thank you.

Robert M. (Mike) Duncan
Chairman, Republican National Committee