Get the Debate Straight

Why do so many “politicians” have a difficult time staying on topic when discussing current US policy in Iraq? I can’t count the number of times I’ve watched critics of the war scramble to avoid answering a question about the success of the surge by proclaiming that we never should have invaded Iraq in the first place. I’ll admit that we may have made serious miscalculations in our decision to enter Iraq, but that’s not the issue now! In fact, if we really should not have entered the country, then don't we owe a duty to its citizens to do all we can to re-stabilize their nation? My point is simply this: the debate about whether we should have gone into Iraq and the debate about what we should do now are two completely different issues. Unfortunately neither side seems to get this. Democrats downplay present successes by pointing to past failures, whereas Republicans ignore previous blunders for stories of current achievement. While both parties may consistently change the scope of debate for their own benefit, in the end, I want a leader with the proven insight to tell me what needs to happen tomorrow and not what should have happened yesterday. As Bush once said “Second-guessing is not a strategy, and hindsight is not wisdom.” Thankfully, due to the great accomplishments of our troops, many critics of the war have been reduced to nothing more than Monday Morning Quarterbacks.