Quote of the Day

From the lead editorial in today's Wall Street Journal, about Monday's Senate vote regarding our country's involvement in Iraq:

. . . it turns the sound strategy of Iraqification into a suggestion that the U.S. might cut and run if the terrorists can prevent things from moving forward exactly as planned.

That was the barely veiled threat from GOP Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, who drafted the resolution. He said he wanted to send a "strong message to Iraqi people and the Iraqi government that you have got to come to grip with your internal problems. . . . It's a signal to the Iraqis that we mean business."

Thousands of Iraqis have already died in our joint war against terrorism and thousands more risk their lives every day. And now they get accused of not understanding that this is all serious "business" by a Senator eight time zones from the front lines.

The editorial also includes a quote from a North Vietnamese general that his country's aim wasn't to drive American troops out of Vietnam, but "to break the will of the American government to continue the war." Bringing the topic back to Monday's vote, the editorial concludes:

We are told that among the papers discovered along with Saddam two years ago was one saying that the Baathists-turned-terrorists will know they are winning when a candidate for President of the United States calls for withdrawal from Iraq. Saddam and Zarqawi know the real lessons of Vietnam, even if too many Members of Congress do not.

Many members of the Democratic Party, including 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry, understand that lesson all too well. They led the charge against Vietnam, and they're using the same tactics today. The question is: when will the Republicans figure it out?