“America and the west cannot be held responsible for the moral toxicity that embraces tyranny over freedom.”

We have not failed in Iraq.

Iraq has failed itself.

We went into Iraq to eliminate the threat Saddam Hussein posed to the region and to the stability of the world. That threat was recognized by the United Nations and Bill Clinton, long before George Bush was president.

Earlier today, I ordered America’s armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.

Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons…

In light of this experience, and in the absence of full cooperation by Iraq, it must regrettably be recorded again that the commission is not able to conduct the work mandated to it by the Security Council with respect to Iraq’s prohibited weapons program.”

In short, the inspectors are saying that even if they could stay in Iraq, their work would be a sham.

Saddam’s deception has defeated their effectiveness. Instead of the inspectors disarming Saddam, Saddam has disarmed the inspectors.

This situation presents a clear and present danger to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the safety of people everywhere. The international community gave Saddam one last chance to resume cooperation with the weapons inspectors. Saddam has failed to seize the chance…

Indeed, in the past, Saddam has intentionally placed Iraqi civilians in harm’s way in a cynical bid to sway international opinion.

We must be prepared for these realities. At the same time, Saddam should have absolutely no doubt if he lashes out at his neighbors, we will respond forcefully.

Heavy as they are, the costs of action must be weighed against the price of inaction. If Saddam defies the world and we fail to respond, we will face a far greater threat in the future. Saddam will strike again at his neighbors. He will make war on his own people.

And mark my words, he will develop weapons of mass destruction. He will deploy them, and he will use them…

Let me close by addressing one other issue. Saddam Hussein and the other enemies of peace may have thought that the serious debate currently before the House of Representatives would distract Americans or weaken our resolve to face him down.

But once more, the United States has proven that although we are never eager to use force, when we must act in America’s vital interests, we will do so.

In the century we’re leaving, America has often made the difference between chaos and community, fear and hope. Now, in the new century, we’ll have a remarkable opportunity to shape a future more peaceful than the past, but only if we stand strong against the enemies of peace.

Tonight, the United States is doing just that…

Those words were spoken by Bill Clinton.

The maelstrom of misinformation, deceit, spin and just plain stupidity has got to end- and in fact, only highlights the moral implosion of administration critics. “To Tell The Truth” is only a game show to this Democrat controlled Congress.

We have no more ‘lost’ the war in Iraq anymore than we ‘lost’ the war against Nazi Germany or Japan.

Germany and Japan were devastated by war, but that war was a byproduct of the devastation wrought upon those countries by years of tyranny. When the Second World War ended, those nations chose to arise from the ashes and rebuild themselves into free and democratic societies that have become ‘a lamp unto the nations’ of the world.

If the Iraqis fail to learn from the devastation brought upon them by the tyranny of Saddam and the war that rid them of the hated tyrant, they will have made a very different choice than the Germans or Japanese.

America and the west cannot be held responsible for the moral toxicity that embraces tyranny over freedom.

It is Iraqis that will have to clean their own house. It is Iraqis that must turn in foreign fighters and it is Iraqis that must choose between freedom that will bring progress and a future to the next generation of Iraqis or the tyranny that will insure generations of failure and misery.

In speaking of the Iraqi ‘insurgents’ we wrote

Terrorists do not regard their political ideologies as primary considerations. For them, it is about power and nothing else. In Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, the power grab by terrorists might be draped in religious garb, but in fact, there is no pretense of political respectability. There are no ‘insurgent representatives’ at the UN claiming to represent the people of Iraq. There are no examples of the terrorists in Iraq that declare national unity as an ideal and there is no pretense of offers to help anyone via social services or programs.

The terrorists are not rallying people to their cause or orchestrating mass demonstrations to bring attention to their cause, as would a political ‘insurgent.’ There are no dramatic and sympathetic leaders paraded in front of willing cameras and their are no legions of ’spin doctors’ appearing on FNC or CNN. There are no discernible liberation movements- only movements that openly proclaim their love of Islam and their love for death (most often directed at other Muslims).

The violence in Iraq is not widespread. Only Baghdad and a few other small regions face daily violence. Many, if not most of the terrorists are not Iraqis, but rather, from outside the country- hardly the foundations of a ‘civil war.’

Nevertheless, the media insist on characterizing events in Iraq as a ‘civil war.’

The so called insurgents cannot and will not ‘defeat’ America. We will remain a free and democratic society, irrespective of what happens in Iraq. Our way of life and values are deeply rooted and will not be dislodged by threats made by the revolutionary du jour.

Dr Sanity notes in Hail Mary, that

The outcome of the game is up in the air, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Surprisingly to some, the President wants his team to win.

Which is much more than the opposition desires, as seen by their scramble to put in place a radically different field strategy:

here’s a chance to finally win this game…it won’t be easy…it requires determination and grit and a desire to win. But there are many who are determined to stop the team in its tracks and give it all away, no matter the consequences.

The President’s ‘team’ isn’t America or the Coalition forces. The team Mr Bush refers to are the Iraqis themselves. The last quarter of this last game being played will determine the outcome for the Iraqis- and not for the Americans or Coalition partners. Regardless of the outcome, America and her Coalition partners have given Iraq and the Arab world a once in a generation opportunity to rewrite their own destinies and the destinies of their children. The choices they make are their own.

We are giving the Iraqis a final chance to take control of their lives. If they choose to remain immobilized or only half committed, we can go home with a clear conscience. We offered them a Marshall Plan and long term commitment of partnership and opportunity. We offered them a future.

A ‘win’ by the Iraqi insurgents (criminals, really) is no more than the ‘win’ claimed by Hizbollah in their war with the Israelis that left southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut in a cloud of concrete dust.

Like the Israelis, America and her coalition partners will shrug their collective shoulders and go home. If there are threats that come from Iraq down the road, we will just go back and remove the threat, once more- and once more, the Iraqis will have no one to blame for their misery but themselves.

The Iraqis will ponder what could have been and the Arab world will remain under the thumb of dysfunctional leaders, falling further back into the dark ages.

Of course, it will be the fault of the Jews, Americans and western Europeans.