Iraq: We are "Front Line" in War on Terror

by Robert J. Romano

July 27th, 2006

        In a speech to a joint session of Congress yesterday, the first duly elected Prime Minister under the new Constitution of the Republic of Iraq, Nouri al Maliki, delivered an impassioned plea to the American people not to abandon Iraq in her hour of need, and to stay the course in the war on terrorism, echoing the sentiments of President Bush and supporters of the Iraqi theatre in the war on terrorism.  He first and foremost delivered a message of gratitude to America for our role in leading the liberation of Iraq from the now deposed tyrant, Saddam Hussein, who now stands trial in Iraq for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  He arrived in Washington amid criticisms including from Democrat leaders in Congress of his alleged failure to condemn Hezbollah's terrorist attacks against the people of Israel.  The Chairman of the DNC, Howard Dean, even went as far as to call the Prime Minister an anti-Semite.  These critics act like the purpose of liberating Iraq was to defend Israel, and that one of our policy goals was for the new Republic of Iraq to have a duplicate foreign policy and relationship towards Israel because the United States is standing with Iraq in her own battle against the terrorists.  U.S. leaders, including the President, have laid blame for the current crisis in Israel and Lebanon at the feet of Hezbollah and her sponsors, Syria and Iran.  Recently, the Arab League, to which Iraq is a member, blamed Hezbollah for provoking the current crisis as well.  But to say that the purpose of Prime Minister al Maliki's visit was not to address the crisis in Israel and Lebanon would be an understatement.  To be sure, he has addressed the crisis itself, and recently Iraq has pledged $35 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon, which asserts the role that Iraq wishes to play in the crisis.  It is irresponsible to lay blame at the Prime Minister's feet for not taking a stand against terrorism, as these critics have repeatedly done, when his nation is currently the greatest target of terrorists in the entire world and when his country has made more sacrifices in the war on terrorism than most.  Based on his own remarks, even if one knew nothing of the conflict his nation is currently facing, one would surely come away with the impression that he is one of the most important leaders in the war on terrorism, that his nation is that war's central front, and that he views the future of Iraq is dependent upon defeating terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. 

        Prime Minister al Maliki took the time to settle a debate that has been waged in Washington for some years now: is Iraq a theatre in the war on terrorism? Previously, at The Federal Republican, this author has consistently criticized Democrats for ignoring the Iraqi front in this war and to properly ascertain the importance of victory in Iraq.  Some have even gone as far as to deny that Iraq has anything to do with the war on terrorism, despite Hussein's regime's previous sponsorship of terrorism and the current attacks waged by terrorists against the people of Iraq.  Democrats apparently hope to simultaneously convey the message that they are out front in wanting to prosecute the war on terrorism and then deny its most important front.  From a translated portion of the Prime Minister's speech, he stated, "I know that some of you here question whether Iraq is part of the war on terror..." in which he directly reached out to those critics, and he sought to leave no doubt how he views this debate: "It is your duty and our duty to defeat this terror. Iraq is the front line in this struggle, and history will prove that the sacrifices of Iraqis for freedom will not be in vain. Iraqis are your allies in the war on terror." [emphasis added]

        Does that mean that the U.S. and Iraq will always agree with how the war will best be fought inside Iraq? No.  But where there is agreement, both nations must continue to work together, for as the Prime Minister eloquently noted, "The fate of our country and yours is tied. Should democracy be allowed to fail in Iraq and terror permitted to triumph, then the war on terror will never be won elsewhere." For this reason, the stakes could not be higher, since then the fate of the free world and victory in the war on terrorism depend heavily upon the success of democracy in Iraq.  The fate of freedom in the world ultimately hinges upon free peoples' capability and will to defend their way of life against would-be despots, tyrants, and yes, these thugs we encounter in the war on terror.  The terrorists have chosen to make their stand in Iraq, and it is clear that Iraq still requires our presence and that of the MNF in Iraq for the near future, and until the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are capable of standing up on their own, only then can MNF be completely withdrawn, but not before then.  What is unknown is how soon the ISF shall be ready, but what is known is that they are still dependent upon the presence of MNF, and that present calls domestically for a withdrawal within a timeframe of six months to a year are premature.

          Prime Minister al Maliki also reminded representatives of their and the world's past failure to look upon the plight of the Iraqi people: "For decades, we struggled alone for our freedom. In 1991, when Iraqis tried to capitalize on the regime's momentary weakness and rose up, we were alone again," referring to the uprising which Hussein's regime brutally put down after the first Gulf War, and when the UN mission was only to remove Iraq from Kuwait but not to conduct regime change.  This statement, in this author's opinion, was meant to remind the American people of what could and maybe would happen if the U.S. were not there to help the Iraqi people.  He did not directly lay blame, and he was very humble, but the message was that after Hussein was defeated in Kuwait, that the uprising had hoped to win international aid to be done with the regime once and for all, but that in their struggle they were alone... again. 

        We must not leave the Iraqi people, and the nascent democracy there, alone again.  We must not abandon them in their hour of need.  And the politicization of this people's plight for cynical reasons ignores these lessons of the past, and is frankly insulting to Iraq because they are front and center in the war on terrorism.  Those who deny that Iraq is even a front in the global war on terrorism are no friends of Iraq, and they are no friends of freedom in this struggle.