Go ahead and laugh
I saw a couple of items today about some "anti-war" demonstrations planned for today, the second anniversary of the start of the Iraq War.
I started bashing out a few thoughts in an e-mail to a friend, when suddenly I made deep and sustained contact with my inner Peggy Noonan.
Here is the result. Go ahead and snicker. I don't know who made you anti-cornball sheriff, but I'll have the last laugh on you bastards when I bank my Pulitzer.
- - - -
Happy Iraq War Day.
On March 19 two years ago, the U.S., along with Britain, Australia, Poland and other allies, invaded Iraq.
In three weeks, U.S. forces had captured Baghdad and Saddam Hussein was on the run.
By May 1, major combat was over and 138 Americans were dead, each one a sickening tragedy.
But that was fewer than in Desert Storm's 100-hour war to dislodge the Iraqi army from Kuwait.
Things did look hairy for a while.
We became grimly familiar with new words reflecting the deadly reality of the challenges in Iraq: Shock and awe. Improvised Explosive Device. Up-armoring. Spider hole.
Places we'd never heard of got stamped into our popular geographic lexicon: Sadr City. Fallujah. Abu Ghraib.
Then there were the beheadings. Anonymous thugs emboldened by hoods and hacksaws repaid the courage and good intentions of civilian contracters and aid workers with blood and hatred.
In those 24 months, we've lost 1,513 military personnel in Iraq. That's a cruise ship full of men and women who won't be coming home to their children, spouses and parents.
Yet behind each day's gruesome headlines was something more meaningful: tens of thousands of troops toiling to put Iraq back on its feet, despite the missteps and misunderstandings.
More importantly, it dawned on Iraqis themselves that, for the first time in decades, they had a future, one they emphatically did not want to cede to terrorists, militants and insurgents.
Iraqis voted. Wow.
Overnight, a fresh narrative emerged from the chaos. Startling imagery pushed its way through the smoke of a thousand roadside bombs.
With triumphantly purple fingers and defiantly long voting lines, Iraqis made their point.
And underneath, the sensation of faint yet growing tremors emanating out of Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
And it started two years ago.
We owe it to our troops, the Iraqis, and the world to see it through.
I started bashing out a few thoughts in an e-mail to a friend, when suddenly I made deep and sustained contact with my inner Peggy Noonan.
Here is the result. Go ahead and snicker. I don't know who made you anti-cornball sheriff, but I'll have the last laugh on you bastards when I bank my Pulitzer.
- - - -
Happy Iraq War Day.
On March 19 two years ago, the U.S., along with Britain, Australia, Poland and other allies, invaded Iraq.
In three weeks, U.S. forces had captured Baghdad and Saddam Hussein was on the run.
By May 1, major combat was over and 138 Americans were dead, each one a sickening tragedy.
But that was fewer than in Desert Storm's 100-hour war to dislodge the Iraqi army from Kuwait.
Things did look hairy for a while.
We became grimly familiar with new words reflecting the deadly reality of the challenges in Iraq: Shock and awe. Improvised Explosive Device. Up-armoring. Spider hole.
Places we'd never heard of got stamped into our popular geographic lexicon: Sadr City. Fallujah. Abu Ghraib.
Then there were the beheadings. Anonymous thugs emboldened by hoods and hacksaws repaid the courage and good intentions of civilian contracters and aid workers with blood and hatred.
In those 24 months, we've lost 1,513 military personnel in Iraq. That's a cruise ship full of men and women who won't be coming home to their children, spouses and parents.
Yet behind each day's gruesome headlines was something more meaningful: tens of thousands of troops toiling to put Iraq back on its feet, despite the missteps and misunderstandings.
More importantly, it dawned on Iraqis themselves that, for the first time in decades, they had a future, one they emphatically did not want to cede to terrorists, militants and insurgents.
Iraqis voted. Wow.
Overnight, a fresh narrative emerged from the chaos. Startling imagery pushed its way through the smoke of a thousand roadside bombs.
With triumphantly purple fingers and defiantly long voting lines, Iraqis made their point.
And underneath, the sensation of faint yet growing tremors emanating out of Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
And it started two years ago.
We owe it to our troops, the Iraqis, and the world to see it through.
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