Defining Victory

A lot has been said about victory in Iraq. I have been asked (as a supporter of the war) to define victory. It's not easy because Iraq is not America. It's not Vietnam either. It's not Algiers for that matter. Victory would encompass a lot of things. So tonight I was watching Hannity and Colmes and there's Newt Gingrich being asked the same question. I liked his answer.

While I'm not quite sure what victory is, I'll tell you what defeat is. Defeat is al-Qaeda showing the last American soldier leaving while people are being slaughtered. Defeat is the British Broadcasting Corporation telling the planet "The Americans have been defeated. Defeat is the Iranians telling every terrorist in the world "We'll give you more money because the Americans are cowards and they can't take pain and they are running".

It reminds me of T.F. Boggs. "War sucks but a world run by Islamofacists sucks more."

Or, the next POTUS, Sen. John McCain. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, about the ISG Report, he said, "There's only one thing worse than an overstressed Army and Marine Corps, and that's a defeated Army and Marine Corps. I believe this is a recipe that will lead to our defeat sooner than later in Iraq."