Voice Of Bragg | Bragg’s Writers Guild

Think about the security issues that must be considered for the movement of an American President into a war zone. The President has to go into a secure location. The last thing America needs is for the President to get shot down in a combat zone. Irreparable harm would be done to the entire war-effort and America ’s position around the world would not recover for years.
Yet, President Bush demonstrated that the Surge Strategy is a success by flying into the one place in the combat zone that everybody had written off a year ago – Anbar Province . He didn’t land at Baghdad International, where there is layer upon layer of security. No, President Bush went to Anbar. This serves as tangible proof the Surge Strategy is working. While the winds on the Hill may blow one direction the winds of reality are blowing in another.

The big picture strategy in Iraq is much like a three legged stool. And accounts from General Petraeus, the GAO Report, the Jones Report, numerous military experts and even Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have all cited progress by U.S and Coalition Forces, which proves the foundation leg for this stool is sound. The success of the surge strategy is attributable to a dedicated, well-trained, and professional military with visionary leaders which is serving its purpose as a sturdy anchor for the remaining legs – political reconciliation and a self-sustaining economy. Democratic societies grow slowly and the fact of the matter is that they don’t grow at all unless there is a sense of security at the basic level. The Surge Strategy is providing that sense for Iraqis. The democratic process has started at the local level and will grow to support the larger picture. The third leg of the stool is the economy. That will quickly strengthen as the political process grows because the Iraqis have resources and an educated populace.

Congress would do well to step back from the political froth and plot a bipartisan course of action for the future. One point to reflect upon would be their standing in the polls. A July Gallup Poll has the most trusted institution in the country as our military at 69 percent. Congress came in with a 14% confidence ranking. That 14% showing was lower then HMO’s Another point to ponder while walking the Halls of Congress after six years of war is that only 30% of the military, that’s less than one-half of 1% of the nation, is fighting this war for us. So, as the winds blow, all of America should be thankful that we have men like General Petraeus that carry rifles for a living and do not seek reward outside the company of their own. The most cherished gift an infantryman receives is a nod from his peers not elected officials.