The gruesome tactics of the terrorists in Iraq -- kidnappings, beheadings, suicide bombings -- are desperate actions aimed at harming Iraqis. These deeds are fostering deep Iraqi resentment, anger, and opposition toward the insurgents. That is one reason why there are more volunteers for the Iraqi police, National Guard, and army than there are training slots available.
Rowan Scarborough of the Washington Times reports that Iraqi phone subscribers are up to 91 percent of pre-war levels, that oil production is ahead of 2.5 million barrels per day, that a draft voter list is compiled, and that voter registration will begin shortly.
Friday night, in the townhall debate in St. Louis, it is essential that President Bush hammer away at U.S. successes in the global war. He must also emphasize the accomplishments of homeland security. Most important, he must link the two. The U.S. hasn?t been attacked in three years. Hundreds of plots around the country have been foiled. New York subways were never closed during the Republican convention, as Kerry alleged in Miami. But a plot to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge was in fact pre-empted. Actually, a big victory for homeland security was that both the Republican and Democratic conventions were terrorist-free events. That?s what happens when terrorists are engaged on [ITAL] their [UNITAL] turf rather than [ITAL] our [UNITAL] turf.
At the next debate, Bush will have ample opportunity to regroup and hammer all this home. He must emphasize that there will be no ?global test? when it comes to defending America. He should also insist that nuclear bunker-busting weapons, which Kerry is against, are essential to this war. So is a missile defense system, also opposed by Kerry.
Presidential leadership is about optimism and there are numerous hard-headed real-time facts to support a reasonably optimistic view in 2004. If Bush seizes the moment in St. Louis this Friday, maybe he can reclaim some needlessly lost ground.