Francis Pauc: Can peace movement admit Bush may have been right?

I saw a headline yesterday in the Internet that said " U.S. Winning the War in Iraq ", or words to that effect. That statement blows my mind for a couple reasons. First, I cannot imagine what " winning " means in a situation like Iraq , which is an ongoing humanitarian disaster. Second, does " winning " mean that we will be encouraged to start another mindless war?

I read the article, despite my misgivings, and it gave me food for thought. The gist of the article was that the surge worked. Well, maybe...I am aware that the present administration and the McCain campaign will jump on any acknowledgment of success in Iraq like hungry dogs spying fresh meat, but I wonder if people in the peace movement are just as eager to deny the government any shred of success. My question is: Are we willing to give the devil his due? The reasons for the current lull in Iraqi violence are necessarily complex; we can think of all sorts of reasons for it besides the surge in troops. It could be the passivity of the Sadrists; it could be the fact that we effectively bribed the Sunnis; it could be the alignment of the planets. My point is: Do we have enough integrity to admit that Bush may have been right, just this once?

All this brings to my mind a larger question: Do we really want peace in Iraq , or do we really want to stick to Bush and the Neocons? To be honest, it was easier to complain about the war when the administration was so obviously and painfully incompetent. What is in our hearts? Is it compassion for the Iraqis, or is it loathing for the Bush regime? If what we care most about is our anger at the current U.S. government, then I think we have a problem.

Francis Pauc is a WNPJ member in Oak Creek, Wisconsin