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A strange thing is happening in the mainstream media - stories about progress in Iraq are starting to leak out in the most unlikely of places. This isn’t supposed to happen now that Democrats have invested in defeat.

Keep in mind that the full surge, the one that has been summarily dismissed by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, hasn’t even been fully implemented yet. Despite that fact it appears that the MSM embargo on good news is possibly starting to deteriorate.

The Washington Post brings us the following bit of news from the foreign minister in Iraq. It is both a plea to stay and fight as well as a message of hope.

Don’t Abandon Us

By Hoshyar Zebari
Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A23

Last weekend a traffic jam several miles long snaked out of the Mansour district in western Baghdad. The delay stemmed not from a car bomb closing the road but from a queue to enter the city’s central amusement park. The line became so long some families left their cars and walked to enjoy picnics, fairground rides and soccer, the Iraqi national obsession.

Across the city, restaurants are slowly filling and shops are reopening. The streets are busy. Iraqis are not cowering indoors. The appalling death tolls from suicide attacks are often high because of crowding at markets. These days you are as likely to hear complaints about traffic congestion as about the security situation. Across Baghdad there is a cacophony of sirens from ambulances, firefighters and police providing public services. You cannot even escape the curse of traffic wardens ticketing illegally parked cars.

These small but significant snippets of normality are overshadowed by acts of gross violence, which fuel the opinion of some that Iraq is in a downward spiral. The Iraqi people are indeed suffering tremendous hardships and making grave sacrifices — but daily life goes on for 7 million Baghdadis struggling to take back their capital and country.

Despite the fact that this article appears in the back of the paper on A23 we are reading a report from people who know. Zebari also knows something else; Democrats are making a case for surrender. So he is also giving us a reason why we should stay. This is something the leaders on the left side of Congress have not appeared to consider. The question shouldn’t be “why should we leave”, no, it should be “why should we stay?”. It is an important question to be sure. It is a question that has answers. Zebari lends the Democrats a hand and hopes the American people are listening.

So why should the world remain engaged in Iraq?

There is no denying the difficulties Iraq faces, and no amount of good news can obscure the demons of terrorism and sectarianism that have risen in my country. But there is too much at stake to risk failure, and everything to gain by helping us protect our hard-won democratic achievements and emerge as a stable, self-sustaining country.

We remain determined in spite of our losses. Spectacular attacks may dominate foreign headlines, but they cannot change the reality that Iraq has made steady political, economic and social progress over the past four years. We continue to strengthen our nascent democratic institutions, pursue national reconciliation and expand Iraqi security forces. The Baghdad security plan was conceived to give us breathing space to expedite political and economic development by “securing and holding” neighborhoods across the capital. There is no quick fix, but there have been real results: Winning public confidence has led to a spike in intelligence, a disruption of terrorist networks and the capture of key leaders, as well as the discovery of weapons caches. In Anbar province, Sunni sheikhs and insurgents have turned against al-Qaeda and to the side of Iraqi security forces. This would have been unthinkable even six months ago.

Contrary to popular belief, most government ministries are located outside the Green Zone, and employees drive to work every day despite death threats and attacks on colleagues and families. We government ministers are always at risk of assassination. When a suicide bomber attacked parliament last month, the legislators sat in defiance in an extraordinary session the following day. I am particularly inspired by the commitment of the young diplomats in the Foreign Ministry, a diverse mix of Sunni, Shiite, Christian, Arab and Kurdish men and women who serve their country without subscribing to religious or sectarian divisions.

Iraqis are standing up every day, and we persevere because there is no other option. We will not surrender our country to terrorists. They have failed to cripple the elected government, and they have failed to intimidate us into submission. Iraqis reject their vision of a future whose hallmarks are bloodshed and hatred.

It is truly sad that Iraqis such as Zebari have more guts and courage than every single Democrat in Congress. Iraqis continue to have hope despite the attacks on their families and their own lives. What a truly remarkable statement this makes. The gutless cut and run crowd is one that is lavished by millions of dollars through their positions of power. Pelosi and Reid are two of the richest people in Congress, they have bodyguards, air conditioning, special jets, plush offices, private schools, side businesses and just about every amenity that most Americans could only dream of and most Iraqis will never see. Yet these fat lard ass elitists want to throw in the towel. This is beyond shameful.

Those calling for withdrawal may think it is the least painful option, but its benefits would be short-lived. The fate of the region and the world is linked with ours. Leaving a broken Iraq in the Middle East would offer international terrorism a haven and ensure a legacy of chaos for future generations. Furthermore, the sacrifices of all the young men and women who stood up here would have been in vain.

Iraqis, for all our determination and courage, cannot succeed alone. We need a healthy and supportive regional environment. We will not allow our country to be a battleground for settling scores in regional and international conflicts that adversely affect stability inside our borders. Only with continued international commitment and deeper engagement from our neighbors can we establish a stable democratic, federal and united Iraq. The world should not abandon us.

Surrender and failure is not a fact of this war; it is a product of the Democrat strategy to pull themselves back up onto the pedestal of power. But that is not real power because the powerful don’t have to hang their heads low in shame. When the Democrats finally do force the abandonment of Iraq we will realize the true meaning of “mission accomplished”. That is a banner that history will never forget.

Others: Wizbang, Captain’s Quarters, The Patriot of the Seven Hills, Not Exactly Rocket Science, A Second Hand Conjecture

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