I think we need to ask ourselves do we need a victory or a triumph in Iraq? What is the difference? A victory is short term and solves some immediate problems, but a triumph is final. I believe we are in a war of ideas. We are in fact telling all those states, all the people of those states to follow our political philosophy to some degree because ours (or something close) is the best. We are saying the ideas and philosophy of Osama and people like him are ruinous and counter-productive. A narrow, drawn out victory in Iraq does not prove that ours is better, only that we that we can hang on a little longer. Iraq is much more then just battleground against insurgents, it is the battlefield of ideas – and it is one where the whole world is watching.

To bring forward a triumph requires scale, triumphs are not subtle, they are like a Tsunami. Nobody doubts the winner or how the winner won. There is no recount. No propaganda can lessen it. It speaks for itself.

I do believe our military is doing all that it can. We have sent our best soldier. I think we can do no more, the military already shoulders the greater burden. I also believe the nation and the world is not doing all that it can. Maybe it can’t. Maybe it dismantled the apparatus’ required to do more during the Cold War in favor of something else. Maybe we don’t understand the stakes – we think Iraq is just an adventure. We think the Iraqis should do more. But I’d question the last. If we are the ones saying our system is better; if we are the ones who are telling the world to follow our lead; who has more to lose? Who really requires a triumph? Iraq and the United States are linked. We both require a triumph. To not Triumph in Iraq is a win for those like Osama who say tolerance, liberty, pluralism, justice and freedom are a sham. They wish to empower themselves through the subservience of the masses. They will not stop until the world stops them.

I also find it interesting that about two years ago people asked questions like, “Where are the “Marshall Plans”? When they got no answer people started wondering, “Well, where are the Marshalls?” That generation understood sacrifice better then ours – yes our military understands sacrifice, but not our generation as a whole. That generation understood what was at stake, what hung in the balance. I’d argue ours does not. We have not done a very good job of telling them.

Without scale there can be no triumph. Maybe all we will achieve is a narrow victory. The military can hold its head high – we have sacrificed and done all we can do. I think a victory will only lead to other contests – other Iraqs. It is inevitable in my opinion. To achieve a triumph is to declare a clear leader - It is to leave no doubt. Success on that scale influences the world – it says look what we have done, we have done the impossible.