Whatever Happened to “Iraq Summer”?

Pete Hegseth has a must-read in today’s Washington Times, which includes this bit about the much-hyped “Iraq Summer” planned by antiwar groups and the Democrats in Congress:

At the same time, members of Congress were already declaring the “surge” a failure and stepping up their “timeline for withdrawal” rhetoric. Anti-war Democrats, and a few Republicans, cited “realities on the ground” as compelling evidence to call for an immediate, or more nuanced “phased,” end to the war. These same “realities,” also emboldening anti-war groups to declare an “Iraq Summer,” during which they would finally crush domestic support for the war and force Congress to de-fund the mission there. MoveOn.org and others dispatched operatives around the country and harassed members of Congress.

As Hegseth points out, the turnaround over the last six months has been dramatic, which is why the Democratic resistance to continued funding has become an untenable position:

But reality has changed, and the Democratic leadership needs to have the courage to acknowledge great success in Iraq, and swallow their pride long enough to do what is best for the troops and their important mission. Congress needs to fund the troops immediately, before heading home to enjoy a holiday season that our troops – and my fellow soldiers in the 101st Airborne – will spend in harm’s way.

Go read the whole thing.

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