The Iraq of Corporal Mayer's memory is not solely a place of death and loss; it is also a place of hope

The Iraq of Corporal Mayer's memory is not solely a place of death and loss

writes Mark Sappenfield in the Christian Science Monitor (shookhran to Robert Tracinski and Gregory Schreiber).

It is also a place of hope. It is the hope of the town of Hit, which he saw transform from an insurgent stronghold to a place where kids played on Marine trucks. It is the hope of villagers who whispered where roadside bombs were hidden. But most of all, it is the hope he saw in a young Iraqi girl who loved pens and Oreo cookies…. It is a perception gap that has put the military and media at odds, as troops complain that the media care only about death tolls, while the media counter that their job is to look at the broader picture…. Kidnappings and unclear battle lines have made war correspondents' jobs almost impossible. Travel around the country is dangerous, and some reporters never venture far from their hotels. 'It has to have some effect on what we see: You end up with reporting that waits for the biggest explosion of the day,' says Mr. Hart.

Robert also has this:

Lincoln famously said that you cannot fool all of the people all of the time--and my experience is that, on the big issues, we can count on most of the people to do their best, most of the time. Here iss an example: a poll showing that most of the people see through the Democrats attempt to paint their demands for American surrender and defeat as an act of "patriotism."

Nevertheless, Robert adds that

The left's wave of defeatism over the war against Sunni insurgents in Western Iraq may not cause an American withdrawal and defeat in Iraq. But it has already achieved the strategic goals set by the leftists--and by their allies in Tehran: it has paralyzed the US and Europe in dealing with Iran's nuclear threat.

The latest symptom of paralysis is the failure of the US and Europeans to push for UN sanctions against Iran, despite overwhelming evidence of Iran's nuclear program. Instead, our leaders are considering a stalling action--one meant to stall us, not the Iranians--put forward by Russia.

Having outsourced our Iran policy to wobbly, appeasing allies--Britain, France, and Germany--will the Bush administration and the Europeans outsource the whole problem to the corrupt and hostile government of Russia?