Jeffrey Scott Shapiro - Investigative Reporter, Washington, D.C.-based Lawyer

Forsaking Honor

This last weekend, two top Democrats in the U.S. Senate said they will introduce a resolution to start withdrawing troops from Iraq. Sens. Carl Levin and Joseph Biden both appeared on ABC's "This Week," saying the recent Democratic victory is an obvious sign the American people want to withdraw our troops from Iraq.

Their proposed resolution signifies the unbending opposition to the war many people have expressed ever since the early days of the war, the moment the insurgency began to fight back. Democratic leaders such as John Kerry and John Edwards reversed their position on a war they voted for in 2002, blaming their congressional decisions on flawed intelligence while ignoring the fact Saddam Hussein was still in violation of the U.N. cease-fire agreement established after the invasion of Kuwait.

Last November, in a column in The Washington Post that began, "I was wrong," Mr. Edwards wrote: "We have to give our troops a way to end their mission honorably. That means leaving behind a success, not a failure. What is success? I don't think it is Iraq as a Jeffersonian democracy. I think it is an Iraq that is relatively stable, largely self-sufficient, comparatively open and free, and in control of its own destiny."

Those of us who support the liberation effort do not believe it is that simple. We believe success is not abandoning Iraq to the hands of a merciless insurgency vigorously fighting to rule with the iron hand that "President" Saddam Hussein once did. We believe it would be a disastrous failure for American foreign policy to leave Iraq powerless to defend itself against a hawkish Iran that may try to invade and seize control of her oil wells. And, unlike Mr. Edwards, our definition of success is nothing short of a flourishing Iraqi democracy where all citizens can live without fear.

Will Democrats Back War Effort?

The Democratic Party stands on the brink of defining its mark in this tumultuous chapter of political history. It can either continue to fight for itself, or it can fight for America.

For those of us who long for the return of the party built by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, we hope with great anticipation that the 110th Congress will work with the president to emerge victorious in Iraq and begin healing a nation polarized by political turmoil.

"Democrats aren't about getting even," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a White House press conference Wednesday. "Democrats are about helping the American people to get ahead."

If that's true, the Democratic Party will make great strides toward building a bridge with the White House that will surely benefit both parties and all Americans. Democrats face a difficult challenge, however, since some of their most outspoken leaders have drifted toward the far left and vowed revenge against the president.