The right debate at the wrong time

The current debate in Congress about whether and when to remove troops from Iraq is an important one; it’s altogether proper in our democracy for the legislative branch to make its opinion known for the American voters. But with the grisly discovery of the bodies of two American soldiers, I fear that the timing will serve to reinforce the “Black Hawk Down” effect and embolden our enemies.

Here’s Osama Bin Laden deriding America’s fortitude and capacity for sacrifice after we pulled out of Somalia in 1992:

When the Marines landed in the last days of 1992, bin Laden sent in his own soldiers, armed with AK-47's and rocket launchers. Soon, using the techniques they had perfected against the Russians, they were shooting down American helicopters. The gruesome pictures of the body of a young army ranger being dragged naked through the streets by cheering crowds flashed around the world. The yearlong American rescue mission for starving Somalians went from humanitarian effort to quagmire in just three weeks. Another superpower humiliated. Another bin Laden victory.

"After leaving Afghanistan, the Muslim fighters headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle, thinking that the Americans were like the Russians," bin Laden said. "The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows ran in defeat. And America forgot all the hoopla and media propaganda ... about being the world leader and the leader of the New World Order, and after a few blows they forgot about this title and left, dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat."

Al Qaeda is watching to see what Congress does. What kind of message do we want to send to both the Iraqi people and the insurgency?