Emboldening the Enemy?

As the War in Iraq becomes more and more unpopular with the American people, and it appears that the current Administration has no clue as to what it's doing or what it should do, and as Congress debates resolutions calling for accountability and an exit strategy, defenders of the war effort are reduced to warning us that opponents of the war are "emboldening the enemy."

These quotes are taken from the Daily Kos -- which is to be fair a consistent and vocal critique of current policy. That being said, the quotes are worth considering:

"It’s pretty clear that a resolution that in effect says that the general going out to take command of the arena shouldn’t have the resources he thinks he needs to be successful certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries."
---Defense Secretary Robert Gates
"All of the options that are being talked about on the Hill will embolden terrorists in every part of the world." ---Rep. John Boehner
"We embolden the enemy by sending mixed messages." ---President Bush
"I fear that while this resolution is non-binding and, therefore, will not affect the implementation of the plan, it will do two things that can be harmful, which is that it will discourage our troops, who we're asking to carry out this new plan, and it will encourage the enemy..." ---Joe Lieberman

In the American system, democracy can be messy. People will disagree and they'll make their disagreements known to the public. There will be strong debates and opposition to government policies. And so by design we Americans send "mixed signals." That's what makes America so great, we have the freedom to send mixed signals. So to say, that opponents of current policy are emboldening the enemy, misses the point. Doesn't this difference of opinion demonstrate the power of the American way of life? I mean, how many places in the world, is the possible. So, let's celebrate our mixed messages! Maybe, "our enemies" will get the point and learn to live with mixed messages also!

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