My Senator, John Sununu, recently went to Iraq and has seen so much progress there he said he believes we may be able to start leaving next year.

What is the difference between him saying this and what the Democrats are saying? He is talking about victory while the Democrats want out before victory. They are calling for a timetable for defeat, Sununu is talking about a goal for victory.

Because he is calling for victory, (and supporting the troops) and he is up for re-election in ’08, his seat is considered by the Democrats to be one of the most vulnerable. That is why the Democrats are working so hard to secure our defeat, they can’t have anything so trivial as a United States victory in Iraq get in their way of a Democrat victory in ’08.

Can you imagine the blow the Democrats would receive if we left Iraq vitorious and not with our tail tucked between our legs?

Sometimes taking an unpopular stance is the right stance to take, and it takes courage to do so.

From the New Hampshire Union Leader:

Sununu: US Could Leave Iraq Next Year

By MICHAEL COUSINEAU
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said yesterday that he could envision having all American combat troops home from Iraq by the end of next year and that conditions appear to be improving in Iraq’s capital as the Iraqi government assumes more responsibility.

“I think the goal of withdrawing (all American) combat troops by the end of 2008 is very realistic and attainable,” Sununu told the New Hampshire Sunday News in an exclusive phone interview from Baghdad.

Sununu, touring the war-scarred country this weekend as part of a four-member congressional delegation, said Dec. 31, 2008, is a goal — not a deadline — for removing combat troops and that other military personnel would probably stay on to advise and assist the Iraqis.

“I think it would be foolish for anyone to predict a day when there would be zero …,” said Sununu, who faces re-election in 2008.

Sununu marks the second member of the state’s four-person congressional delegation to visit Iraq this month.

Two weeks ago, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., joined another delegation that visited Baghdad and was told by military leaders that more time would be needed to assess whether a surge of American troops in Baghdad would make the country safer.

Yesterday, Sununu said Iraq recently deployed about 6,000 of its own troops to Baghdad and established 10 districts to help with security.

“It’s only been four weeks and there has been some modest improvements,” Sununu, in an earlier conference call yesterday, told reporters. “It doesn’t change my concerns that unless the government continues to make tough decisions and takes on responsibility for security and political reconciliation, (improvements) we’ll see won’t be maintained.”

Joint Iraqi-American security operations have concentrated on markets targeted by “horrific car bombings” in recent weeks, Sununu said. “It is unfortunately only after the car bombings last month that an effort was made to limit automobile traffic through the markets. They have found since that’s been done in the last few weeks, activity in these two markets, which are the largest in the city, has dramatically increased.”

The U.S. military yesterday said suicide bombers blew up chlorine-filled trucks in Anbar province, killing at least two policemen and forcing about 350 Iraqi civilians and six American troops to seek treatment for exposure to the gas.

“It is an indication the insurgents are looking for a new method of attack,” said Sununu, some 15 hours into his stay in Iraq.

Sununu’s meetings have included Gen. David Petraeus, the top American military commander in Iraq, and a State Department team. He plans to talk to New Hampshire soldiers today before heading to Germany to examine medical facilities.

Despite the mounting American casualties, the United States must tackle Islamic extremism today, Sununu said, or “our children will be left to address it.”