Stand Firm by Bill Frist, M.D.

12:36 PM - January 17, 2007

Issues: National Security
Stand Firm
Written by Bill Frist, M.D.

This isn't the time for division within our Republican Party. It is time to rally around President Bush and unify behind his plan to curb the violence in Baghdad and Anbar province. Because we do not know how the Iraqis will respond, it may be that the President's plan does not achieve its strategic aims. But that should not lessen our resolve.

We must strengthen our commitment in Iraq because the precipitous withdrawal advocated by the Administration's critics, and all too often the media, would signal to the radical Jihadists in Iraq and elsewhere that American strength, despite our advanced weapons and superior technology, are no match for their resolve.

It seems clear that a withdrawal would also destabilize the Maliki government plunging Iraq and the region into an escalating cycle of violence and retribution. Iranian advisors are already operating in Iraq training radical Shia elements in bomb making and pushing for continued sectarian violence and bloodshed. In the face of our withdrawal, would Iran increase their support for the Shia majority? Consequently would the Saudis intervene and begin sending overt support to the Sunnis? Would Jordan and the Gulf States follow suit? And how will the Kurds in Northern Iraq react?

Not one of us who cast votes back in 2003 authorizing the war ever thought we would be here today debating a withdrawal, but we are. We cannot regret our votes and turn our backs on the region and the sacrifices our brave men and women have made in the defense of freedom. We can only look forward. We must examine the effect of our withdrawal on the region and the world economy. And we should continue to debate what effect our success or failure in the weeks and months ahead will have on Al Qaeda's regional aims and its recruiting efforts.

And while we do so, we must stand firm.

I encourage my Republican colleagues to resist supporting the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Instead, I urge you to stand firmly behind the President and his plan.

Hat to American Daughter Media Center and N. Mathis for pointing this out:

"...this should not apply just to Republicans. In a time of national crisis, we would expect all Americans to stand firm, because that is what has traditionally made our country great."