Credit where credit is due

Front Page Magazine is carrying an article by Ben Johnson about the injustice that was done by Time Magazine in not selecting Gen. David Petraeus as their Man of the Year. It is a good piece with some interesting biographical information about Gen. Petraeus and an excellent recap of the progress he has made in Iraq.

It also contains some highly damning quotes from Democrat leaders who pronounced the surge a failure months before it had even begun.

Here is the first paragraph:

IN MOST YEARS, SEVERAL PEOPLE COULD REASONABLY BE SELECTED FRONTPAGE MAGAZINE’S MAN OF THE YEAR. This year, one candidate distinguished himself beyond all others: General David Howell Petraeus. In commanding the U.S. Surge in Iraq, Petraeus has not merely arrested an explosive and deteriorating security situation but has reversed terrorist initiatives, driving al-Qaeda out of a province it once governed and denying it the ability to reconstitute a Salafist safe haven. No one has more significantly advanced the welfare of the United States and the cause of freedom in 2007 as Gen. Petraeus, and none has been as harassed as a result – not merely harassed unduly but harassed precisely because he aided liberty’s cause in a time when so many seek to benefit politically from its diminution. In his selection, FrontPage Magazine maintains its tradition – expressed by honoring Col. Allen B. West, John O’Neill, Orianna Fallaci, and Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean in years past – of especially praising those who have been maligned, derided, and belittled (or worse) for merely doing their duty.

I strongly urge everyone to go read the entire article, but what I want to comment on is the teaser that Front Page used to advertise the piece on their main page it was:

For defeating al-Qaeda in its chosen field of battle, the annals of liberty will be kind to General Petraeus -- a brilliant but simple man who simply did his duty.

Whoever wrote this made an error. Iraq was NOT al Qaeda's "chosen field of battle". The field upon which al Qaeda chose to do battle was Manhattan on Sept. 11. Their desire was to make America's cities the front line in a war we would not have the stomach to fight.

By carrying the fight to them George W Bush changed the battlefield from the American heartland to Middle Eastern soil. Gen. David Petraeus deserves enormous credit for kicking al Qaeda out of Iraq and Pres. Bush deserves just as much credit for keeping them off of US soil.