July 20, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward

The consequences of withdrawal

Even as Gen. David Petraeus continues his counterinsurgency operations in an effort to secure Iraq, liberals are pushing to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.

In a new Heritage video, Middle East expert Jim Phillips explains the consequences of withdrawal—and the “sophistic debate” in Congress about cutting and running. Precipitous withdrawal, he says, would be “a strategic and humanitarian disaster.”

Watch the video on MyHeritage.org.

For all the latest on the conflict in Iraq, visit Heritage’s Progress in Iraq website.

This will not be a quick war

It should come as no surprise that the recent National Intelligence Estimate says al Qaeda still wants to attack the United States. And it should come as no surprise, Heritage national security expert James Carafano writes, that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has a “gut feeling” that al Qaeda might try something sneaky.

Heritage scholars have been pointing this out for years.

In 2005, Carafano co-wrote Winning the Long War: Lessons from the Cold War for Defeating Terrorism and Preserving Freedom. In it, he explains that “the war on terrorism, like the Cold War, will be a protracted conflict. As such, also like the Cold War, it requires a long-term strategy for victory.”

Read excerpts from Winning the Long War

Purchase Winning the Long War from Heritage’s Bookstore

How liberalism upends the Founders’ vision

As we fight to return America to conservative principles, The Heritage Foundation has undertaken a project—known as First Principles—to identify what these principles are and how modern liberalism and progressivism has broken with them.

In the latest First Principles research paper, author and author and scholar Thomas West explains that progressivism “was a total rejection in theory, and a partial rejection in practice, of the principles and policies on which American had been founded.” In the same paper, William Schambra of the Hudson Institute points out that an emphasis on the principles of the Founding has allowed the conservative movement to thrive.

West looks back at how America arrived at its current state and concludes that “today’s liberalism and the policies that it has generated arose from a conscious repudiation of the principles of the American founding.” In fact, he argues that few politicians today “altogether support the Founders’ principles.”

But the progressives and liberals have not yet won. Conservatives can—and should—still act to advance the vision and principles of the Founders. “The Founders’ approach to politics is still alive in some areas of American life,” West notes. The question of whether America goes down the road of “constitutionalism or the Progressive-liberal administrative state is yet to be fully resolved.”

In other news

• President Bush has vowed to veto any expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides federal funds for youth medical care. Liberals hope to expand the costly program into a full-fledged entitlement when lawmakers consider its renewal.
• Liberals in Congress blocked legislation that would have exempted those who report suspicious activity from civil lawsuits. The law was prompted after a several Muslim leaders sued the “John Doe” airline passengers who reported they were acting suspiciously last November.
• “Co-parenting arrangements where a lesbian couple and gay man choose to ‘team up’ to have children have become increasingly popular,” Britain’s Daily Mail reports.
• Vice President Cheney will assume executive powers briefly on Saturday as President Bush undergoes a routine medical examination, the White House announced.
• The Senate voted this morning to expand federal grants to college students by about 25 percent. Liberals have long backed an expansion of federal aid to offset the increasing costs of college—even though these increased costs are caused in part by increased federal aid.

Coming up at Heritage

To attend the following Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.

• On Wednesday, July 25 at 10:30 a.m., two panels of experts will explain Iran’s challenges to American foreign policy, including energy security and defense policy.
• On Wednesday, August 1 at noon, author John Lott discusses his new book Freedomnomics, about the importance of free markets and free enterprise. Purchase the book online.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. DeEtte Chatterton contributed to this report.

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