Lt. Pete Hegseth, Executive Director of Vets for Freedom, writes an editorial in this morning’s Washington Times entitled “The Toops are Winning”.  Hegseth discusses the progress, now widely acknowledged in Iraq from just six months ago, and calls on Congress to allow the troops to finish the job.

Despite the incredible progress made by our military — which has opened the door for real and sustainable political progress in Iraq — the Democratic leadership continues to insist that we de-fund the war and bring the troops home no matter what. Beholden to entrenched and noisy anti-war interest groups, the Democrat leadership in Washington seems willing to cut-off much needed funding, placing our brave troops in harms way.

In response to these overtly political threats, the Pentagon recently made plans to lay off more than 100,000 DOD employees across America in order to re-allocate money to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What the Democratic leadership seems to forget is that these employees are responsible for training, equipping and supporting the troops in the field.

In short, for the sake of placating MoveOn.org and other radical anti-war groups, the Democratic leadership is willing to lay off thousands of employees in America and under cut the incredible success of our troops in Iraq. Such logic is perverse and infuriating, especially to courageous Democrats like Reps. Brian Baird and Jim Marshall, who have moved beyond partisanship to support the success being achieved in Iraq.

In The Hill, Mike Soraghan reports on the significant national job loss that will result if Congress does not pass war funding before the end of the year, with up to 100,000 expected to receive pink slips.  Deputy Secretary of State Gordon England wrote to Congressional leaders last week that “While these actions will be detrimental to the nation, there are no other viable alternatives without additional congressional funding. Your support in providing these needed funds would be greatly appreciated.”  These lay-offs won’t be confined to the Washington, D.C. area, but could affect every military base and community across the United States.