WATCHING THE POLITICAL debates isn't easy. The responses, at times, resemble the Dating Game. But if you watch carefully, you might catch some small but important trends—that will affect you and your kids.

For example, we're seeing some glimpses of the reality of Iraq and our presence there from Democrats. The New York Times article from today [August 12, 2007]—"Democrats Say Leaving Iraq May Take Years"—is what I've been saying on this blog for the past two years.

I'm no Republican cheerleader here. The GOP candidates have far fewer, if any, solutions to Iraq except the inane slogan "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here."

The Democrats, it seems, may have learned from Bill Clinton's experience with Bosnia. Read the late David Halberstam's book War in a Time of Peace from the 1990s. Then-Governor Clinton ran on G.H.W. Bush's failure to respond to the genocide in Bosnia. It helped Clinton win the White House in 1992. But as president, Clinton admitted to Halberstam, it's much easier to run on a war than to manage it.

The reality of what happens during a pullout of Iraq is becoming louder than the anti-war liberal/progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Although the hearts of Americans agree with the Kos-led bloggers who tire from the memorial photos of our young men and women, the future of our country is increasingly at stake—quagmire talk or not.

First, pulling out would lead to a regional war and a worldwide recession. Oil prices would spike due to the lack of supply and the heavy demand from the world economy.

Second, pulling out would leave Israel vulnerable. Once the Muslim groups became tired of killing each other, they would turn on Israel to unify themselves.

Third, the military surge, in some ways, is working. But let's not kid ourselves. We're not fighting an army. We're fighting a movement that resembles a virus. Whatever antidote we devise, the viral Muslims adapt and re-invent themselves. They have an unending supply of angry, uneducated, impressionable, non-working males. It could take generations to indoctrinate that civilization to modern ways and to ignore the destructive words interpreted from their religious books.

Plus, we're learning valuable lessons in Iraq. Yes, we're learning them at a high cost. But we're preparing for the wars of the new century. I'm reading Robert Dallek's book Nixon and Kissinger. Dallek is no fan of the current Administration and he sees many similarities with the Nixon White House. But what was fascinating was Kissinger's assessment of South Vietnam—for Lyndon Johnson. It was eerily similar to what we're seeing in Iraq today: the people have no foundation or understanding to form a democratic government. That was in 1967, but the war and our presence lasted until 1975. And there was no oil in Vietnam. Why did we stay in Vietnam? To continue engaging the Soviets.

Remember, one of the reasons we went to war in Iraq was to gather more intelligence on the Muslim extremists; information we failed to gather leading up to 9/11.

So, what does this all mean? Prepare yourself and your kids for more war duty. The stories this week that the Bush Administration's War Czar hinted about re-instating a military draft got shockingly little reaction. I guess people are either working two jobs, trying to figure out what to do with their mortgage, or they're still on summer vacation.

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