Time to look out the windshield, folks...

We seem to be coming to a consensus of sorts that events in the Middle East have turned a corner. History appears to have raced off on a new trajectory and we are along for the ride, perhaps even in the driver's seat. If so, we need to be sure to get our eye's forward and pay some attention to where we are headed. I posted yesterday about Howard Fineman's assessment of the situation and the stunning silence from leading Democrats. It looks like the White House and State Department is looking forward thinking about direction, but is anyone else? It's time to drop the 2003 and 2004 issues and get talking about 2005.

Some are beginning to wonder if this has not been a remarkably prescient plan all along. That the domino's were carefully lines up and then given a subtle push by the master gamesmen of the White House. I imagine they had hoped for an effect like this, and thought that toppling Saddam would be a good step on the way. Some of the breaks went against the White House plan, the looting and development of the insurgency were clearly worse than they anticipated, and now some things are going their way. I'm not trying to be critical here, I'm a supporter of the Iraq effort and feel that White House confidence in the desire for freedom in the region is being vindicated. I'm just startled to see other's who purport to be "leaders" in the country sit silently in what is certainly a crucial time. If Congress and the Democrats have anything useful to add to our national agenda, its time to speak up.

Michael Totten posts today on the chaotic nature of these developments. This is a very delicate moment, which could turn in an instant, as it did two weeks ago when a bomb detonated in Lebanon. Personally, I'm a fan of Condi Rice's and have faith that she has the bases covered. I'm just fascinated at the response from other political leaders. This is not a time to be missing in action! If you don't approve of the direction we are taking, or the way we are handling these events, raise your objection! If you are pleased with events and our approach, say so and unify America's voice at this critical juncture. Silence is a cowardly way to face great historical events.

There's no good reason to have nothing to say at a moment like this. We could still blunder, do too much or too little; there's plenty for the supposedly smart guys in Washington to comment on. If you're still talking about the WMD's, the European and UN reaction, or whether the decision to enter Iraq was a mistake or not, you're looking out the rear window, while we all careen forward into an uncertain history. Leave those things to the historians, and let's focus on new governments in Iraq and Lebanon, the election (of sorts) in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, negotiation and unrest in Iran, the Russians, Africa....Eyes forward folks!

PS: And thanks to Greyhawk (who's always looking forward) for the chance to link into his Mudville Gazette!