The surge, offensive, reinforcement, call it what you want is on in Iraq, and the very first thing the loudest and most visible leader of the biggest internal terrorist organization in that country did in response was flee to Iran!

Muqtada Al Sadr, a wannabe Islamic cleric who has spent the better part of the last decade living off the reputation of his late father, formed an Iranian backed militia - the Mahdi Army - to spread terrorism and build his own fortunes after Saddam Hussein's regime fell in 2003.

He had a murder warrant out on him at that time, and even gathered a small number of followers to hide in a mosque and shoot at American troops, who quite frankly, should have been given carte blanche to fill him full of holes. But politics and diplomacy reared their ugly heads and Al Sadr was spared and allowed to roam freely, using his time to build his army and his fortunes, and then aiming at both the US and Iraqis who were working toward freedom and democracy.

Al Sadr's cohorts in the new Iraqi parliament even prevailed on Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to set an entire section of Baghdad off limits to US troops, thus giving Al Sadr a sanctuary where he could increase and strengthen his Shia Muslim forces. Along with some like-minded bandits in the Sunni Muslim forces, Al Sadr was the primary cause of most of the car bombings, kidnappings, torture and assassinations in Baghdad in the past year.

He is responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of his own countrymen, and thousands of his own troops who willingly blew themselves to smithereens on the basis that they were following a Messiah who would guarantee them a one-way ticket to paradise. Instead, they were following a lying, manipulating mentally unstable conniver who used his followers' ignorance as a means to live a life of opulence and privilege while they meekly lined up for suicide assignments.

Fortunately, President Bush put his foot down late last year and told Prime Minister Maliki that time was up, the game was over, you blew it, and now we're putting this guy down like we should have three years ago. So even before US troops are up to full strength, even before they start full-scale military operations, Al Sadr runs like a scared mouse and hides out in Tehran.

Classic bully. Classic B.S. artist. Classic, but not class.

Every single person who followed him should feel embarrassed, humiliated, mortified and used. His homicide bombers died for nothing. They murdered thousands of innocent men, women and children for nothing. They were led like sheep to the slaughter and they went willingly. Their great and glorious leader who should have been there at the end, extolling the virtues of martyrdom just before he too went down in a hail of bullets is no where to be found.

Do these guys really think that Allah wants a bunch of mindless lemmings surrounding him in paradise? Do they think Allah is going to reward them for slaughtering his children? I think not. I think that in the Muslim version of judgment day suicide bombers and murderers will be getting the big thumbs down.

And first to get the celestial boot will be Al Sadr. What a loser. What a pathetic excuse for a leader. In the words of Bugs Bunny, "what a maroon."

He even has some groupies running around Iraq tyring to keep the troops in line by denying that he fled. They say he is just tending to business elsewhere and this is all an American plot. Hell, we could stay up for days on end trying to come up with something like this and it still wouldn't be as convincing as reality.

Al Sadr isn't making public appearances, is not preaching to his congregation and is nowhere to be seen because he ran when confronted. His die-hard followers can make up any story they want, but that is because they will be taking the fall for Al Sadr. The higher you stood in his dwindling army, the better your chances of being nailed, either by the Americans, the Iraqi army, or by the rank and file of the Mahdi army itself.

And now his army has one of two choices: stand up and fight to recover some shred of dignity even if it means death; or slink away like the craven coward you followed, to be hunted down and singled out by your own countrymen and dragged from filthy holes and hung just like Saddam.

Die like men, or die like dogs, but die you will. But don't look around for your great and glorious leader to accompany you. He will be in Iran, living the good life, laughing at you, and figuring out how he can build himself another empire of fools to feather his bed.

Oh, don't worry, he'll find it. Right in the US Congress. You want cowardice and stupidity run amok? Look no further than Congress.

Our representatives and senators, who are supposed to be doing the people's business, are currently debating a measure to tell President Bush that they are better at second-guessing than he is at decision making. I don't think so.

The sound bites I have heard from Congressional Democrats and turncoat Republicans in the past few days on why there should be no offensive and no money to support our troops are mind boggling in their stupidity.

Take N.Y. Rep. Steve Israel for example, who said earlier this week that troop morale is based solely on material comforts. They need armor and bullets and food he claims.

Just goes to show how much he knows about military service, which I didn't see listed anywhere on his website biography. The first and foremost issue in troop morale is knowing that you are supported on the home front. Our troops need to know that they are fighting for and coming back to a country that fully supported them and will welcome them back.

Ask any Vietnam veteran.

Another cut and run proponent was claiming this morning that the mood of the country now is similar to the mood of the country in the early 1970s when Congress cut funding for our Vietnamese allies, setting the stage for the fall of the south and the slaughter of some four million Southeast Asians.

Wrong again Roscoe. The country was still solidly behind the war in Vietnam by an overwhelming majority when the cowards in that Congressional class, some of whom are leading the charge from the rear in this Congress, cut the funds.

But the media and the Democrats made sure that only setbacks were reported, never the victories, and since there were so few setbacks, they made them up to further their cause. Just like Iraq.

But there is a great and hopeful side to all of this. The surge is already on, and our guys are already hammering the bad guys, even if the media doesn't report it. By this summer, no matter what the Congress does, things will be different in Iraq, and things will be different in Iran and Syria too.

I have complete faith in our military, even if the non-serving 'geniuses' in Washington don't. They will prevail, and move on to other things.

But we will have a wonderful repository of filmed statements from those who don't believe in and don't support our troops to play over and over when the next election cycle comes around. Won't it be fun to watch all these clowns try to explain what they really meant when they said this or that about our troops?

Kind of makes you tingle in anticipation doesn't it?