AUSTIN, Texas – Tomorrow is July 4. 7,500 miles away, the Multi-National Force in Iraq will not relax with a beer and a burger, but will instead carry on their mission to bring peace and security to the still-troubled central provinces of Iraq.

Unfortunately, while they vigilantly attend to their duties, they will not be buoyed by support here at home. On both sides of the aisle, politicians indulge in political maneuvering to stand at odds with whatever peacekeeping strategy the Bush administration implements.

When Clinton employed the Rumsfeld-influenced Fourth Generation minimal presence doctrine in various U.S. engagements throughout the world, Republicans scoffed and demanded boots on the ground. When Bush’s joint chiefs utilized similar methods, Democrats insisted on more troops and a change in course.

Not long ago, the Pentagon brass started to consider the value of additional troops, so the president authorized a troop surge, which reached full strength only two weeks ago. In addition, the Department of Defense changed course, moving U.S. soldiers from safety zones, designed with force protection in mind, out into combat outposts and joint-security stations, putting coalition forces into constant personal contact with the Iraqi population.

Not surprisingly, politicians with vested interests in Bush’s failures declared the surge a failure before it really started and promptly forgot that, not so long ago, they were calling for additional troops themselves.

In fact, Democratic realists like Hillary Clinton are now advocating fewer troops in Iraq, or “strategic redeployments.” Left-wing pundits suddenly argue that coalition troops actually aggravate the security environment in Iraq, ignoring that it was this very reasoning that prompted the Joint Chiefs of Staff to use minimal force in first place.

While the president’s strategy is crafted by the analysis and expertise of the world’s finest military machine, the opposition’s strategy is simply guided by contrarianism. The president’s policy on Iraq is written by the Pentagon, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to carrying out our military operations. The opposition, therefore, is issuing a vote of “no confidence” not just to the president, but to our military leadership.

Despite the fact that American politicians aren’t as qualified to counter an insurgency as Gen. David Petraeus, many of them seem to have no qualms with undermining the faith of the American people in his ability to lead our forces in Iraq to victory. This is a very dangerous proposition. If our fighting men and women don’t trust the man commanding their mission, there is little hope of success.

No partisan victory is worth that price.

Tomorrow, on July 4, for at least one day, ignore those Americans working to compromise the efforts of our military in Iraq.

For just one 24-hour period, remember that, despite the violence in central Iraq, 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces are stable and relatively violence-free.

Mourn our fallen warriors, but know that they are fighting the good fight. Moving into hostile territory has increased the rate of KIAs, but in June alone, civilian deaths in Baghdad fell 36 percent. Over 2,000 families have returned to their homes in Anbar province under the protection of Iraqi police and coalition troops.

Numerous captives have been liberated from terrorist-run prison camps. Sunni tribal leaders are abandoning al Qaeda and supporting the Maliki government. As a result, Sunni enlistment in the Iraqi police and security forces has skyrocketed since February. While spectacular attacks inside the Green Zone and against high-profile targets like al-Askariya haven’t completely abated, murders and executions seem to be down around 50 percent country-wide, and increased numbers of insurgents are being uprooted, killed and arrested.

Iraqis recognize this, and a recent BBC poll shows that most Iraqis still want U.S. troops to remain in their country, securing the peace.

This is the mission of our forces in Iraq – to defeat the enemy. They are not failing us. Let us not fail them.