The Democrats and the left are in a bizarre position. You can see this on leftist sites (like marccooper.com) where they are trying to figure out what to do.

Objectively, they benefit when the country suffers losses overseas. That they take advantage of this is disgusting and in fact is one of the weaknesses of democracy in the modern age.

Our opponents know this. They also know that eventually the American people will tire of fighting if no very visible threat re-appears. They are planning on waiting us out, just like the North Vietnamese did after Tet 1968 when they realized the value of winning the war in the US political process.

In that sense, war opponents who do not offer a serious victory alternative are, for their partisan goals, aiding the enemy. And the enemy knows this if som eof these Useful Idiots do not.

chuck posted this link in a different thread. I think it is well worth reading in terms of understanding the war on terror (as opposed to the Iraqi Baathist insurgency, a battle in one theatre of the war).

This time, somehow, we must prevent the MSM and the Democrats from snatching a quick defeat from the jaws of a slow victory. There is too much at stake.

The myths that need to be destroyed include the idea that Europe is in any way useful in this war (other than at the spook level); that Europe and Russia are anything other than supporters of our enemies in Iraq and Iran; that guerilla wars cannot be won; that an attack on Syria is wrong and represents a failure of our strategy; that terrorism “root causes” mean anything; that the Democrats have a better answer or any demonstrated capability to fight a war; that this is a multifaceted war (the article above addresses a good viewpoint on that) which has unique characteristics and remarkably dangerous threats; that profiling is a bad idea; the myth that Islam is just another religion in the case of all of its inherents, and instead instill the idea that interpretations of Islam have created an exceedingly dangerous fantasy that glorifies suicide and will (in both a fantasy and practical sense) require escalating attacks against up.

In other words, most people know little about this war and the Democrats are cynically taking advantage for this and seriously endangering the country by doing so (and the MSM is even worse).