Barring a miracle, the United States faces a catastrophic defeat in Iraq, with President Bush and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress sharing in the blame.

On the other hand, the Iraq experience does not inspire confidence in Democrats' ability to carry out foreign policy in a time of grave danger, either. Most of them agreed with Bush on the presence weapons of mass destruction and voted to authorize the war - then quickly backed off when the going got tough.

Hardly any Democrats joined Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in arguing that more troops were needed to achieve victory. Democratic policy almost from the beginning was: "get out," regardless of the consequences.

Now, despite the fact that al-Qaida leaders have declared Iraq to be the central front in the jihadist war on America, Democrats want to abandon that struggle. They say they want to confront al-Qaida in Afghanistan instead, but who's to believe they would stay the course there if it became difficult?