As the dust of the 2006 election settles, it's clear who the real winners are. Our enemies pay far more attention to our politics than most of our citizens, and know just how to manipulate our media to achieve maximum impact. Think it's a coincidence that October was constantly referred to as, "the bloodiest month since 2003" in every newscast for weeks before the election? Just as they swayed the Spanish election in 2004 -- but failed to do three times in Iraq -- the enemy has influenced our own political process to benefit themselves.

More than anything, the 2006 election results have sent a message to members of our own military. What must they think when they see Dick "our troops are like Nazis" Durbin taking the number two position in the Senate, and Jack "they're guilty without a trial" Murtha vying for second banana in the House? The new leaders of Congress will meet next week with former presidential candidate George "Come Home America" McGovern, whose 1972 bid failed due to his radical anti-war stance. McGovern will be advising our new leaders on how best to pull the troops out of Iraq by June of 2007. What other conclusion can anyone draw than that we, as a country, do not support those who fight on our behalf?

By putting into power those who advocate retreat from Iraq in the face of the enemy, we have failed the troops who depend on our moral support to sustain them. The only Democrat plans for Iraq I've ever heard are "cut and run" (immediate withdrawal), "cut and walk" (phased withdrawal), "split and quit" (divide the country, declare victory and leave) and "hide and bide" (retreat to secure bases and let Sunni, Shi'a, Kurds, Ba'athists and al-Qaeda fight it out). Not one major Democratic leader has called for winning, and our troops know that. Nancy Pelosi, who will soon take her place as Speaker of the House, considers Iraq "not a war to be won, but a situation to be solved." By putting the Defeatocrats in charge, we have sent our troops the clear message that we do not support them or their mission.

What's even worse, we've sent our enemies that message, too.

Al-Qaeda and other terrorists have always believed that they could win because we Americans are too soft for war, and can't take the sight of our own blood. Those fighting our troops in Iraq have continued against the odds because they knew that if they keep up the pressure, the anti-war Democrats would push for retreat... and now, they control Congress. Terrorists have understood all along that a Democratic sweep of Congress would be their victory. All they had to do to reach that conclusion was listen to the speeches of major Democrats over the last few years.

"Of course Americans should vote Democrat," said Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, adding that "there is an atmosphere in America that encourages those who want to withdraw from Iraq." Muhammad Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, said the Democrats' talk of withdrawal from Iraq makes him feel "Very proud from the great successes of the Iraqi resistance." Hamas leader Abu Abdullah said that talk of withdrawal "proves the strategy of the resistance is the right strategy against the occupation." Islamic Jihad leader Abu Ayman said he is "emboldened" by those in America who compare the war in Iraq to Vietnam.

AP reports that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is well satisfied by the way his efforts affected the 2006 election. Speaking via audio tape, al-Muhajir "welcomed the Republican electoral defeat that led to the departure of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. He added that the group's fighters would not rest until they had blown up the White House." According to Reuters, "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush's defeat in congressional elections a victory for Iran."

Yet the Democrats never question why our enemies would celebrate their victory.

Osama bin Laden declared war on what he considered a "weak horse" (1996) and a "paper tiger" (1998) after watching American troops ordered to pull out of Somalia after only 18 casualties in 1993. The attacks by thugs and terrorists in Iraq today are aimed, not at our troops or the innocent Iraqis who die in them, but at our will to fight. America, our enemies believe, has no stomach for battle.

So the American people have spoken, and -- whatever the truth may be -- it sure sounds as though we said, "the enemy was right."