"You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war." -- Churchill's remark after Chamberlain returned from signing the Munich Pact with Hitler

OPINION, Feb. 16 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is submitted for publication by Gary McCullough, director of Christian Newswire:

Chamberlains vs. Churchills
By Gary McCullough

"You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war." This was Winston Churchill's statement after Neville Chamberlain returned from signing the Munich Pact with Hitler.

Today, within the beltway of Washington DC, America's modern day Chamberlains won the day.  With all the vigor and clarity of true zealots, supporters of the nonbinding House resolution said "we surrender."

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said, "What we now have in Iraq is a defeat. We cannot achieve the illusions of the Bush administration that we will be able to create a stable unified liberal democracy in Iraq that is pro-American ... Instead, we have sectarian fighting, death squads and a disabled Middle East that threatens to be engulfed by the nightmare that we have unleashed."

As you read this the words of Waxman, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi fill the newspapers and broadcast airwaves of the Middle East (and North Korea).

Winston S. Churchill stated, "You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

Churchill's foe, Arthur Neville Chamberlain, campaigned and led England under his firm belief that Germany had been wronged by his and other nations.   His opinion was that the actions of Germany leading up to what became World War II were those of a victimized people.  Chamberlain's words filled the newspapers and broadcast airwaves of Nazi Germany as Chamberlain defeated and mocked Churchill.

Chamberlain said, "We should seek by all means in our power to avoid war, by analyzing possible causes, by trying to remove them, by discussion in a spirit of collaboration and good will. I cannot believe that such a program would be rejected by the people of this country, even if it does mean the establishment of personal contact with the dictators."

Today is the day the Chamberlains got back at the Churchills.  Today is the day for "peace" at any price.  After all, isn't that what we Americans voted for?  There is little doubt that this past November we voted for our Chamberlains and sent many Churchills packing.  Now our new leaders, our Chamberlains, are telling us exactly what we want to hear.

I pray our bold Chamberlains are correct in their plan to not repeat history.  But I fear that this is one of those times in which God's answer to our prayers will be that He gave us the freedom to pick our own path, even if that path leads to pain, destruction and death.