Look up "just war" in the encyclopedia and you'll find yourself reading -

WAR, JUST: See United States of America, Military History of.

Perhaps a picture will be provided:

Caption (from Fox News): U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcco Ware carries an injured Iraqi soldier Tuesday morning, March 25, 2003 in central Iraq.

The Arsenal of Democracy. Undefeated in spirit, unmatched in valor.

Want a Shiite uprising? Invite the Brits:

British units were still battling alongside anti-Saddam Shiite Muslim fighters Wednesday for control of Basra, Iraq's second largest city. A raid on a suburb of the southern city captured a senior leader of the ruling Baath party and killed 20 of his bodyguards.

Lockwood said British troops took out Iraqi mortars aimed at civilians with the help of radar.

"We hope (the uprisings) continue. We're prepared to assist them," Lockwood said.

"It is important that we give support to those people in Iraq who are rising up to overthrow Saddam and his deeply repressive regime," British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Forgive my momentary stumbling of faith, gentlemen. By all means, continue.

Wanda Baucus, 54-year-old anthropologist wife to the five-term Montana Senator, is a good deal confused as she was under the impression that "we all wanted peace":

"I want the people in Iraq to have peace -- the people whose lives are in turmoil because of the war, the children, their mothers, the farmers, the grandmothers and even the camels that are out grazing," said the 54-year-old Baucus, an anthropologist who has taught at Harvard as well as a painter who regularly visits the south of France.

Tragic that Wanda's peace of mind is shattered - it was so quiet and tranquil while Saddam was peacefully, quietly, silently, delicately murdering thousands upon thousands of his people for two decades. If a tortured Iraqi screams in a sound-proofed Baghdad dungeon, we surely know that for Mrs. Baucus, no sound has been made. In the complacency of stateside politics, this sort of conscience-mangling ignorance is somewhat excusable. But as the mass graves are uncovered and the stories told, Wanda and her lot will be white-gloved, passive accomplices to murder - every last one.

ONE YEAR LATER, NUANCE: For Mrs. Baucus, peace talks stop at the first sign of improper and inequitable mulch distribution.

Shiites have begun their anticipated popular revolt in Basra. British troops are moving to support them but are apparently skittish about urban warfare.

Sorry, boys, but this whole party is about liberation. Get in there. Get in there.

UPDATE: My worst fears of an allied stumbling have been allayed; as facts have settled, it appears the Brits took on the challenge with some significant indirect fire, specifically at mortars operated by Fedeyeen thugs. They've also captured the Ba'ath party chief. The last I heard, they would intend to move into the city after light - not only to deliver food and water, hopefully, but to smash the Ba'athists and cement trust between the Shiites.

UPDATE II: My God, they're going to do it. This could be monumental in the West's gesture of goodwill to the Iraqi people and Near East at large.

Much as they'd wish it to be true, the American media is simply not an extension of the country's population - most of the time, they're an aberration. Wartime is perhaps the best moment to witness the striking divergence in spirit and faith; unfortunately, the population listens to the media and though most of us citizens aren't flagging in support for the liberation, hearing commentary after hysterical commentary does wonders for agitation. ABC News particularly; every quarter-hour, the outlet provides updates on my local AM station. You'd swear the anchors were waiting with baited breath for a catastrophe or even the slightest unforeseen turn of events.

Thankfully, the more level-headed corners of the media provide learned ballast from the experts. Good old Ralph Peters knocks aside every panic-button the press has been thumbing since this weekend. Via Steven Den Beste.

Read it and breathe a sigh of relief.

Though still unexplored, a large, highly-camouflaged chemical plant has been uncovered by allied troops in An Najaf after a general and his cohort surrendered.

But the tip of the iceberg. We'll find traces of Saddam's nefarious machinations from tip to toe in Iraq - and to the south, in a colluding Syria. Minus one Ba'athist military force, a true search can commence.

You flout the Geneva Convention, our boys break-a you face.

An Iraqi living in America lets a whiny pro-dictator have it (mp3). The coup de grace (sorry, French word):

And for the listeners who hear this girl, and she thinks I insult her with the term - I do not insult her, being a little girl is natural; we all start out children, and we learn and grow - but she has no point lecturing me on what will happen in Iraq, or lecturing you. This is why the so-called peace movement, they cannot justify their own name. And I will remind you: if they leave Saddam in power, they guarantee death. If he is removed, there will be some - but for a short time - and the Iraqi people are ready and they will welcome the Americans including - if, Allah forbid - Brian Schutz goes. So Andrea, do not take it as being an insult that you are a little girl; you are simply not ready for the adult world.

I was able to weather the moral hijacking from the protest movement for some time. All done. You, out there, simmering with hatred for American troops: you're not serious, you're not responsible. This dissent isn't about Iraqis. It's about you. Get over it.

The men of free nations fight to preserve the self-sovereignty of as many as possible, including those whom they combat.

Caption: U.S. Marines give water to an Iraqi soldier who was one of hundreds to surrender. (Reuters)

As vignettes like this one find juxtaposition with those of foreigners and Americans stewing and protesting in an impassive hatred for this country's actions, will there be any doubt as to who is concerned with the livelihood of the oppressed, and who is concerned with themselves?

Michael Ledeen has the news: a member of the Palenstine Liberation Front died in last night's bombing of Baghdad, city whose rulers kept his terrorist appendage flush with cash.

Antiwar left, you've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do.