"Mission Creep" That Isn't So Bad

President Bush has been criticized for "mission creep" in Iraq by opponents and even some supporters virtually since the war began, but here's a report we should all be able to live with.

Via CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- When troops from the Georgia National Guard raided a Baghdad home in early December, they had no idea that their mission in Iraq would take a different turn.

As the young parents of an infant girl nervously watched the soldiers search their modest home, the baby's unflinching grandmother thrust the little girl at the Americans, showing them the purple pouch protruding from her back.

Little Noor, barely three months old, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column fails to completely close. Iraqi doctors had told her parents she would live only 45 days.

[...]

The soldiers brought Noor to a U.S. military base for medical examinations and got friends and charities in the United States to help get her the surgery that could save her life.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and his office are working to speed up the process of getting a visa for Noor's grandmother, who will accompany her to Atlanta.

Regardless of what you think about the Iraq war, it is indisputable that no nation in the history of the world has ever done as much as the United States when it comes to abiding by the rules of war, engaging the enemy with honor, minimizing civilian casualties, and doing just as much to rebuild countries as it did to destroy them. The moral compass of our country is directly reflected by the actions of our armed forces, and for that no country can be prouder.

I believe it was National Review's Jay Nordlinger who once said, and I paraphrase, the U.S. can't catch every sparrow that falls from the tree, but no nation has ever tried to catch so many. I know there are many Americans who believe we shouldn't go sticking our collective nose into other people's business, even if that means rescuing millions from the repressive and murderous grip of brutal tyrants if we have the chance, but I just can't buy into that line of thinking yet.

[HT: Michael Yon.]