Nobody should ever again question Harry Reid’s unwavering commitment to . . . losing the Iraq war. The Senate majority leader has made clear he’s determined to see this fight through to defeat. He’ll let nothing get in his way — not concern for our troops’ morale, not their generals’ guardedly optimistic reports, not changing facts on the ground. No, he’ll see failure where there’s success and, if need be, defeat where there’s victory.

“I believe . . . this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything,” Reid said last Thursday.

The Nevada Democrat wasn’t going to wait for all U.S. troops in the surge to arrive in Baghdad. He wasn’t going to visit Iraq to see what’s happening there. And he wasn’t going to wait to hear from Gen. David Petraeus. Why let the reality of the war in Iraq get in the way of your anti-war rhetoric here at home?

In fact, Reid didn’t just say that he knows the war is lost. He said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also know it’s lost.

Do you get the feeling he’s hell-bent on defeat?

Oh, it’s not that he wants the United States to lose. That would give him too much credit — or discredit. But we’re beyond the point where what he says on the war should be taken seriously. Last November, for example, he said Democrats would do nothing to limit funding for the troops. Today he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are trying to do just that. They’re set to present President Bush with an appropriations bill that cuts off funds for troops by October or even sooner.

What changed between late November and now? Well, Bush rejected their idea for a staged troop withdrawal and instead ordered a new strategy under new leadership to secure Baghdad — a plan that sought victory rather than defeat. Oh, and congressional resolutions opposing the Petraeus surge strategy would not appease the Democratic Party’s anti-war elements.

What has also changed is the situation in Iraq. With the buildup only half complete, Petraeus reports, “While it is too early to judge the success of the surge and the emphasis on population security . . . we have seen some positive results — though the enemy has certainly sought to overshadow our achievements by carrying out sensational attacks.”

A measured, realistic and informed assessment. Yet Tuesday Reid told CNN, “No, I don’t believe him, because it’s not happening.” This is beyond odd. Is Reid calling Petraeus a liar or simply saying he doesn’t grasp the facts in Iraq?

Let’s assume Reid isn’t totally invested in defeat and is open to facts that counter his pessimism. Perhaps he would have more confidence in the assessment of another lawmaker and vocal critic of the Bush team’s execution of the war. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., has been to Iraq 16 times. He was there this month.

“For the first time in over a year, Shays saw promising signs . . .,” National Review Online’s Kate O’Beirne wrote. Improved security in Baghdad, the cooperation of Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province and stepped up oil production — all have left him more optimistic.

Behold, an Iraq war critic who’s interested in what’s actually going on in Iraq. And isn’t afraid of seeing progress. And can be taken seriously

Reid has made a determined effort to prove he’s none of the above. In fact, last Thursday, shortly after his shameful “this war is lost” declaration, he rushed to point out that what he really meant is that “as long as we follow the president’s path in Iraq, the war is lost.” (If, on the other hand, we follow Reid and pull out of Iraq, well, the war is not lost. Get it?)

The sad fact, however, is that Reid is still taken seriously, and must be, by virtue of his job. What a Senate majority leader says matters, and when he declares the war lost, our enemies and our troops notice. A detachment from the Army Reserve’s 314th Combat Service Support Battalion is headed back to Iraq. These Nevada-based soldiers don’t think the war is lost, and their stateside commander told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Defeatism . . . from our elected officials does not serve us well in the field.”

For Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, there is no substitute for defeat.

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