The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

The Democrats are absolutely devastated. They were certain that President Trump would start a war with Iran, but instead he’s keeping the rogue regime in line using tactics that would never occur to any Democrat.

The Democratic Party has always been uncomfortable with the notion of America winning, and their irrational, undying hatred of Donald Trump makes it even harder for liberals to process the news that a U.S. airstrike took out the general in charge of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Qassim Soleimani. The leading Democratic presidential candidates, for instance, had to resort to some fairly awkward rhetorical contortions in response to this undeniable victory for the Free World.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren must have compared notes before taking to Twitter — or else they ran their messaging by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for approval — because both made the same points using almost identical language. Both candidates acknowledged that Gen. Soleimani was a brutal terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths, including hundreds of American soldiers, yet they insisted that it was wrong to eliminate this warmongering menace because it might risk “escalating” tensions with Iran.

Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t even bother with the niceties of condemning Soleimani’s crimes. He just threw out the preposterous accusation that killing Solemani was a “dangerous escalation” and that President Trump was therefore breaking his promise to end “endless wars.”

That argument is facially absurd — if anything, the exact opposite is true. With Solemani’s death, Iran lost one of its most aggressive and provocative commanders, and the ease with which the United States dispatched with such a high-value target will undoubtedly give pause to the other war hawks in the Iranian military. As an added bonus, the strike also took out the deputy commander of the Iranian militias who recently coordinated an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. It was a forceful reminder that Iran cannot attack America with impunity, and that we have the capability to retaliate against Iranian aggression with a wide variety of creative and devastating actions short of war.

Biden and Warren, like almost everyone else in their Party, have boxed themselves into a corner with their constant demonization of President Trump. They knew they would sound foolish if they tried to downplay or ignore Soleimani’s crimes, yet they could hardly afford to praise the President, so they came up with the warped idea that ridding the world of this monster was somehow a bad strategic move for America. The only charitable explanation for their delusion is that they genuinely believe America’s only foreign policy option in every circumstance is between unilateral surrender or total war.

Now that the President has demonstrated the possibility of a restrained military response to Iran’s provocations by authorizing the strike on Soleimani before he could carry out the next attack he was planning in Iraq, the Democrats find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to condemn an operation that was an unmitigated success. Thanks to President Trump’s bold and decisive action, the American people are more safe, our allies are more secure, and the forces of evil in every corner of the world have been put on notice. If any Democratic politician were to acknowledge that, though, their political career would be over before they could even tweet out their apologies for neglecting the ABCs of contemporary Democratic politics: Always Be Criticizing Donald Trump.

American citizens are justifiably proud that our commander-in-chief struck such a resounding blow on behalf of law, order, and civilization. Democratic politicians and partisans are just despondent because that commander-in-chief happens to be President Trump — a man they evidently consider a greater enemy than the tyrannical thugs in Iran.

Brett Velicovich is a U.S. Army veteran and author of “Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies”