I keep hearing about the possibility of withdrawing our troops from Iraq if a Democrat wins the presidency. The phrase “Cut and Run” has been thrown around by both Republicans and conservatives alike to describe the Democrats “Wimp Out” strategy for America. I assume that the Republicans are referring to “cutting our losses” when they say cut and “total troop withdrawal” when they say run. Hmm, I have a problem with that. Every American should have a problem with that. Every American should also be proud that we have already won the war in Iraq. That’s right. WE won the war. We crushed their military in just days. Their government scattered like sneaky little vandals after breaking a window and if that wasn’t enough we captured Iraq’s once arrogant dictator hiding in a hole in the ground like a diseased animal. Sounds like we won the war to me.
The American military machine is the best trained and most experienced on the planet. We are quick, agile, hostile, and committed. Within days after crushing the Iraqi army and and so-called elite guard President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in what looked like a celebratory visit. People clapping and patting each other on the back. I believe they only do that when they win.
The fight in Iraq is no longer against Iraq. The fight in Iraq is a against the same terrorist groups that are responsible for attacks against Americans on both American and foreign soil. More American soldiers have died in the fight against the insurgency and Al Qaida in Iraq than against the entire Iraqi army. The fight in Iraq is now against an insurgency so boldly committed to their cause that they are willing to blow themselves up to kill as many innocent people as possible. Many of the groups are being funded and trained by Iran who has been in and out of war with Iraq for many years. Most of the targets are Iraqi civilians caught in a crossfire of sectarian violence that has been grinding on for hundreds of years. Withdrawing from an unstable Iraq at this point without the Iraqi government and military fully capable would be disastrous. Iran is salivating and twitching at the idea of an American withdrawal. So is Al Qaida.
The fight in Iraq is the same battle we are fighting in Afghanistan yet nobody refers to Afghanistan as a war. Shortly after 9/11 the American military invaded Afghanistan and crushed the Taliban who at the time was bullying the government as well as offering safe haven and training for Al Qaida. The current American military commitment in Afghanistan is 27,000 troops strong. One hundred and one American soldiers died in Afghanistan in 2007 due to the increasing Taliban counterinsurgency campaign.
The current American military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq is the front-line of the fight against an enemy that has no country and no conscience. To keep them from bringing the fight to American soil again we must take the fight to them where ever they may be. The fight against terrorism is a fight for life. It is a fight for existence. That is the reality. If America backs down or backs out they will still come at us with everything that they have. They will come to our cities and towns. Our streets will look like the streets we see in Baghdad on the news after a car-bomb attack. Our casual tune-in-to-watch interest of devastating attacks on civilians in Iraq will become must-see television to find out if someone you know died in the recent mall bombing in your small town.
Since we “took the fight” to the bad guys who just happened to be in Afghanistan and Iraq the general world response to the “invasions” has been that America, now more than ever is flaunting it’s imperial hubris by trying to shove the torch of democracy down the throats of those we deem to be inferior. Global opinions of American exceptionalism, arrogance and hypocrisy hit an all time high. Many world leaders as well as American liberals speculated that this is all about oil. Considering I’m paying over $3.15 for a gallon of gas I would disagree. Invaders pilfer the resources and finances as well as control the military and government of the country they have conquered. Liberators give those things back to the people of a harsh and inhumane dictatorship. That may be considered arrogance by some. On 9/11 there was no American arrogance to be found. On that day our our nation paid for it’s indifference. If global terrorism is the strategy designed by our enemies to break American spirit then I’ll take arrogance over indifference any day.
