The American soldiers are not concerned about arguments that Saddam Hussein’s payments to terrorists did not contribute to September 11th. They do not want to hear that Hussein’s acquiescence to the presence of the barbarian Zarqawi in Iraq in 2001 was not a threat to our country. They are not going to analyze whether Hussein’s “secular government” would ever conspire with religious fanatics to attack the U.S. More importantly, they do not consider the war in Iraq as a “distraction” from the efforts in Afghanistan. Yet, this is the anti-war mantra heard ever since the Islamo-fascists had the temerity to attack American troops. These are the same people who crashed jetliners into innocent Americans and you want to withdraw because they shoot back. What did you expect? This is war. Unfortunately, we were going to experience losses. Each loss is tragic, but each loss represents the yearning not to allow another innocent American to be attacked on U.S. soil ever again. Their lives were not lost in vain.

You constantly refer to the “failure” and “defeat” of Vietnam to justify your criticism of the current war. It is an unusual thought that you revel in the so-called defeat in Vietnam and optimistically predict the same self-induced conclusion in Iraq. To paraphrase John S. Mill: War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The degraded state of patriotic feeling, which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who cares about nothing more than himself is a selfish figure who has no chance at being free, unless provided by others better than himself.

When you criticize the President and the war effort, you are criticizing every service-member in this war. Please do not patronize the public with the often heard, “I support the troops, but I don’t support the war.” You cannot support the troops without supporting the war because their mission in life right now is to win the war, provide security for our country, and return home safely with honor.