My compliments to you and your sons. They must have been brought up right.
Do you think at some point we will win?
I suppose that depends on what you mean by "win." We'll never convert the radicals to our way of thinking, if that's what you mean. But, if by "win" you mean can stability be restored in Iraq, then I think yes, it can. The first and foremost thing that has to be done is to get the government there to be able to stand on its own. I think it will take several years, but I have every confidence that it is possible. To get to that point, we will have to remain as an occupying force, just as we did in post-Nazi Germany and in Japan. Not so much as a permanent base of operations as in those countries, but at least until the fledgling democracy there can support and defend itself.
How do you tell the terrorist? They look exactly the same. In that respect this war is worse than VietNam...
The analogies to 'Nam irritate me. The only similarity I can see is the "cut and run" politicians and media hacks refusing to stand for any principle other than their own cowardice, except maybe a fierce desire to trash America. The MSM and Democrats are making Iraq into another Vietnam, a self-fulfilling prophesy if ever there was one.
We will never make everyone like us, nor should we have that as a goal. We should stand for our principles, and oppose those who try to destroy those principles. While we can never make everyone agree with us, we should make it very costly for them to to use violence against us, to the point that they sit in their spider holes and whine instead of senselessly killing women and children. Getting to that point won't be easy or quick, but it needs to be done if a worldwide conflagration is to be avoided. |
