Too Long in Iraq-Get Out Now!

GS Don Morris, Ph.D.
August 2, 2007

The mantra is building. It is becoming the socially and culturally accepted thing to say. Never mind the mission, forget what is at stake, run away now.

I find it hypocritical for people who profess to be so concerned about our country's image around the world that these same people do not give one iota of concern to our image among our enemies! We are in an ideological war for our very survival; of course those who would be so concerned about our image hardly subscribe to this notion. Our enemies, numbering in the tens of millions, see America approaching a free fall descent and they look for evidence daily to support their point of view. This in turn becomes THE recruiting tool for them.

The most difficult part of war for civilians is to remain focused upon the mission and then persevere in spite of daily actions and results. Our duty, as civilians, is to remain dedicated to the preservation of our values and thus support those who enable this to occur.

It is a spoiled and ignorant society that thinks a military presence can be measured in units of time rather than in mission objectives met. Thank goodness that we have had leaders who understand the strength and integrity it takes to transform groups of people after they have engaged in war against us. The UK stayed the course and after 38 years, mission accomplished, they left Northern Irleand. It has taken this long to promote a cultural and societal shift toward peaceful coexistence.

This final observation-WWII ended in 1945; the Korean War stopped in the early 1950's; Viet Nam ended in the mid 1970's, yet we still have "boots on the ground" in those areas. Note the numbers that follow. Why do you suppose this is the current situation?

The US military has about 116,000 soldiers in Europe.

Germany -75,603 soldiers. The US military has had a presence in Germany since 1945.
Italy - 13,354
United Kingdom - 11,801
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2,931
Spain - 1,968
Turkey - 1,863 - Incirlik Airbase

Asia

The US military has about 97,000 troops in Asia (not including the Middle East or Central Asia).

South Korea - 40,258 troops; they have been deployed to counter North Korea since the Korean War.
Japan - 40,045 troops; they have been deployed here since 1945 and are still deployed to counter the threat from North Korea.
Iraq - 169,200 troops. The American military, along with some 26,000 troops from other nations, currently provides security and reinforces the new Iraqi government following the invasion in 2003.
Afghanistan - About 19,500 American troops are in Afghanistan, following the invasion in 2001 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Around 6,500 other troops from the International Security Assistance Force are also deployed in Afghanistan.

There is a reason why America remains strong and free of attack. Unfortunately our government has done a poor job explaining this to us. Failure to understand how the lack of acknowledgment in this regard impacts a society's ability to persevere and not yield to its own individual concerns leads to the political correctness witnessed within our country. Our enemies not only understand this, they are its number one advocates!