Why not Try Winning the War?

Straight AheadIn the '50's, it was Korea. In the '60's and '70's, it was Vietnam. Now, it's Iraq. What do these military conflicts have in common? They were all conflicts in which Americans were asked to give their lives for less than total victory. Why not try winning the war? Sincere and patriotic people can disagree on the question of whether our current involvement in Iraq was the best policy President Bush could have pursued. We may also be critical of the way in which the engagement has been carried out since the new government in Iraq has been in place. Mistakes were made. The President said as much himself. I personally am not sure that Iraq was the best place to fight terrorism on a grand scale. All that having been said, we now are faced with the unthinkable specter of a nation being torn apart by civil war among Islamic extremists which threatens to turn that entire region into another breeding ground of discontent, violence and poverty. Should we commit another 20,000 troops to the current involvement in Iraq? We should commit ten times that many if that's what it takes to bring stability to the region. Perhaps our objectives need to change along the lines suggested by some Democrats in Congress; but one thing is certain. The objectives need to be clear and the result needs to be one that favors the development of freedom and moderation in a new Iraq. When limited wars are fought with limited means and limited objectives, the results are almost never satisfactory. Gen. McArthur turned out to be right about the Korean peninsula. In Vietnam, 55,000 American soldiers died for a war our government was unwilling to win but afraid to lose. In Iraq, the cost in American lives has not yet been nearly so high as it was in Korea or Vietnam; but the loss of U.S. credibility could be irreversible. Let's also hope that our nation learns a lesson, and that we never again commit our troops to a war we're not prepared to win. The total commitment given by those men and women who have lost their lives in these limited military engagements must be matched by nothing less than a commitment to total victory by those who send them in harm's way. I favored the Vietnam war at a time when most of my friends opposed it. I was also in favor of the involvement in Iraq. Before I endorse or support another military engagement proposed by any Administration of either party, however, I will have to be convinced that the commitment of our government will honor the commitment they're asking our service personnel to make. Our nation has not yet been challenged to make the kinds of sacrifices that will inevitably be required if we are going to triumph over the terrorists of the 21st century.