I believe the spark that lit the blaze occured when the Saudis turned down Bin Laden’s offer just prior to the First Gulf War. It has been said that Bin Laden offered his people to help protect the Saudis against Iraq. The Saudis did not believe in Bin Laden and instead sought help from non-Muslims. Bin Laden saw this as a great insult to Islam.

Because the Gulf War did not end with a decisive victory non-Muslim forces were forced to stay in the area to continue to contain Saddam. This caused more anger and resentment among the radicals and they began staging attacks on Americans abroad.

I do not believe that Iraq is in a true civil war state right now. What we have is small outside groups attempting to cause a civil war by blowing up bombs in markets and destroying mosques. These small groups are trying to get a civil war started with their tactics and they should be stopped.

The Global War on Terror is more akin to the Cold War than any traditional war in that every country is a potential battleground. As in the Cold War, we did not let politicians get in the way of executing operations in foreign countries. The only politicizing of the Cold War (in my recolection) was in the Kennedy-Nixon debates when Kennedy said our missiles were not as good as those of the Soviets. Even though ours were better Nixon could not tell the truth as it was a national security issue.

If, as you say, “The battlefield is everywhere” why should we remove ourselves from a known battlefield in defeat? We do need an end-game for the Iraq battlefield and I believe one of the key components of that end-game involves getting Iraq to a point where it can defend itself.

The Iraqi military is growing. They are being trained. They are stepping up to plate. The political side is an animal of a different stripe.

Politicians are the same world-wide. Their job is to do what is best for their constituents. Sometimes they focus on things that are good for all, sometimes they only focus on those who elected them.

The Iraqi government is not the American government. They use a parlimentary system. During Saddam’s time a minority enforced rule over a minority (think Apartheid South Africa) and now the tables have turned. The once oppressed minority now finds itself with power it did not have before. Human nature being what it is some of these people want to stick it to their former oppressors. The terrorists know this and they also know that if they can do anything that will help push Iraq towards a civil war they will do it.

If I could tell you “where” the terrorists are I would tell the military and they would wipe them out. As to who they are, they are radical Islamists who want all non-Muslims out of Muslim lands. They are people who will think nothing of blowing up a bomb in a crowded market full of civilians.

The only way to find these people is by using human assests on the ground. Talk to people. Make their lives better. Give them a reason to see that they have a choice between living in fear and living in freedom.

As long as the Iraqi people think that America has lost it’s resolve and will to fight they will side with who they believe to be the winner. No one wants to back a losing team so why would they back the American military if they think the Americans are just going to leave? Besides, we saw what happened in Vietnam after we left. Who’s giving odds of the same thing happening if we leave Iraq before victory is achieved?

you wrote “… if Americans leave now who wins? The terrorists win. Their main goal is to drive us out of the Middle East. By leaving they win.”

Can you explain to me who the terrorists are and what exactly they win if we leave?

I agree with you that we need to fight the terrorists, but who and where are they? Iraq is in a civil war that we started by killing the man that scared them all into line. The war on terror is not a war like any of the wars you have mentioned. Namely because the “terrorists” aren’t from Terrortown or anyplace specific, they come from all over and will fight where they see an opportunity. The battlefield is everywhere. The War is in their minds.

As to your statement of “it’s not working out well for all parties involved.” All I can say is that war never works out well for all parties involved. War is hell. Once you accept the fact that the job of a soldier is to kill people and break things you will have a better understanding of what war is.

I’m not trying to be cavlier about this but, in the grand scheme of things, Iraq is just one battlefield in this war. Not only is it just one battlefield but it is a battlefield we can win on if we give the generals in charge the leeway and funding they need to execute their mission and reach their objectives. When Senators stand up in Congress and proclaim Iraq to be lost you have to ask them, “if we lost, who won?”

Oh yes, I have another article coming up about how the Democrats botched the whole issue with the Veto of the Emergency Military Funding package.

If I get a good reaction to this one I may write another in a few weeks.