Setting the Record Straight

Blogging at "Six More Months," Pat succinctly sets the record straight with his comment: "So for the record, we are not at war with Iraq. We are at war in Iraq. There is a difference."

No matter my political leanings on this matter of war in Iraq, the legality of Mr. Bush's move into war, or the economic state of our nation as a result, I stand with Pat on this point. Our soldiers are fighting a war in Iraq not against it. We are a nation at war alongside Iraqis fighting, as Tommi puts it, the "bad guys" - those who intend to terrorize, destabilize, and promise fear.

Our soldiers are doing their jobs and doing them well - making a difference in the lives of countless Iraqi citizens. They are not alone in their efforts: many of us are supporting, encouraging, and believing in them and in the good work they are doing person-to-person, day-to-day. I hear the stories from Tommi. These are hard-working men and women staying the course in amazingly difficult situations.

I do not discount the violations that have and are occurring, violations against human rights, against a Geneva convention now side-stepped, and the egregious loss of human decency/dignity manifest whenever "blood is in the water," but these truths only further mark the honor of those who remain faithful to a higher cause, calling as they do for a nation's fidelity. These men and women are "doin' us proud," and this point should not (and I believe most often is not) be lost amid the noise of public debate addressing the now increasingly difficult decisions to be made over whether or not (and how) to proceed with the project.

It is in the meantime that Pat's message speaks so clearly to the point: We are at war with Iraqis against those who would terrorize a nation, a world. Withdraw our troops or don't ... the war against that enemy is far from over.

technorati tags: war, Iraq, Tommi