I support the President and the war effort. The problem I have with our Iraq strategy is that the increase in troop deployment is happening about two years later than it should have. That may have been more of a political circumstance than strategic and that is the problem with trying to protect this country in the 21st century. We don’t have the guts anymore.
Consider this. The number of American deaths in Iraq is around 3,000. The number of American deaths in WW II was approximately 418,500, many times the number in Iraq. Every loss is tragic but, for whatever reason, this country, which persevered through WW II, has lost the stomach for war. Today, many people in the United States are only going to support a war that plays out like a football game, like the first Gulf War did, over quickly and the U.S. wins big.
The problem with that is that the enemy is relentless and doesn’t mind dying for their cause. They lurk in many dark corners of the world without one particular base of operation (although Iran is increasingly looking like their world headquarters). While the U.S. debates whether to use the kind of force necessary to win, the rest of the world, which has even less resiliency, retreats, which only makes the terrorists more bold.
One thing Americans must realize is that this war, while it is not a declared war against an identifiable single country, is just as much a real war as WW II. The fact that the enemy lurks in the shadows, receiving stealth support from one or more countries only makes it tougher.
I believe the President of Iran has made his intentions clear. He wants to destroy Israel (a.k.a. the Jews) and take over the rest of the World. Sound familiar? It should. Our enemy in WWII had the same goal.