War on terror can be won, but only if Americans willing to fight
Editor:
Militarily, the war on terror can be won. Our troops are the best in the world. True, there have been some shortcomings, such as not having enough high impact body vests and heavier armored Humvees. But we're learning and adapting to this type of warfare. The fact that the terrorists in Iraq are hitting "soft targets" speaks volumes. They cannot go toe-to-toe with our military, so they are cowardly kidnapping and torturing innocent noncombatants, non-government officials, technicians, et al, who are trying to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. ...
Politically, this war can be lost. By employing the same tactics perfected during the Vietnam war, Hollywood pinheads, so-called "pacifists" and the elitist liberal media have orchestrated a steady drip, drip, drip body count of U.S. dead. It runs virtually non-stop on some cable stations' ticker tapes. These terrorists are very smart and well-educated (probably at U.S. colleges and at U.S. taxpayers expense...). They know how to manipulate the media to obtain the maximum worldwide publicity -- and shock value.
Our liberal politicians have no stomach (or guts) for this war. If John Kerry is elected in November, America will beat a fast retreat and leave the Iraqi people to the same fate that befell South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Hundreds of thousands -- if not millions of people -- were slaughtered after the American force left Vietnam. ... Not one media person was allowed in to see the slaughter, so America just ignored it, glad to be rid of that "nasty little war." Not one peep from your Hollywood stars, either. ...
No one wants war, least of all those who have to fight it. But I firmly believe we have a choice: we can fight the war in Iraq or we can fight the war in the streets of America. This is a test of wills. Terror groups not normally aligned with each other are all working towards one goal: defeating us in Iraq. If we leave, our word means nothing, our credibility worldwide becomes meaningless. Israel will become further isolated and threatened with extinction. Other Middle Eastern countries -- especially those that have helped us -- will become targets for invasion or destruction. And so it goes.
This is a long-term war. I do not expect it to be won during my lifetime, and I fear my grandson, now 6 years old, will be fighting this war before it's over. We will win, but we must be firm in our objectives. It won't matter who is president or what party is governing. We are now being threatened with "dirty bombs." We're all Americans, and after 9/11, we have to fight!
Floyd Brown
Evans