Last night (9/5/07) during the Republican presidential debate, the dominating theme seemed to be directed toward the war on terror and, more specifically, the US presence in Iraq. During the debate, there were questions posed to the candidates not only from the three moderators but also from patrons in a nearby restaurant who were watching the debate on TV. A gentleman who was identified as a sheriff’s deputy directed his question toward Mitt Romney and was focused on a comment Gov. Romney had made several weeks ago somehow comparing his sons’ service to his campaign to the service of military personnel on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. The deputy acknowledged that Mr. Romney had already apologized but still continued to berate the candidate for ever having said it at all.
Mr. Romney apologized again by reminding everyone that service to this country in the armed forces cannot be fairly compared to much else and he did a good job of paying tribute to our military members, but he missed a greater opportunity that would have brought the entire war on terror into sharper focus and, I believe, proper perspective.
Perhaps more than anyone, a police officer can certainly understand that crime is a perpetual problem that will never go away. I believe it was President Bush who said something early on to the effect that as long as there are men willing to commit evil acts against innocent people, we must be prepared and willing to confront them. Terror activity is a series of criminal acts against innocent civilians designed to weaken the resolve of governments by holding mothers and children hostage to threats of future attacks. These are murderers, not uniformed soldiers, and they serve a perverted ideology and not a nation with borders. As long as nations such as Iran and Syria are willing to finance their activities, these criminals will not go away. Mr. Romney missed his chance to remind the deputy that no matter how many criminals die, or are killed, or are incarcerated, there will always be others waiting and willing to take their place.
It serves no useful purpose to continue to berate the president or the Congress about whether the US should ever have gone into Iraq, as Congressman Ron Paul seems intent on doing. Gov. Mike Huckabee said it best: we broke it. Now it’s up to us to fix it as a nation united in the fight against these mindless criminals. That the battle seems to be centered in Iraq only serves to remind us that, even while Sunnis and Shias fight amongst themselves, there are still substantial foreign fighters in Iraq doing battle against the coalition and the popularly elected Iraqi government. It is no more their fight than, as Democrats or Ron Paul would suggest, our own.
It has often been said that the US and her allies were successful in WWII partly because there were strict controls (yes, censors) on what was to be allowed published in US newspapers. The nation at war did not see the war in all its horrifying splendor. We see all too well what the conflict in Iraq looks like, and we mournfully read the names, ages, and biographies of young men who have given their all in this battle. These are our sons, our fathers whether we are directly related or not. We share the pain of those families who are forced to bury their beloved all too soon. In the face of all this, of course we might be inclined to isolate ourselves as some would and pretend that such ugliness does not exist.
Unfortunately it does exist, has always existed in one form or fashion, and will always exist to one degree or another. These criminals will not go away as long as they honestly and earnestly believe in their cause, and religious fanatics are the worst of worse. The nature of their religion is irrelevant.
This is not a crusade in which we are trying to reclaim the holy land, and it is not a battle for control of oil fields. This conflict also cannot be reduced to a border skirmish with defined goals or an obscure “exit strategy” not because one does not exist but because one cannot exist as long as evil resides among us. This war is international in its scope and is therefore without borders. It is a sobering recognition of the sad fact that this fight will exist with us or without us, and President Bush and the Congress that once supported him has made a sound choice to wage this war on someone else’s soil rather than our own. Our future president, whoever it may be, must be willing to embrace this reality or be willing to apologize for failing to act appropriately.
No comments:
Post a Comment