Iraq was held captive by a brutal regime.  This is true and will always be the truth.  Many forget that the citizens of Iraq were terrorized by torture, submission and repression.  Most Iraqi’s have a family member or friend killed by Saddam’s henchmen, sons or Republican Guard.  Thousands of Kurds were gassed by Saddam, and thousands more Iraqi’s lie buried in mass graves, tortured and then gunned down because of their opposition to the repressive government, or because they were suspected of plotting against the country’s dictator. 

Iraq gave refuge to terrorists and fanatics, and was developing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons for use against all its enemies. That these weapons were shipped off to Syria just weeks before the U.S. invasion is getting little press.  Iraq was a friend to Al- Qaeda and a threat to the U.S.  Transforming Iraq to a democracy, as difficult as it will be, will transform the region.  Democracies do not declare war on democracies, so the mid-east could realize a future of peace, which would benefit the whole world. 

Afghanistan can almost be called the forgotten war.  It was a triumph, and remains a triumph.  That isn’t the kind of news that the American media likes to print, so Afghanistan, now called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has been swept under a rug.  The Taliban used to conduct public executions on a soccer field in front of thousands.  The intimidation factor of these executions was one way they kept the Afghani’s in line.  Their regime was repressive and denied basic freedoms to the citizens of Afghanistan, especially woman.  That is not the case any more.  Afghani’s can now vote and woman and girls can attend school and vote.  The GNP of Afghanistan was up  28.6%  in 2003 over 2002.  Even though there continues to be a lot of poor people in Afghanistan, the return of more than two million refugees, many of whom are business savvy, will help grow the economy and create jobs.  Also, since the U.S. victory over the Taliban, Afghanistan has joined the world monetary community, providing more opportunity for trade and international business.  Life is better there.  Freedom and democracy flourish.  Many Americans lost their lives in this struggle, and this should not be forgotten, but neither should the repressive regime that ran Afghanistan, and gave comfort and shelter to Osama bin Laden and the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11.

Domestic terrorists within the borders of the U.S. continue to give encouragement, stamina and a renewed sense of purpose to the anti-American terrorists worldwide.  These domestic terrorists work diligently, tenaciously and endlessly to reduce the effectiveness of the governments efforts to keep us safe.  They use the courts, media and legislation to tear away at the Patriot Act and other laws which they contend are an affront to civil liberties and privacy.  They say these laws are ethically insensitive, while at the same time, shouting down any legitimate Arab who wants to run an American port.

They use the term ‘racial profiling,’ while engaging in the same behavior, and ignoring the ethnic background of all of the 9/11 hijackers and others in Al-Qaeda.  They want it both ways, but mainly, they want to degrade the U.S. in a way that fortifies the enemy. They work at chipping away at the fabric that holds America together and which has made America great.  Organizations like the ACLU, People for the American Way, Move-on and elements of the democratic party work night and day to present disunity and discord to the terrorists, so that they can grow their numbers, and find affirmation for their mission.  They oppose and expose our high tech methods for intervening in the terrorist’s schemes and communications.  In the end, the terrorists find other methods to escape our efforts to stop them, and they will succeed. 

The U.S. is a target.  Americans of all party affiliations, religions, ethnicities and races have the same bulls eye on their backs.  The terrorists don’t care who their victims are, as long as they reside within the borders of the U.S.  We have to win in all the theaters I’ve mentioned.  We can not look side to side or backwards, but only forwards in our fight against the radicals who want us dead.