[antimedia] antimedia: I don't see any reason....

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Posted by antimedia:
I don't see any reason....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1174533553.shtml


   ....to edit this in any way. It was sent to me by Lt. Nichols, with
   whom I've corresponded several times.

     I am a Navy Lieutenant currently serving in Baghdad , Iraq . Iâd
     like to submit the opinion below for publication in your 19 Mar
     edition marking the 4th anniversary of the Iraq war. SGT Thul and
     myself are heading the effort for currently serving military to
     submit a message to Congress at AppealForCourage.org.
     Respectfully,
     LT Nichols
     An opinion of calls for withdrawal on the fourth anniversary of the
     war.
     Do calls for retreat back home harm the troops here in Iraq ?
     Of course they do. The enemy, particularly Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI),
     see these calls as proof their strategy is working and increase
     their attacks. Iraqis who would otherwise help us hear these calls
     and choose to stay in the background, fearing that they will be
     targets if we withdraw prematurely. And yes, we believe it affects
     our morale. The perception of a lack of support for our mission by
     members of our own government has created a sense of frustration
     for many soldiers.
     AppealForCourage.org is a means for those soldiers to send a
     message to Congress that they want to stay in Iraq until the
     mission is complete. With no formal advertising it has already
     garnered over 1,500 signatures in less than a month, over half from
     troops who have served in theater. These currently serving military
     members want victory in Iraq and are respectfully asking Congress
     to halt calls for retreat that hurt their mission and increase the
     risk they face. This large response in such a short time indicates
     that opponents of the war do not represent the majority of the
     military actually fighting it.
     Opponents of the war are being intellectually dishonest because
     they say they want to withdraw our troops but refuse to acknowledge
     the consequences. It is widely acknowledged that a premature
     withdrawal will mean an Iraq returned to dictatorial rule-after
     much more horrific violence than what weâve seen- as a puppet state
     of either Al-Qaeda or Shiite extremists. Extremists will have
     access to wealth and a stable base to expand their power. It is
     highly naïve to assume they wouldnât use this power to attack the
     democracies which threaten their way of life, particularly America
     . No one is pro-war, but we should be pro-victory. There is a
     difference between ending the war now by abandoning our Iraqi
     allies, suffering a humiliating defeat that will encourage future
     attacks on the American people weâve sworn to protect, and ending
     it gradually with a stable democracy capable of defending itself.
     What will victory be like? Iraq will not be a serene la-la land
     with children skipping down the street. It may be just as violent
     as today, though thatâs unlikely. Victory is when the fight is led
     by the Iraqi military and police, not by the Coalition. Once the
     Iraqis are able to do the job we are currently doing, we can leave
     with honor, knowing weâve helped bring freedom not just to one
     country, but an entire region.
     We donât all have the âbig-pictureâ of what victory will be like,
     but we see the progress all around us. We hear that weâre losing
     the war, or the somewhat bizarre claims weâve already lost it, and
     we look around us and say âWhat are you talking about?â Weâre
     working to build up the Iraqi army, convincing opposition tribes to
     join us, building up the Iraqi police, clearing caches. Creating a
     professional army and a police force takes time, but the Iraqis
     continue to make steady progress. They have created the foundation
     of manpower and are now developing logistics and learning command
     and control. It seems like claims weâve already lost get more
     frantically insistent the more progress we make. To say we are
     losing and should leave is as wrong as saying weâve finished our
     mission and should leave.
     The service members who have signed AppealForCourage.org are saying
     we want victory in Iraq . Yes, there is violence happening every
     day, and there will be many bad days ahead, but we will win this,
     given time. We will win because we have a plan for victory, and the
     enemy does not, short of hoping that we leave. We are saying we
     would rather go home later with victory than today in defeat. We
     are saying we want the war to be run by the military commanders on
     the ground.
     Finally, we are respectfully asking Congress to support our
     mission. For the sake of all who have worked and sacrificed to get
     us this far, we hope they will listen.
     Signed,
     LT Jason Nichols, Baghdad , Iraq
     SGT Dave Thul, Al Asad, Iraq
     AppealForCourage.org

   If you're active duty, please sign Jason and Dave's petition.