Last week, as Congress postured over President Bush’s plan to increase troop strength in Iraq, I asked an Army sergeant who I ran into about his views on the issue. His answer was simple and straight to the point: The price of freedom is high.
The sergeant, home from his second tour in Iraq, said, “There is a price to freedom, sir, and I have seen it paid. Americans have forgotten what brought us to this place.”
What “brought us to this place” was not a rush to judgment nor a president who lied. It was, plain and simple, terror brought to our doorstep. It was the intelligence estimates of Russia, France, Great Britain, Israel, Germany and the Clinton administration that decided Saddam Hussein was a growing threat.
To be sure, the situation in Iraq is difficult and, without a doubt, mistakes have been made in the strategy and execution of this war. But mistakes in war planning should not make Americans lose sight of the overall strategic goal in the global war on terror; just ask that Army sergeant.
Amazingly, Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have decided that they are willing to cut and run on the president and, in so doing, cut and run on our soldiers. Many Democrats and some misnamed Republicans like Sen. Chuck Hagel (a decorated war hero) have sold out our mission in Iraq just to be seen as independent by the media elite.
Sadly, these political opportunists send out press releases contradicting the advice of our military commanders, all the while forgetting that it wasn’t the president who committed us to the battle in Iraq, it was Congress. The House voted overwhelmingly, 296-133, to authorize the use of force. Eighty-one House Democrats joined in support. The Senate voted 77-23 to send our troops into battle in Iraq. Twenty-nine Senate Democrats voted yes. That action – not President Bush giving the go order – committed us to this conflict. Iraq was not a partisan issue then; it has only been so two election cycles since.
While they preach about the perceived failures of the administration, it might do us some good to review how these pontificators-in-chief voted. While we all know that John Kerry voted for the war before he voted against it, other leading Democrats were a little more straightforward: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Steny Hoyer and John Murtha all voted to send our troops into Iraq.
And what about the Republican critics? John Warner? Aye. Chuck Hagel? Aye. How cheap and politically convenient it must be for them to sell out our military and our commander-in- chief now while hiding behind that Capitol dome.
Right or wrong, the decision on Iraq has been made by the president and Congress, and any action which contradicts total and complete victory fails the men and women who wear the uniform.
While congressional leaders push each other out of the way to get to cameras, that action has an unintended effect: Their constituents are swayed by this lack of support. Worse, insurgents in Iraq and terrorists in Afghanistan hang on every word. Every comment about withdrawal emboldens our enemy, especially when it comes from those in high places. Every congressional call for withdrawal is gleefully greeted by the bomb-makers fueling the insurgency. Al-Qaeda is emboldened by the words of those wanting to turn this struggle of our generation into a squabble for political advantage.
As our leaders bicker, Rome burns. America cannot take its eye off our most important goal: killing those radicals who want to kill us. The world is a dangerous place, and unless our enemies are destroyed, the world reserved for our children and grand- children may become annihilated. The stakes are that high. Americans must redouble their efforts in Iraq, no matter the adversity.
The Army sergeant, those who volunteered to wear the uniform with him, our children and our future as the land of the free depend on our ability to rise to a challenge as our fathers did before us and confront the evil of our time.
Jeff Crank is vice president of government sales for XAware Corp., a software company, and ran for Congress in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District last year. He also served on congressional staff for eight years in Washington, D.C.
