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I hear you. Before I went in the Army my grandmother asked me "what if you have to go to war?" My response was "well, why should I have to rely on somebody else's grandson to do it?" About 6 months after that comment I was with the 24ID on the ground in Saudi. And I didn't push pencils, I was a loader on an M1 tank.

I hate to hear about any loss of life, including Italians or innocent Iraqi civilians. But this has to be dealt with and there is only one way to deal with it. If we left Iraq right now, do you think the terrorist attacks would stop? Hell no, they would regroup and plan another big one like 9/11. We have to take this to them. "Let's roll!" Remember that? That was an American civilian saying "bring it on." If we keep that mentality and don't lose sight we will win this. And there is no telling how many lives we may have saved in the long run.

Don't misunderstand my position. If you take the time to search my old posts you'll find one way back that describes Iraq as the crucible where this will be won or lost. I am one of those who, like you, realize that this is a war of cultures with civilization itself at stake.

I am well past the age where I can get in uniform but I do everything I can to actively support our people over there and their families here. I have personal relationships through my work with troops with the X Mtn, 101st in Iraq and at Camp Phoenix in Afghan. We keep more than a couple of them supplied with everything from Dr. Scholl's to duct tape. We also collect quality clothing and deliver it ourselves to two posts, the closer of which is @ 400 miles away.

My feelings about folks shouting bring it on from the safety of their own bedrooms are emotionally driven by what I've seen myself at both Trade Center bombings and by the real dangers that people I care about, including a Captain in the 2ID Stryker Brigade who just deployed, are facing in this fight. I truly respect your experience.