[Alberta's Child]

Thanks for the post.

If the American public had been told back in February that U.S. soldiers would be killed while guarding Iraqi banks and museums, I'd venture to guess that public support for this war would have been almost zero.

Heck -- I can't think of too many people who would put their lives on the line to guard American museums from thugs and pillagers.

[onedoug]

To paraphrase John Kennedy: "We don't do these things because they're easy. We do them because they're hard."

[B.Bumbleberry]

Do you really think that this war was about guarding banks. Buchanan talks about our lack of vital interest in Lebanon and Somalia, then completely ignores our vital interest in the Middle East when discussing our involvement in Iraq.

Radical Islam has been on the rise throughout the Middle East. Terrorism is just one symptom. Both Iraq and Iran were/are trying to get nuclear weapons. Just fast forward in your mind what a fix we would be in if the nut cases took control and cut off oil to this country. Think "trillions" in damages and a cut in our standard of living back about a century if we let it happen. Which we wouldn't/couldn't. We would go to war, no question.

Going into Iraq was a bold strike to nip the problem in the bud. I hate to think of how many lives of American soldiers would be sacrificed if we let the Middle East get out of control. Our presence there now will only be a mistake if we wimp out. Surely anyone with an ounce of foresight can see this.