T.H. Tell the Truth, Mr. President, even though it hurts. (Mega-Barf Alert)

Cindy Sheehan wants to know why her son died in Iraq. Tell her you made a mistake, Mr. President. Be honest.

Saddam Hussein really chaps your hide. You believed reports about weapons of mass destruction. It seemed so him.

You really, honestly thought he might use WMDs against Americans. You decided you'd better settle his hash once and for all. So you sent in soldiers like Cindy's son, Casey.

No problem. Saddam hated the United States. Everyone knew that. He no doubt provided sanctuary and support to kill-crazy lunatics who would attack Americans given half a chance.

At least Americans died Over There instead of Over Here. But what would the body count be -- here or there --if we decided not to give our enemies an easy target?

Likewise -- even on their best day -- Iraqis couldn't conquer America. So Casey Sheehan wasn't protecting American freedom or security.

Oh, right, he was fighting for Iraqi freedom. Sure enough. We freed thousands of Iraqis. Of course, we killed thousands of others. Freedom isn't free. Between 23,589 and 26,705 Iraqi lives are a price we're willing to pay.

America cherishes human rights and liberty above all else. Tell that to the people of the Sudan -- while there still are any.

The war was a mistake, Mr. President. Just own up to it. We acted rashly on bad intelligence. Most civilized countries objected. Yet we let our anger get the better of us. Now more than 1,800 American soldiers -- including Casey Sheehan -- are dead.

Just explain this to Casey's mother and all those other people camped in front of your ranch. While you're at it, explain why we can't leave.

When you take over another country, you have an obligation to pick up after yourself. It's not about sending the wrong signal to our enemies. It's about basic decency to the people whose country we've devastated.

Naturally, Mr. President, you can't really say these things. You can't admit the war was a mistake. You can't admit we're staying to correct it.

You're the leader of the free world. You can't tell the truth -- even when it's obvious. -- T.H.

Thought you'd like to know:

The family of Casey Sheehan, an American soldier killed in Iraq in April, 2004, has broken their silence and spoken out against Sheehan's much-publicized mother, Cindy Sheehan, who has undertaken a vocal anti-war protest against President Bush outside Mr. Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch.

The family's statement reads: "The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect." The statement was signed "sincerely" by "Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins."

I think that the situation in the middle east is thus: We had long held a strategy of hands-off, as long as the oil kept flowing. I mean, who cares what the little devils do among themselves as long as there's gas at Texaco and it doesn't affect domestic politics?

Then it finally became apparent that we had left well enough alone for too long, while giving the Arabs too much money for their level of political sophistication.

What had been their business, and their problem began to spill over their borders. A series of terrorist incidents occurred around the world. We still chose not to act

Then came 9/11. The government was forced to look at the middle eastern situation in this light:

Since the local governments cannot (or will not) stop these terrorists/insurgents from interfering with American interests, they will continue. What will ultimately happen if America continues to do nothing?

When you play these cards through to the end of the hand, ultimately the game comes done to "Fight me now, or fight me later"The terrorists would continue to attack America and American interests, if not stopped.

Iraq would have likely replaced Afghanistan as a home for the Taleban, and would have given them material, if covert support. Perhaps not, but what better place to show that other countries in the world must clearly take a position: "Are you on the side of America, or are you among America's enemies? Yes or No, black or white. Choose

America's "Don't F**K with us" approach has started to show signs of being a long-term benefit, even if it is a short-term annoyance. A 1.2% causality rate (1,800 of 150,000 troops) is not a serious price to pay for the new clean-living approach of Libya, the concessions from Syria, and the (ultimately forthcoming) concessions we will extract from North Korea. Iran needs to be tamed, but they are obviously nervous. They're playing the same card that North Korea is playing, as it is the only card available to them when dealing with a Super-power. "Leave us alone, or we'll nuke ya".

It is a threat that works much better as a threat than as an executed option. It requires a certain cavalier attitude towards the death of yourself, and everyone in your country to pull off making this threat with any kind of convincingness. Can Iran really can keep it's large youth population tied to this kind of death-cult? Perhaps, but probably not for much longer than 5 years or so.

However, Bush has made our side of the game very clear. Tweaking the American's Dragon's nose can get you bitten.

Dude back at you, I think you got me confused with someone else. Sure I'm from the 60s, man, but I couldn't agree with you more. You'll find no cut and run appeasers here. I learned the lesson of Vietnam about the power of the media and their manipulation of useful idiots. Cindy's just another Hanoi Jane sitting on an anti-aircraft gun. Clearly the woman's none too smart and it sucks she lost her son cuz he could have maybe straightened her out. Teach your parents well. May he rest in peace with at least my heartfelt thanks for his contribution to freedom.

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