Free Republic

Why fight in Iraq? The answer is in the faces of Iraq’s children. By Karl Zinsmeister, reporting from Baghdad America is deep into the cynical stage when it comes to the Iraq war. We hear that it has been too costly in both money and lives. That they don’t appreciate us. That they don’t really want democracy. It is said they may not even deserve it. These reactions are not surprising—much good-intentioned effort has been thrown back in our faces in Iraq. One U.S. military commander I know paid a Baghdad contractor $6,000 a few months ago to clear and...

This isn't just any fall season in America. Our nation is at war. Instead of raking leaves in their backyards, munching freshly picked apples, and shopping for holiday turkeys, tens of thousands of our neighbors and friends and fellow citizens are currently at risk on foreign soil. They get up every day, pull on body armor and helmets, and set off on dangerous missions whose success or failure could ultimately affect the lives of millions of people. Some of these Americans will die. And they are doing this on my behalf and yours. I'm intentionally writing about what America should...

I've spent months in Iraq's combat zones and written two books about how the war is progressing on the ground. In a society that was horribly broken after two decades of misrule, many things have already improved. More hard fighting lies ahead, however. Due to the scandalous absence of international humanitarian help, most practical efforts to improve life for the Iraqis are also falling in the lap of the U.S. military. It is psychologically difficult to wage a tough urban war at the same time you are reconstructing the neighborhoods being battled over, and our soldiers are not perfect. Yet...