As Memorial Day 2008 comes to a close with this writing, we Americans are resting after barbecues, parades, visits to relatives and (for those not in Southern California) beach trips (brrr!). Many of us stopped to think of and honor the sacrifices made by the members of our military who've died in our wars. We also think of those serving today in Iraq, Afghanistan and other far flung points on the globe.
The best way we can honor the present members of our armed forces, in my book, is to view events with clear eyes and open minds. We have to be willing to adapt our thinking as situations change on the ground, as they have so drastically in Iraq.
Five years after our invasion, we are now engaged in the war we need to be fighting -- and winning. The storyline has changed from toppling a brutal dictatorship and removing the near-empty threat of weapons of mass destruction to battling the forces that want to establish their harsh view of Islam across the Middle East and, if successful, beyond, into Asia, Africa and Europe. These are the ones who rained terror upon those in airliners above the eastern United States, and in New York City and Washingon, D.C., on 9/11.
We've gone from fighting Sunnis who simply wanted a return to the old status quo to the hardcore terrorists in the north, and are now confronting the Iranian-sponsored troublemakers in the south. The equation has totally changed.
We've been engaged in this new version of the war for well over a year now. Yet, to hear the debate among our national leadership, nothing has changed. The people who were against the war in March 2003 are the same people opposed in May 2008. There, of course, has been a drop in support in the war effort after so many bungled years and unfortunate casualties. Opponents of the war all talk about when they can bring the troops home. Supporters take each individual battle as signs that we're winning. Yeah, it's Vietnam all over again. One group wants us out but overlooks the importance of the mission. The other side says we're winning all the military battles but overlooked the large-scale issues that kept us from emerging victorious.
In Iraq, unlike Vietnam, the macro issues are starting to look favorable, however, as the Iraqi government has finally recognized and dealt with the threats posed by Shiite extremists and Iran. The successes in eradicating al Qaeda in Iraq in 2007 continue this year. The legislature is splintered but no longer completely broken. The pieces are all together now.
The best way we can honor today's military is to recognize that we now are taking on the real threat to our way of life and are doing a pretty good job of it. We have stop thinking in 2003 terms of whether we oppose or support the operation. We have to stop opposing the operation because it's Bush's war. We have to drop the lunatic conspiracy theories that it's all about oil because the Iraq war has done nothing to help us in that regard. We have to give our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen all the support we can so victory can come about as soon as possible.
In short, we have to be adaptable in our thinking. There was a lot wrong with how we got into this war and how it was conducted for several years. Serious, major problems. There were good reasons to be against what we were doing. But that was then. This is now. Things have changed, and we have to change as well.
