An Iraqi appraisal

The following was submitted to another blog I read. I found it to ring truthful and decided to copy it over here.

I’m an Army battalion commander currently serving in the heart of Baghdad. Its difficult for me to express how important this election is to those of us currently in harm’s way. First, let me say that my brigade combat team has been here 6 months. In this time, we have lost over 25 soldiers and had over 300 seriously wounded. Yet, in my battalion alone I have reenlisted over 100 soldiers. I have less than 20 soldiers a day go on sick call out of over 600. Amazing when you consider the oppressive heat during the summer. I you tell this because our soldiers know they are making a difference, and absolutely believe in this mission. We don’t give a rat’s ass about WMDs and know we are not fighting for oil. Truly, first and foremost we believe that we are defending America by attacking the enemy on his turf. For God’s sake what do people think the likes of Zarqawi/OBL would be doing if they were not on the run trying to prevent us from establishing modern states in the Islamist world? There is no safe haven! This is only true because the US Army and Marine Corps is in his back yard. Also, we are providing hope for people who have been brutally oppressed for a generation. What an insult to tell those of us who know, and are doing the fighting and dying, that this is the “wrong war, wrong time, wrong place”. Imagine the effect on our military if we have a commander in chief that believes our brothers and sisters have died in vain. Like you I am more liberal than the President on most social issues, but these issues can wait, and probably will seem irrelevant if a nuclear devise is exploded in NYC, or we experience a couple of Breslan’s in the United States. I beg, plead that my friend’s on the left or undecided, cast there ballot for the President this election, on only one issue, the war on terrorism. Ask yourself what does Ed Koch, an east coast liberal Jew, know that I don’t know. Sorry for the length, be proud of your military.LTC Bob Hope