I have been reading a lot of negative articles about the situation in Iraq lately. To those of you who think Iraq is the new Vietnam, who think no weapons of mass destruction negates any reason for going to Iraq, and who think the insurgency is winning and the war is unwinnable, please read Lieutenant Colonel Tim Ryan's recent letter to Americans. He is a soldier in Iraq, and his letter will open your eyes to the real situation there.
It is amazing to me how quickly people forget what has happened in the recent past. Read Prime Minister Tony Blair's and President George W. Bush's speeches asking for the authorization of force against Saddam, and you will find the full and complete case for war, of which weapons of mass destruction are an integral part but by no means the full justification.
Search for speeches by senators (especially those who now denounce this war as a disaster) in the mid-90s who were howling for Saddam's removal, even if that meant the use of force.
Read the Duelfer report in full to see the real conclusion about Saddam's intentions.
Search for news articles from the late 1940s predicting we would fail to secure Germany even after winning the war.
Oh yeah, and take a second to remember who the enemy is - brutal, inhuman terrorists who oppose any kind of democratic society in the Middle East.
If you get all of your information about the war in Iraq from reading prominent newspapers and the evening news, then quite frankly, you are being duped. The war was the right thing to do, and it is currently going very well, as far as you can say that in times of war.
Michael Jenista
senior
Knott Hall
Jan. 20
