Perseverence, Courage and Sacrifice

There is no doubt that thousands of Iranian agents are inside Iraq and they are training, supplying and fighting with the various anti-American factions. President Bush has been criticized by Democrats for saying he will deal with this threat to the safety of our troops.

The recent assault on the compound in Karbala, which we now learn was a highly sophisticated commando raid, resulted in the kidnapping and murder of several American soldiers. Some of the suspects in this incident may be members of Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army. If so, they almost surely had assistance from their Iranian sponsors.

The Tehran government has been in the shadows of the Iraqi front since the beginning. If we can locate training camps in Iran, they must be taken out. The same rule should apply in northwestern Pakistan and in Syria. We cannot permit these breeding grounds to exist when their purpose is to funnel more terrorists into Iraq and Afghanistan.

American forces invaded Cambodia in 1970 to destroy the staging areas and the supplies of the North Vietnamese who were using that country in the same way today’s insurgents use Iran, Syria and Pakistan. The American government was criticized throughout the world for the “invasion” of Cambodia, but no similar criticism was ever leveled at the North Vietnamese.

This double standard must end. If the Iranians, the Syrians and the Pakistanis want to play this dangerous game and permit safe havens for our enemies, then they must be prepared for the consequences.

This has nothing to do with “expanding” the war. It has to do with modifying the tactics and strategy of the current struggle. Do not put limits on our warriors when you send them to war. If someone is helping our enemies kill our soldiers, then they must reap the whirlwind of our wrath.

Victory against any enemy requires perseverance, courage and sacrifice.

SFC Chuck Grist