No "Boots On The Ground" In The New Middle East Wars

I don't know what's wrong with some of our Congressmen, but the effort to become more involved in the Libyan civil war - and perhaps even the Syrian civil war - is misguided at best.

There isn't a problem supporting real democratic resistance movements in other countries, but you better know who you are dealing with. I suspect that the rebels in Libya are just using us because we are letting them do so. As in Egypt, once the dictator is gone, the fundamentalists will usurp the rebel leadership, and a new "baby Iran" will likely be born. (The members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are finally showing us who they really are, and none of them is a Thomas Jefferson.)

If the United Nations wants to send African or Middle Eastern troops into these countries, so be it. It is, after all, their neighborhood. But American soldiers must never be involved in civil wars or nation building ever again. Not only is another country's civil war none of our business, it is a thankless job anyway, and any success will always be tenuous at best.

There are few reasons to ever have American boots on the ground in the Middle East. One would be the threatened takeover or destruction of the Saudi oil fields. The other would be an all-out war that threatened the survival of Israel.

The decision to involve our nation in the Libyan civil war is one of the worst decisions ever made by a president in American history. There was no clear and present danger to America or our allies. We do not know who the rebels are or what they represent, and there is ample evidence that jihadists from Iraq and Afghanistan are among the fighters.

Tell your Congressional representatives to keep our troops out of these Middle East civil wars.

NO boots on the ground....

Charles M. Grist
www.MyLastWar.com

Remembering My Journey to Kurdistan

"I was born in the shadow of the Kurdish flag in Mahabad and I am ready to serve and die for the same flag." Massoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan

As Turkish troops mass on the border of Kurdistan, it seems appropriate to remember my own journey to northern Iraq in July, 2004. My team, the C.O.B.R.A. Team, was the personal security detachment for then-Brigadier General Charles “Sandy” Davidson. We escorted the general during his visit to his civil affairs troops.

I wrote much of the following article as an op-ed piece that was published in the Orlando Sentinel that same month. It is included in a book I have written and hope to get published at some point.

Although I came to respect the Kurds and their unique culture, I still believe they should curtail the activities of the guerrillas who are conducting attacks into Turkey. The existing Kurdistan is a beautiful country with a great future. I would hate to see the peaceful nature of this wonderful land degenerate into war with Turkey.

The above photo shows me in a Kurdish village with members of the legendary Peshmerga, the militia that has protected the Kurds for over sixty years.

* * * *

July, 2004 - Kurdistan in northern Iraq:

The heat on the dusty hill overlooking the northern Iraqi border was unpleasant, but it was better than melting in Baghdad. Along with the general and the rest of the C.O.B.R.A. Team, I looked out on a river junction that twisted like some wild blue snake through the desert. I could glance north across one river and barely see a Turkish army guard tower in the distance. When I turned to face the other river, the barren desert hills of Syria rose before me.

The trip from Mosul in a Blackhawk helicopter took us over a giant blue lake, over dry open desert, and through remote hills and valleys. Finally, we reached an isolated border outpost, the northern-most Iraqi military position in what the people there knew as Kurdistan. Protecting us from that point on would be the Peshmerga (which means “those ready to die”), the Kurdish warriors who had protected their own people for almost sixty years.

General Davidson wanted to visit some of his soldiers, but he also wanted to meet some of the Kurdish people with whom those soldiers worked and view some of the civil affairs projects created by the members of his command. The soldiers on the small civil affairs teams were making friends and making a difference as they tried to improve the quality of life for a courageous and unique group of Iraq’s citizens.

Our tour of the outpost ended with a convoy of NTVs headed east because this part of our journey was overland. Though we were still guarding the general, the Peshmerga were guarding all of us.

Driving over paved roads and mountain trails, we stopped briefly at a Kurdish village where General Davidson and his officers shared refreshments with the leaders of the small community. We continued on to Dohuk where we spent the night in a “safe house” protected all the while by the Peshmerga.

I found great comfort in standing on the roof of this house and surveying the beauty of the mountains that surrounded us. In such a peaceful place, filled with an overwhelming sense of tranquility, it was hard to believe there was a war going on. Some of the Peshmerga soldiers said the Arab insurgents had a difficult time making inroads in Kurdistan because they were easily recognized by the Kurds.

Traveling with the soldiers of the Peshmerga was a young man whose name still can’t be revealed without putting his life in danger. At the age of only 19, he had already spent over a year working as an interpreter for the Americans. Born in Kurdistan, but raised in California, he was proud to be both an American and a Kurd. When the United States invaded Iraq, destiny called and he returned to his first home to help defeat the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The young man liked to repeat a saying we heard frequently in Kurdistan: “Ten Kurds will die before one American dies”. The Kurdish people loved Americans and they were happy to treat soldiers, as the interpreter said, like “rock stars”. They would die for their American friends and they did everything they could to keep our soldiers out of harm’s way. There was still resentment reserved for Britain, however, for failing to give the Kurds their own nation when the British Empire carved up the Arab lands early in the twentieth century.

With the help of the young interpreter, the C.O.B.R.A. Team shared conversation and food with the men of the Peshmerga. We came to know and respect them as fellow soldiers and as just plain regular guys. We all spoke of our families, our homes and our children. Just as I discovered with the Shiite and Sunni Arabs I came to know, the Kurdish people also wanted peace, a safe place to raise their families, a decent way to make a living and a good future for their children.

The Kurds endured a life of prejudice, discrimination and violence under the regime of Saddam Hussein. March 16, 1988, is referred to as “Bloody Friday” because this was the day that Hussein’s forces dropped poisonous gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja. According to our Kurdish friends, some five thousand citizens, mostly women and children, were killed in mere minutes and thousands more perished after days of attacks.

The American policy was that separate “militias”, such as the Peshmerga and al Sadr’s Mahdi Army, must be disbanded. Although the Kurdish leadership supposedly agreed in principal, the Peshmerga soldiers laughed. There was certainly no indication that the Mahdi Army or the other militias in the southern part of the country would disappear any time soon. The Peshmerga warriors also didn’t believe their own fabled army would cease to exist either.

Many of them had been in the Kurdish army since they were twelve years old, it was the only life they knew and the Peshmerga diligently served as the protection for their fellow citizens. The Kurds were a friendly, gentle people, but upon entering the towns and villages of northern Iraq, one thing was plainly missing.

The Iraqi flag wasn’t flown anywhere. The Kurds proudly displayed their own banner, the Kurdistan tri-color of red, white and green with a bright sun glowing in the center. In the new Iraq, the Kurdish people lived with a wait and see attitude for the time being.

As we traveled across the top of Iraq through the towns, villages and cities of Kurdistan, I was amazed by the extraordinary beauty of it all. We saw picturesque mountains and valleys, gently flowing rivers and a waterfall recreation area that seemed out of place in a country at war.

Both adults and children waved and smiled at us and we were greeted everywhere like long-lost relatives. I was never treated this way by the citizens of any foreign country and it helped me to imagine how American soldiers in World War II felt when they were welcomed into liberated European countries.

On our second night, we stayed at the guest house of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). His late father, Mustafa Barzani, was the most prominent Kurdish national leader in their recent history and, according to the Peshmerga, he was considered the father of modern Kurdistan and an inspiration to all the Kurdish people. As we traveled throughout northern Iraq, Mustafa Barzani’s picture was hanging everywhere.

The next day we escorted the general to what the Americans considered the Peshmerga “Pentagon” or the headquarters of their military forces. General Davidson met with one of their generals, we were all served refreshments and the two generals exchanged gifts. Davidson gave his counterpart one of his commanding general’s coins; the Peshmerga general gave Davidson a Kurdistan flag.

As we reached the final city of our visit, Erbil, we drove through the six thousand year old massive stone citadel that overlooks the city from a giant hill. The Peshmerga took care of us right up to the time we boarded our Blackhawk helicopters for the long and arduous flight back to the Green Zone. I was sad to be leaving such a peaceful and beautiful place.

Before we climbed onto the helicopters, the young interpreter reached up to his shoulder and pulled off his Kurdistan flag patch and gave it to me. I was grateful to receive such a special gift from one of America’s and Kurdistan’s bravest citizens.

When we returned from our trip to northern Iraq, I brought back a small piece of paper I found on a table in the waiting area of Mosul’s Civil Military Operations Center. That building was filled with Iraqi civilians who were working with the Americans. The spelling and grammar are the way it was written, apparently from the heart:

“To day the CPA has handover the sovereignty to the Iraqis. As an Iraqi I feel so happy, but I have to say that all Iraqis owe much for the brave, the Americans, who have shed bloods for free, peaceful and democratic Iraq. Salute for all the brave Americans and all that cooperate with them to achieve this Noble goal,
Long live freedom, Long live freedom fighters,
Long live the USA The leader of liberty in the world.”

It was signed simply: “Iraqi”

At least one Iraqi thought enough of America’s sacrifices to write it down. If there was one Iraqi that felt this way, then there were ten; if there were ten, then there were a hundreds and surely thousands.

We were indeed appreciated by some of the citizens of Iraq and it made me feel damn good.

* * * *

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

From My War Journal: Flight to Kurdistan

"I was born in the shadow of the Kurdish flag in Mahabad and I am ready to serve and die for the same flag."

Massoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan

It was July of 2004 when my team traveled to northern Iraq from Baghdad’s Green Zone. Our mission was to escort our “principal”, Brigadier General Charles “Sandy” Davidson, to Kurdistan. Here is what I wrote about the experience:

"The heat on the dusty hill overlooking the northern Iraqi border was unpleasant, but it was better than melting in Baghdad. Along with the general and the rest of the C.O.B.R.A. Team, I looked out on a river junction that twisted like some wild blue snake through the desert. I could glance north across one river and barely see a Turkish army guard tower in the distance. When I turned to face the other river, the barren desert hills of Syria rose before me.

The trip from Mosul in a Blackhawk helicopter took us over a giant blue lake, over dry open desert, and through remote hills and valleys. Finally, we reached an isolated border outpost, the northern-most Iraqi military position in what the people there knew as Kurdistan.

Protecting us from that point on would be the Peshmerga (which means 'those ready to die'), the Kurdish warriors who had protected their own people for almost sixty years. (Above photo is me with two of the Peshmerga soldiers.)

General Davidson wanted to visit some of his soldiers, but he also wanted to meet some of the Kurdish people those soldiers worked with and view some of the civil affairs projects created by the members of his command. The soldiers on the small civil affairs teams were making friends and making a difference as they tried to improve the quality of life for a courageous and unique group of Iraq’s citizens.

Our tour of the outpost ended with a convoy of NTVs headed east because this part of our journey was overland. Though we were still guarding the general, the Peshmerga were guarding all of us.

Driving over paved roads and mountain trails, we stopped briefly at a Kurdish village where General Davidson and his officers shared refreshments with the leaders of the small community. We continued on to Dohuk where we spent the night in a 'safe house' protected all the while by the Peshmerga.

I found great comfort in standing on the roof of this house and surveying the beauty of the mountains that surrounded us. In such a peaceful place, filled with an overwhelming sense of tranquility, it was hard to believe there was a war going on. Some of the Peshmerga soldiers said the Arab insurgents had a difficult time making inroads in Kurdistan because they were easily recognized by the Kurds.

Traveling with the soldiers of the Peshmerga was a young man whose name still cannot be revealed without putting his life in danger. At the age of only 19, he had already spent over a year working as an interpreter for the Americans. Born in Kurdistan, but raised in California, he was proud to be both an American and a Kurd. When the United States invaded Iraq, destiny called and he returned to his first home to help defeat the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The young man liked to repeat a saying we heard frequently in Kurdistan: 'Ten Kurds will die before one American dies'. The Kurdish people loved Americans and they were happy to treat soldiers, as the interpreter said, like 'rock stars'. They would die for their American friends and they did everything they could to keep our soldiers out of harm’s way.

There was still resentment reserved for Britain, however, for failing to give the Kurds their own nation when the British Empire carved up the Arab lands early in the twentieth century.

With the help of the young interpreter, the C.O.B.R.A. Team shared conversation and food with the men of the Peshmerga. We came to know and respect them as fellow soldiers and as just plain regular guys. All of us spoke of our families, our homes and our children. Just as I discovered with the Shiite and Sunni Arabs I came to know, the Kurdish people also wanted peace, a safe place to raise their families, a decent way to make a living and a good future for their children.

The Kurds endured a life of prejudice, discrimination and violence under the regime of Saddam Hussein. March 16, 1988, is referred to as 'Bloody Friday' because this was the day that Hussein’s forces dropped poisonous gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja. According to our Kurdish friends, some five thousand citizens, mostly women and children, were killed within only minutes and tens of thousands more perished after days of attacks.

The American policy was that separate 'militias', such as the Peshmerga and al Sadr’s Mahdi Army, must be disbanded. Although the Kurdish leadership supposedly agreed in principal, the Peshmerga soldiers laughed. There was certainly no indication that the Mahdi Army or the other militias in the southern part of the country would disappear any time soon. The Peshmerga warriors also didn’t believe their own fabled army would cease to exist either.

Many of them had been in the Kurdish army since they were twelve years old, it was the only life they knew and the Peshmerga diligently served as the protection for their fellow citizens. The Kurds were a friendly, gentle people, but upon entering the towns and villages of northern Iraq, one thing was plainly missing.

The Iraqi flag wasn’t flown anywhere. The Kurds proudly displayed their own banner, the Kurdistan tri-color of red, white and green with a bright sun glowing in the center. In the new Iraq, the Kurdish people lived with a wait and see attitude for the time being.

As we traveled across the top of Iraq through the towns, villages and cities of Kurdistan, I was amazed by the extraordinary beauty of it all. We saw picturesque mountains and valleys, gently flowing rivers and a waterfall recreation area that seemed out of place in a country at war.

Both adults and children waved and smiled at us and we were greeted everywhere like long-lost relatives. I was never treated this way by the citizens of any foreign country and it helped me to imagine how American soldiers in World War II felt when they were welcomed into liberated European countries.

On our second night, we stayed at the guest house of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). His late father, Mustafa Barzani, was the most prominent Kurdish national leader in their recent history and, according to the Peshmerga, he was considered the father of modern Kurdistan and an inspiration to all the Kurdish people. As we traveled throughout northern Iraq, Mustafa Barzani’s picture was hanging everywhere.

The next day we escorted the general to what the Americans considered the Peshmerga 'Pentagon' or the headquarters of their military forces. General Davidson met with one of their generals, we were all served refreshments and the two generals exchanged gifts. Davidson gave his counterpart one of his commanding general’s coins; the Peshmerga general gave Davidson a Kurdistan flag.

As we reached the final city of our visit, Erbil, we drove through the six thousand year old massive stone citadel that overlooks the city from a giant hill. The Peshmerga took care of us right up to the time we boarded our Blackhawk helicopters for the long and arduous flight back to the Green Zone. I was sad to be leaving such a peaceful and beautiful place.

Before we climbed onto the helicopters, the young interpreter reached up to his shoulder and pulled off his Kurdistan flag patch and gave it to me. I was grateful to receive such a special gift from one of America’s - and Kurdistan’s - bravest citizens.

When we returned from our trip to northern Iraq, I brought back a small piece of paper I found on a table in the waiting area of Mosul’s Civil Military Operations Center. That building was filled with Iraqi civilians who were working with the Americans.

The spelling and grammar are the way the note was written, apparently from the heart, as it referred to the American turn-over of authority to the new Iraqi government:

'To day the CPA has handover the sovereignty to the Iraqis. As an Iraqi I feel so happy, but I have to say that all Iraqis owe much for the brave, the Americans, who have shed bloods for free, peaceful and democratic Iraq. Salute for all the brave Americans and all that cooperate with them to achieve this Noble goal,

Long live freedom, Long live freedom fighters,
Long live the USA The leader of liberty in the world.'

It was signed simply: 'Iraqi'

At least one Iraqi thought enough of America’s sacrifices to write it down. If there was one Iraqi that felt this way, then there were ten; if there were ten, then there were a hundred and perhaps thousands.

We were indeed appreciated by some of the citizens of Iraq and it made me feel damn good."

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

No Safe Havens for Terrorists

It’s always been hard for me to agree with a Democrat, even when he’s only “sort of” a Democrat. Independent/former Democrat Joe Lieberman is on the money when he says a military strike against Iran should be considered in response to that rogue nation’s support of attacks on Americans in Iraq.

I would argue that the same reasoning justifies attacks on training areas/safe havens in Syria and Pakistan. While it’s probably not a great idea to advertise such an option, we are at a crossroads in the world where everyone with their head in the sand must look at the reality that is facing us.

Iran is not going to change, they are still developing their nuclear capability and they will not stop their support of terrorists and insurgents who are killing our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, the mouthpiece for Iran’s ayatollahs, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is advertising the belief that the end times are near and that Israel should be wiped off the map.

Iran is not the only problem. Syria continues to support and protect the Iraqi Sunni insurgents who hide out across the border in their own camps. The government in Pakistan is either too afraid of the terrorists in their tribal areas or they are accommodating them for other reasons. As a result, the terrorist camps in these other countries are like nests of bees, creating new killers with assembly line efficiency. (Above photo is from Reuters.)

Syria, Iran and the tribal areas of Pakistan are the Laos and Cambodia of this war. During Vietnam, the North Vietnamese enemy used those adjacent countries to train, recruit and re-supply the forces that fought us in South Vietnam. The anti-war crowd never complained about their use of those countries, but the minute the American military entered Cambodia to attack enemy camps along the Ho Chi Minh Trail we were referred to as “invaders”.

It is incomprehensible that we can continue to permit Iran or Syria to train, equip and perhaps accompany terrorist killers who attack American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan. We also must end the ability of Al Qaeda and the Taliban to have a safe haven in Pakistan.

Although large-scale ground invasions are unrealistic, targeted air strikes would do much to destroy the capabilities in these training camps. If Syria, Iran and Pakistan will not eliminate these safe havens, then we have no choice but to do it ourselves.

We owe it to the men and women who are fighting the terrorists and we certainly owe to the ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

SFC Chuck Grist
www.AmericanRanger.blogspot.com

Victory: The Only Option

Now that the President’s new plan is out in the open, he has also made it clear that we will have to do something about the support of the various facets of the insurgency by Syria and Iran. It will be difficult to make a great difference as long as the safe havens in those countries remain untouched.

In addition to the Syrian and Iranian problems, the Iraqis themselves must end the sectarian violence and the militias must be dealt with forcefully. We cannot succeed in Iraq without the clear support of the Iraqis themselves.

The following op-ed piece discusses the importance of victory in the various fronts of the war on terror. Although victory is the only realistic option, the fact remains that the mistakes may make that goal difficult to achieve in Iraq.

The next twelve months will probably tell the tale.

VICTORY: THE ONLY OPTION IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
September 28, 2006

The ghosts of Vietnam are peeking over the edges of their graves. American military forces are now on the defense instead of the offense. In military history, this has almost always meant defeat. American soldiers can kick the butts of anyone they fight, but they can’t prevail in the end without decisive leadership by Washington politicians.

When the decision was made to invade Iraq with a token force of soldiers, when the former Iraqi army was not recalled to provide security for its country and when the Iraqi people did not see their lives improve, the world witnessed the beginning of a host of bad decisions that were not made for military reasons but for political expediency.

Even when I served in Iraq in 2004, we could see the potential danger of Iranian-supported groups like the Mahdi Army, the private militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. His uprisings that year killed many Americans, but the Iraqis we put in power would not disarm these personal armies. Add the Sunni insurgents and the foreign fighters to the Shiite militias and our soldiers face a multi-faceted enemy, and each element has its own agenda.

Instead of devoting greater American resources to crushing the insurgency and its external sources of support, we have bounced back and forth across Iraq whenever a “hot spot” erupted. When we left one area to quell the violence somewhere else, the place we left would explode with insurgent activity. This is not a military on the offense; it is a force that is reacting to an enemy that has captured the initiative.

Arrogance has always been the downfall of western powers when dealing with the Arab world. The Crusaders swarmed over the Middle East to spread Christianity but instead they conducted their own “terrorist” campaigns before being driven out by the Muslim forces. The British Empire of the early twentieth century was also forced out of the region.

In both Iraq and Afghanistan the situation has worsened. Afghanistan had been a wonderful success until we allowed the Taliban free rein in northern Pakistan. The old rulers of Afghanistan have used those remote areas to train and recruit new members and to conceal our Al Qaeda enemy. Now that Pakistan has agreed with tribal leaders to stay out of those terrorist safe zones, we cannot continue to ignore the camps that exist there. If Pakistan will not clean them out, we must do so.

In Iraq we know that terrorists and their weapons of war are coming into that country from Syria and Iran. These countries have now become the Laos and Cambodia of this war. In Vietnam such sanctuaries helped the North Vietnamese outlast American resolve. Whatever happened to the American policy of dealing with those who “support, protect or harbor” terrorists?

It no longer matters whether or not we were right to invade Iraq. The Iraqi front is the epicenter of the world war against Islamic fascism. While we fret about the “rules of engagement” or the “rules of interrogation”, the enemy has only one rule: There are no rules.

Winning is the only option in both Iraq and Afghanistan, otherwise we will hand a major strategic victory to the terrorists and their sponsors. We will also fuel the determination of the Islamic fundamentalists to do just what they have promised to do and they will continue to expand their “holy war” to every corner of the globe.

I remain a soldier and I believe in the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as victory in the war on terror. Like the Vietnam veteran generals whose advice was ignored in the beginning, this old Vietnam vet also believes that you don’t fight “half-wars”.

We better do it right because the alternative world of the brutal and iron-fisted Islamic terrorists is too gruesome to contemplate.

SFC Chuck Grist

Safe Havens for Terrorists?

Yesterday, the 19th, I heard from my Army Reserve unit and I was updated regarding my pending mobilization. I am still on the list to return to active duty during the first part of January, 2007; however, I can’t help but believe that most units in the military are waiting to find out what the President’s new plan will be. Only then will they know how they will be expected to use their soldiers.

Upon my return from Iraq in October, 2004, like many veterans, I felt guilty leaving both my comrades and my new Iraqi friends behind. Sitting in safety back in the States, it remained important to me to stay tuned in to what was happening in Baghdad.

In Vietnam we faced an enemy who was able to train, equip and re-group in the sanctuaries of Laos and Cambodia. Even when America invaded Cambodia in 1971 to “clean out” those North Vietnamese camps, we were the ones accused by the anti-war crowd of “invading” Cambodia. No mention was made of the illegal use of those countries by the enemy to wage their war.

A similar situation has arisen in the Iraq and the Afghanistan wars, with insurgents and their supporters using Syria, Iran and Pakistan for the same purpose: to recruit, train, equip and re-group for attacks against us in Iraq.

I wrote the following article for the Orlando Sentinel and it appeared on December 19, 2004:


SAFE HAVENS FOR TERRORISTS?

Once upon a time, the United States was fighting a war in a far-off country. The enemy soldiers were skilled insurgents fighting to advance their own agenda. They used neighboring countries as safe havens from which they could funnel arms, ammunition and soldiers into the war zone. After mounting attacks against innocent civilians and Americans, they would run back over the border to hide and to re-supply. Then they would return to wage war again – on their terms.

While the insurgents could make use of these other countries in that bloody war long ago, the Americans could not. For political reasons, the American military fought its ground war only in the war-torn country, until it was finally decided that enough was enough. American troops invaded Cambodia, taking a terrible toll on the enemy, rousting him from his hiding places, killing many of his soldiers and capturing tons of equipment and supplies. Though the North Vietnamese had not been criticized for their “invasion” of Cambodia, a double standard of the time accused the Americans of an “illegal” invasion.

There is gathering evidence that some of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni henchmen are based in Syria. With that government’s likely support, these old friends of Saddam are sending arms, ammunition and insurgents into Iraq to kill and maim both Iraqis and Americans. Further evidence suggests that the Iranian Shiite government is also supporting – with men and arms – efforts by Shiite insurgents to destroy the hope of freedom in Iraq.

Although, there is little disagreement that the war in Iraq could have been managed better all along, our commitment to the Iraqi people must remain firm. We turned their lives upside down in the process of liberating them. Now that the going is getting tough, as it always does in war, we must remember that we have no choice but to endure.

President Bush said in the beginning that we would go after the terrorists wherever they chose to hide. He said that if you support or harbor terrorists you were also the enemy. Those statements were inspiring and led to the liberation of tens of millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bill for the purchase of that liberation has been paid, and is still being paid, with the lives of gallant American and coalition soldiers as they continue to do a magnificent job.

Still, the world is watching the level of our nation’s resolve. Will America cave in or stay the course? As a soldier who has served in both Vietnam and Iraq, I pray we will not stop until victory is sure.

Soon, the Bush administration will have to decide how to handle the insurgent bases in Syria, Iran or other countries. Most soldiers would agree that the only way to win a war is to turn the enemy’s offense into the defense. We have progressed from fighting an offensive war to liberate Iraq to fighting a defensive war – our decisions have become reactive, not proactive. This is certainly a recipe for disaster, if not failure. If we are to prevail, we must go after the insurgents wherever they are.

There is one very good reason that we have not had a terrorist attack in this country since Sept. 11, 2001. We have put the terrorists on the run and they have learned that it is difficult to wage war from a hole in the ground. We must not let them find new safe havens in Syria, Iran or any other country that chooses to mock our efforts at defeating terrorism. Our enemies must never forget that, if they hurt our citizens or support those who do, we will hunt them down and capture or kill them, and we will do it relentlessly, no matter how long it takes and no matter where we have to go.

Most of all, we do not need another black wall in Washington filled with the names of warriors who gave their lives for a politically abandoned cause. This war must be won, regardless of the cost, and America’s sons and daughters must never again die in vain.

SFC Chuck Grist