Let us turn to the Iraq battlefront on the war against terror and radical Islam; are we fighting mere thugs and organized crime syndicates or are we actually fighting a war of competing ideologies? I often ponder that question. It’s not over ‘real estate’ for we do not need their oil anymore?! Or as much of it. The media has not portrayed well who we are actually fighting against . . . and who is funding our adversaries anyway. I suppose that we must first examine the relationships within the Middle East in order to option-solve this dilemma.

Let us recognize some absolutes: we have our fighting men and women in Iraq and in surrounding US friendly countries such as the UAE, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey etc; we are part of NATO n’est pas?; Iran, Syria, Yemen are considered by the US Department of State to be terrorist sponsoring states; Iran is somewhat an island unto itself that has really nothing to do with the rest of the Arab world save for some trading and fuel supplies, they do not consider themselves to be Arab; the most powerful military aside from us in that region is Israel, followed by the Saudis, Egyptians, Turks, Syrians, and Iranians; NATO countries such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain have suffered from attacks upon their respective homelands…think about this for a moment.

Our country has been burdened with the lion’s share of doing the right thing: to go to war against a guerilla enemy whose ultimate aim (1000 year goal) is to convert these United States to Islam. [Of course, we want a Star Trek based utopia.   Hmmmm] They kill children, themselves, and inflict as much collateral damage (the walking dead) as possible in order to create a management nightmare in caring for the sick. Just recently, our troops uncovered a shelter housing sick children, chained to their beds, sleeping in their own excrement, starving, dying whilst the caretakers sat fat and happy. This reason alone is enough to fight a war, W is right…whether we like it or not. So, its time to really support him, by showing our gratitude for a doing a very tough job; running this country and protecting its people, but also recognizing there is more to this world than just you and I,  . . . and that my friends should be the premise for resolving the Iraq war. Now consider, a peace plan: who do you think should be at the forefront of ending this untenable and unpopular civil war in Iraq? Should it be the Sunnis and Shiites in theatre who are macerating each other through new and improved techniques of IED bombing actions? Or should it be those Arab countries who have the most to loose if the US pulls out…are we the footing the bill for their protection? I think that the American public realizes that we really do not depend on their oil as much as we used to . . . the reasons for higher fuel prices have been due to our refinery maintenance and gouging: that sounds better than greed.

Our next president as I stated before must be able to play hardball in the dessert sands, keep the legislators at home and seek a political settlement using those countries that have and stand to loose the most, listed above. The worse move that we could make now is to quit the game. Our adversaries and our allies must see, know, smell, and understand that in this brutal world in which we live, we will bloody their noses if they step out of line. Our State department, the ones with those loafers and pipes, must actively pursue a dialogue with these surrounding nation states in order to effect a change in their environment. Our next president must stand up to them and lead his army of God-fearing, moral, and just men and women to the path of victory. It has been a very rare occurrence that we have won wars based upon might alone . . . someone always surrenders which then leads to a political dialogue and to an opportunity for cessation of conflict, establishment of healthy interactive boundaries, reconstruction, freedom and prosperity.

Think about the freedom that these people would have if they embraced democracy versus being blown up at a shopping district for no reason . . . no reason at all much less by their own. It is a shame. Yes, this war will pass, it will end until the next one but the path toward peace is a much tougher, more disciplined one. Pulling out and quitting is not the right method . . .further engagement along lines of Statecraft will end this particular fight. I hope and pray that W will take it to this interim end and be known as a moral statesman who has no problem bloodying a lip when he must.